The nature of skyguide’s activities requires us to always be prepared for the unexpected. We continually look to improve our organisation, with direct communication between top management and front-line personnel.

As an HRO, we regard problems and malfunctions as unavoidable. We view even the smallest occurrence thereof as an opportunity to improve. We do not rest on our successes, but promote and protect the systematic identification and reporting of observations, problems and malfunctions. In doing so, we endeavour to learn from these effectively and systemically, and integrate our findings and conclusions into our organisation. Our attentiveness to these issues prevents our drifting into systemic failure.

As an HRO, we are fully aware that we will never know everything, and thus strive to find out what we do not know. To this end, we promote as complete an understanding as possible of the system and its problems. In doing so, we avoid and challenge commonplaces and simplistic interpretations. The discerning perspective of every individual helps us achieve a better overall understanding.

As an HRO, we acknowledge and appreciate all our operating workflows and proceedings. We place these centre stage in all our deliberations, and constantly seek out further hidden weaknesses. In doing so, we are also aware that some hidden weaknesses may seem unproblematic, but can have an adverse impact if the unexpected occurs.

As an HRO, we are not surprised by the unexpected. We are able to adapt to unexpected developments, master them and contain their adverse effects. With this aim in mind, we ensure that any sign of an operational malfunction is noticed and responded to as early as possible. We do not suppress or conceal problems, but recognise them and address them promptly. We also empower our staff to respond appropriately to any malfunctions that occur, and we incorporate the reserves required to protect the system as a whole.

As an HRO, we delegate the decision-making authority in unexpected situations to persons with the requisite specialist expertise. We also promote high degrees of self-confidence among our staff by giving them autonomy and decision-making authority and by ensuring understandable decisions and feedback.