A computer failure in New York’s JFK airport led to huge luggage delays, five cancelled flights and two days of headaches. Airline foul-ups aren’t news, but the words from a company official quoted by Ireland Online are downright frustrating: “She could not estimate when the system will be working again or how many passengers have been affected.”

No piece of news is more despised than one which contains no information. American Airlines just expressed two areas of ignorance—when the system would be working again and how many people were inconvenienced. They might have well have announced they were unsure who would win the Superbowl this year and how many fans would tune in to watch the game.

Crisis management is almost entirely public relations, but crisis prevention is business planning. Like all organizations, airlines must have corporate procedures and processes in place that not only enable the company to run smoothly during normal operations, but adjust as much as possible to extreme situations. Workflow analysis, process design and productivity measurement are all aspects of methodology engineering. Reach out to Slaughter Development to review and renew your workplace procedures, and reduce the risk that a crisis will catch you unaware.

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