Safety Policy Creation with ChatGPT: Moving From Writer to Editor

Every written safety policy has the potential to be something great and something genuinely disappointing. I have worked at and with airports where the safety policy was the foundation of good decision-making. I touchstone that anchored logical and just decision making. Unfortunately, I have also seen them treated with absolute disdain, sometimes by the senior manager who signed it. And while artificial intelligence like ChatGPT isn’t going to fix that, it might reset the relationship between its words and the safety manager tasked with writing it.

Anything but Ideal

In a perfect world, a safety policy would be developed in a team environment. Engaged representatives from each airport stakeholder would gather together and ponder the nature of safety, risk, hazards and good communication. Spirited debate would carve out a form of words pleasing to the sensibilities of senior management, which would polish the final document into a monument worthy of hanging on the wall in every communal room at the airport.

Unfortunately, the real world tends to be a lonely safety manager on a deadline. They are scouring the internet, looking for good examples of safety policies. They may take any safety policy in an editable format if the deadline is tight.

ChatGPT as a Writer

Writing is ChatGPT’s prime directive. As discussed previously, the prediction part of ChatGPT’s model is guessing what the next word should be. So, if you ask it to write you a safety policy. You’ll get a pretty appealing piece of writing that isn’t dissimilar to many policies I have reviewed. Here is an example prompt and response:

Shifting into Editor Mode

The more engaging aspect of ChatGPT is the back-and-forth it can engage in. It can feel conversational, and I found that for the first month or so, I would always include a please and/or a thank you in my prompts. 

So, in this scenario, it is possible to get even better results out of ChatGPT by engaging with it like an Editor. In my initial response to its first attempt, I asked it to refer to the airport’s stakeholders differently and to include a paragraph on Just Culture. Its second attempt built on its first and got closer to something I thought would be good enough.

And Some Final Editing

However, I still think there comes a point when you need to transfer the response into a text editor to finish it off. Some of my editing prompts were complex, but I can be a perfectionist. So here is my final draft (for senior management review and endorsement, of course):

"The Brighton Airport Management Company is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for all passengers, airport workers, pilots and crew, and visitors. We are dedicated to maintaining the highest safety standards in all of our operations and constantly working to improve our safety management system.

We are committed to fostering a just culture that encourages the reporting of safety incidents and holds individuals accountable for their actions. However, it also recognises that human error is inevitable in the aviation industry. Therefore, we will take a risk-based approach to build a resilient operational environment.

We will ensure that airport facilities and airport-supplied equipment are maintained in safe working order. In addition, we will regularly review and update our safety policies and procedures to ensure that they are effective and meet the latest industry standards.

We will work closely with our partners, including airlines, tenants, and government agencies, to promote safety and security at Brighton Aerodrome. We expect our airport stakeholder organisations to establish similar policies, procedures and systems. They should support the airport's safety objectives with the same level of commitment displayed by the Brighton Airport Management Company.

All airport workers, including employees and contractors, are encouraged to report any hazards, unsafe conditions, incidents or practices they observe. All reports will be assessed promptly and addressed in line with the airport's risk management system. Feedback on safety reporting will be shared in regular safety communications.

All airport workers are responsible for adhering to established safety policies and procedures. In addition, their employer or contracting company is to ensure they receive proper safety and operational training before commencing unsupervised work at the airport.

Open communication is the key to a functioning airport safety management system. Therefore, we commit to regularly updating all airport workers on its safety performance and achieving its safety objectives."