write:This principle can be carried further as the activities of any working group can be sub-divided into smaller subjects. As an example the Operations Working Group will certainly wa

the management of each group is left to each group chairman. Some
as you might suspect
are better than others. Here are some basic principles that will work for a small group or for the investigation as a whole.A. DIvIDE tHE WoRK. The NTSB does this by first dividing the investiga-tion as a whole into working groups. This principle can be carried further as the activities of any working group can be sub-divided into smaller subjects. As an example
the Operations Working Group will certainly want to look at flightcrew qualifications
training and operational procedures. Those are three separate subjects to be investigated and we don’t yet know what kind of an accident we are talking about! As a rule
the smaller the subject break-down
the easier they are to assign and monitor. Here is where the report outline developed in Chapter 38 could be handy. It already provides a break-down of subjects that must be investigated.B. mAKE ASSIGnmEntS. Assign investigators by name to each subject. Make sure all investigators know who is assigned to which subject. This insures that someone is responsible for each aspect of the investigation. It also let’s everyone know who is doing what so there will be a minimum of duplication. If there is some overlap or common interests
each investigator knows who has that common interest. Psychologically
the investigator can now see how this is all going to work. At first
the investigation of the accident looks like a hope-lessly massive project. Now that we have broken it down into small pieces
he realizes that he only has to do a small part of it.C. monItoR StAtuS. The NTSB holds nightly progress meetings. The ideal way to run these meetings is to have each Group Chairman stand up and tell the IIC and the rest of the investigators what his group has done and learned so far and what is still to be done. This allows the IIC and the Group Chairmen to keep track of progress. They want all aspects of the investigation to proceed more or less simultaneously. If there is a problem with the inves-tigation of one aspect
they react to it and get it back on track. This progress meeting serves another purpose. It is absolutely essential that each investigator know what other investigators have learned. No single investigator can know everything about an accident. Investigation is a synergistic effort. The total knowledge gained by the investigation team is greater than the sum of the knowledge of its individual investigators.These same general techniques can be applied within each specialized group. Prior to the main meeting
each Group Chairman can ask his group members to state what they have done so far and what is still to be done. This becomes the basis for the Group Chairman’s report to the IIC.D. DEmAnD EARLy DRAFt REPoRtS. As soon as an aspect of the in-vestigation is complete
it should be followed very shortly by a draft report of that aspect. If this is not done
the final report is likely to be flawed (see Chapter 38).5. SummARy.As mentioned
the report outline is a useful tool for both organizing the report and managing the investigation. The outline can be expanded and used for both investigation assignments and status.Basically
investigation management involves three elements: 1. Have a plan for organizing the investigation. Let everyone know what it is. 2. Know what the final product (report) is going to look like. Let everyone know the format. 3. Monitor progress. Let everyone know what is going on.