Department of Research and Development, Zurich State Police, Zurich, Switzerland.
Department of Management, Technology and Economics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Hum Factors. 2024 Apr;66(4):1302-1314. doi: 10.1177/00187208221121411. Epub 2022 Sep 4.
This study aimed to analyze effective teamwork at security checkpoints by investigating how security crews communicate in different (routine and threat) situations.
Working at an airport security screening checkpoint is challenging. Although tasks and processes are highly regulated and standardized due to legal requirements, security screeners must be trained to deal with unforeseen threat situations involving high levels of uncertainty. Therefore, security crews need to engage in flexible and adaptive coordination according to the situation and circumstances.
We conducted a field study with 20 airport security screening crews comprising 100 security screeners. Teamwork in terms of interaction between crew members was measured, differentiating between proactive "push" communication and information on request representing "pull" communication. Furthermore, non-task related communication was assessed.
While crews showed non-task related communication more in routine situations, both task-related "push" and "pull" communication occurred more in threat situations. In terms of team performance, we could show significant positive effects of proactive "push" communication and non-task related interaction in threat situations.
Our results underscore the specific setting of airport security screening and the challenges that arise for teamwork. This study investigates professional screeners and passengers in the field. In contrast to other high-risk areas, security crews are confronted with a third party that complicates coordination strategies considered effective in previous studies.
Our findings recommend situation-specific communication strategies for practical training for airport security screening crews.
本研究旨在通过调查安全检查点的安全人员在不同（常规和威胁）情况下的沟通方式，分析有效的团队合作。
在机场安检点工作具有挑战性。尽管由于法律要求，工作任务和流程受到高度监管和标准化，但安全人员必须接受培训，以应对涉及高度不确定性的意外威胁情况。因此，安全人员需要根据情况和环境进行灵活和适应性的协调。
我们对 20 个机场安检小组进行了一项现场研究，其中包括 100 名安检人员。我们测量了团队成员之间的互动，区分了主动的“推动”沟通和代表“拉取”沟通的请求信息。此外，还评估了非任务相关的沟通。
虽然在常规情况下，机组人员的非任务相关沟通较多，但在威胁情况下，任务相关的“推动”和“拉取”沟通都更多。在团队绩效方面，我们可以显示出在威胁情况下主动“推动”沟通和非任务相关互动的显著积极影响。
我们的结果强调了机场安检的特定环境以及对团队合作的挑战。本研究在现场调查了专业安检人员和乘客。与其他高风险领域不同，安全人员面临着第三方，这使得在以前的研究中被认为有效的协调策略变得复杂。
我们的研究结果为机场安检人员的实际培训推荐了具体情况的沟通策略。
