eastcoast

I have one more question about the Aviation Safety Reporting System, or ASRS. I am not a pilot. I am researching an article about applying aviation safety principles to medicine. In medicine we have nothing like ASRS, so I don't have any insight as to how well this works other than what I have read. If anyone has time to address any of the following questions about ASRS, or organizational feedback in aviation, your insights would be most helpful.

1. I understand that ASRS reports are used to alert pilots about safety hazards in a monthly newsletter, "Callback". However, are these reports also used to modify safety regulations in aviation? If so how does that work? Are new regulations recommended by NASA? Or do they come from the FAA or the individual carriers? Do pilots have a chance to give input on any new regulations from some mechanism such as public comment, or through actions of your union / other representatives?

2. One of the most common areas for high hazard industries to fail, is when "production pressure" is not limited, and motivations for profit / efficiency are used to discount safety concerns. How do you keep this from happening in aviation?

3. Aviation is both very safe and very efficient. Do pilots ever give feedback on ideas to improve efficiency? Or does efficiency primarily come from competition between carriers?

I am particularly interested in how different types of organizational feedback systems function, and how we can use these mechanisms in health care. Feedback is one of the key differences between chaotic and adaptive systems. Feedback seems to be ubiquitous in high hazard industries that are also very safe. However, a feedback mechanism is also used in manufacturing (Toyota production system) to improve both quality and efficiency / cost. As far as I can tell, this "dual use" does not occur in high hazard industries.

Any insights, including disagreements, are welcome.