The analysis identified 27 points of concern and offered 53 recommendations, including steps to standardise safety training, enhance transparency in the handling of employee complaints and improve systems to grant pilots more influence on safety and training matters.
The FAA plans to “immediately” undertake a review to determine next steps, the agency said.
“We will continue to hold Boeing to the highest standard of safety and will work to ensure the company comprehensively addresses these recommendations,” the FAA said.
Boeing thanked the panel and said it will “carefully review the panel’s assessment and learn from their findings”, according to a company statement.
“We’ve taken important steps to foster a safety culture that empowers and encourages all employees to share their voice,” Boeing said. ” But there is more work to do.”
The report summarised Boeing safety initiatives after the fatal crashes, such as the Speak Up portal, an online system for employees to confidentially report concerns about production quality, safety or business ethics.
But employees interviewed for the FAA report expressed “distrust in the anonymity of the Speak Up program”, according to the write-up, which said employees prefer to discuss concerns directly with their managers.
“Employees did not understand how to utilise the different reporting systems, which reporting system to use and when,” said the FAA.
“The expert panel is concerned that this confusion about reporting systems may discourage employees from submitting safety concerns.”
Source: CNA
