Introduction to Crew Resource Management — Page 342, Lesson 563

I want to walk you through a key part of Crew Resource Management — specifically, how a well-functioning crew manages workload and avoids distractions. This is a set of behaviours that we train to, and they are non-negotiable in professional flight operations. First, we have the principle that work distribution is communicated and acknowledged. This means that when tasks are handed out in the cockpit — for example, who handles the radios, who monitors the instruments, who runs the checklist — it is not enough to just assign them silently. The person giving the task must state it clearly, and the person receiving it must acknowledge that they understand and accept it. This closed-loop communication prevents assumptions and ensures nothing falls through the cracks. Next, crew efficiency is maximised. That is the goal of all these behaviours — to get the best possible performance out of the team, not just the individuals. When workload is managed well, the crew can handle more tasks with fewer errors, and they preserve mental capacity for unexpected events. A critical behaviour is that a crew member reports overload in self and in others. This is a professional obligation. If you feel you are becoming overloaded — too many things coming at you at once — you must speak up. Equally, if you see a colleague showing signs of overload, you are expected to call it out. This is not about blame; it is about safety. The crew then rebalances the workload. Now, let's talk about secondary tasks. These include things like passenger needs, company communications, and other non-essential duties. The rule is that these are prioritised to deal with primary flight duties. Primary flight duties are the core tasks of flying the aircraft — aviating, navigating, communicating in that order. Secondary tasks must never interfere with those. So, if a passenger call comes in while you are on approach, you do not answer it. You prioritise. Finally, the crew recognises distractions of automation, and disengages if necessary. Modern aircraft have a lot of automation — autopilot, flight management systems, auto-throttles. These are tools, but they can also become distractions. If the crew finds themselves heads-down programming a computer while the aircraft is drifting off course, or if they are so focused on the automation that they lose situational awareness, they must recognise that and disengage the automation. That means turning it off and flying manually, or at least stepping back to a simpler mode, until the situation is under control. These points together form a discipline: communicate task distribution, maximise team efficiency, speak up about overload, keep secondary tasks in their place, and never let automation become a distraction. That is the professional standard.