Indeed, JetBlue has found reporting success with SMS Solution during the pandemic. Kyle Olifirowicz (Analyst, Safety Business Intelligence) from JetBlue gives us five minutes of his time to discuss how they did it.
NR: Why is reporting important during a pandemic?
KO: Safety is our number one value at JetBlue and we’ve created a strong voluntary safety reporting culture. We actively strive to ensure all our Crewmembers here at JetBlue are safe. The uncertainty of the pandemic in the early days required us to develop a robust COVID-19 reporting system, so that we could identify patterns in cases or exposures. As we learned to better understand the benefits and limitations of the reporting data, we could better approximate risk thresholds within the context of our SMS.
Ultimately, this led us to procure data-informed strategies and decisions that manifested in the reduction of potential risks to our Crewmembers.
SMS Solution is a way of doing business at an airline. Incorporating our COVID-19 response into the existing SMS Solution framework was the most graceful option because our Crewmembers are already accustomed to the workflow.
NR: How did Rolls-Royce SMS Solution allow JetBlue to change as new information was released in the early days of COVID-19?
KO: Our initial COVID-19 form went through several functional overhauls as new guidance emerged from state and local officials, which was then relevant for the purposes of contact tracing and reporting up to Senior Leaders. Thankfully, SMS Solution form designer allowed our team to make changes to the form quickly to address any new reporting needs and optimize our work outputs.
NR: What Event Types have you created for COVID-19?
Our COVID-19 form was tracking Confirmed, Suspected, Probable, and Precaution cases. To help better track potential exposure to other work personnel, we also were tracking those who had been in close contact to a Crewmember suspected or confirmed of having COVID-19.
NR: How has report data helped you and JetBlue respond to the pandemic?
Incorporating COVID-19 data into the existing SMS Solution framework allowed us to tap into the existing strong culture of voluntary reporting. Because of this, we were able to hit the ground running and collect a robust amount of data from the start of the program.
The increasing level of sophistication in our data was of such benefit to contact tracing investigations that it rivalled that of local health departments; we exceeded their expectations whenever inquiries were tendered.
JetBlue was also able to plot our own data against nationally reported data for COVID-19, enabling us to identify improvements in case counts relative to the national average, as well as trend aberrations in geographic regions where we concentrate our service offerings.
NR: What are the roles that mostly submit COVID-19 reports at JetBlue?
KO: To ensure we were collecting accurate information, we limited the ability to submit COVID-19 reports to the Manager level. Because the information content specific to COVID-19 was coming in rapidly at the onset, our COVID-19 form was also changing rapidly. With the consistent changes, we did not want to confuse our Crewmembers with an ever-changing form. Instead, we instructed Crewmembers to speak with their Manager or Crewleader about any suspected or confirmed COVID-19 exposure such that the report could be submitted on their behalf.
NR: You’ve had incredible success with your reporting culture since the pandemic began. What do you attribute that to?
At JetBlue, all Crewmembers possess the responsibility and authority to serve as ‘Safety Ambassadors’ throughout the course of their duties. So every Crewmember is an ambassador to Safety Culture, and Safety Reporting is Safety Culture. The success of this dynamic can be attributed to the mutual trust between our Corporate Safety team and the cross-functional workgroups on the frontline and in our Support Centers. We are optimistic that the relationships we have nourished in these preceding 18 months will continue to mature and support our robust Safety Culture in preparation for the next public health crisis.
Nathalie Rosenbrook is a Communications Consultant for Rolls-Royce SMS Solution. She holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Media Studies and Film from Victoria University of Wellington. When she isn’t creating documentation, you can find her at an art exhibition or enjoying a walk in the outdoors with friends.