SYD TRAINS Flashcards
Explain a time you had to deal with a difficult customer?
What did you do to solve the issue?
Delayed flight landing into JFK
we landed prior to TS hitting
However by the time we made it to the terminal the TS was over the airport
The gate area was shutdown due to possible lightning strikes for the safety of the ground crew
We needed to stop short of the terminal, and advise the passengers of the delay
I was sent out to the cabin to explain face to face to passengers the reasons for our delay. Some were frustrated and angry but most understood the safety implications with the main desire for people requesting to use their mobile phones which I arranged to be allowed
What positive changes have you made on your previous role? And how have they impacted your team?
Recently in March in the developing COVID situation on the bus trip from the hotel to the airport we were with our cabin crew. Some were based in London and some in Sydney.
The Capt mentioned the COVID restrictions that Australia based crew were subject to and made a flippant remark that ‘the London crew we don’t really care about you’.
During the flight the CSS 2ic came and spoke to myself and the other pilot. Expressing the crews anger about the comment and that this Capt has apparently put some London crew off in the past.
Approx one hour later when the Capt came back from his break. I was alone and the only one flying with him. The other two pilots were undertaking their crew rest. I mentioned to the Capt that his remarks weren’t taken very well and that perhaps an apology was in order.
To his credit He advised the CSM that we would have a meeting at the end of the flight. With 22 cabin crew on the A380 it was probably the best way. He apologised unreservedly and that it was meant as a joke and did not mean to cause offence.
Explain a time you showed leadership skills
As an instructor you always strive to set a consistent high standard when flying to show your students what is expected of them can be achieved.
Leadership for me is leading by example. You can’t ask someone to do something if you can’t or won’t do it yourself
Tell us about a safety problem you have fixed?
As part of our preflight checks we conduct a walkaround of the aircraft to see if there are any obvious signs of damage
I noticed a baggage handler driving an unusual way.
He was attempting to drive his tractor with two trailers with two containers under the aircraft. The containers could possibly puncture the underside of the fuselage.
I told him to stop and reverse. Another baggage handler noticed this and sent him back to his depot without the containers.
Had the container impacted the underside it could have been minimal damage, or worse a delayed flight or even major damage meaning flight cancellation etc
How do you feel about the future of syd trains?
I feel the future for syd trains is excellent. The poor road infrastructure will lead to more people using public transport.
Adding 41 new waratah trains to the end of this year
More crew
Updating technology
Integrated syd metro into the network
Potential doubling customer journeys 2 million each weekday by 2026
Freight increase 22 per cent by 2031
Why do you want to work for Sydney trains?
I’ve enjoyed my aviation background.
The security of tenure for my working life is one of the main motivators for joining Sydney trains. I can still remain outside of an office and be an important cog in the transport industry machine
SAFETY PRIDE ACCOUNTABILITY COLLABORATION EXCELLENCE
Tell me about a time that you had to analyse more than one problem at a time
Flight with grandparents
One of my proudest accomplishments was taking my grandfather and grand mum on a flight from bankstown to Cessnock.
My grandfather was a navigator in WW2 and was always very keen on my aviation journey.
I did my aviation training at cessnock and flew to bankstown and picked them up and flew to cessnock for lunch. I then flew them back and returned to cessnock.
I hadn’t calculated the end of daylight correctly and was not night rated at the time. When I arrived back at cessnock I needed to decide whether to overfly and join the traffic pattern which was the prescribed procedure or make a straight in approach which at that time was not allowed. The straight in approach would allow me to land in daylight but the extra time to make the traffic pattern wouldn’t.
I chose the straight in app as the safest course action allowing a landing in daylight.
Tell me about a time you had to convince someone of an idea you had?
Departure out of HKG
Our refuelled came up to the flight deck to report a refuelling issue. He explained that for some reason the automatic system was putting all the fuel in one wing and not the other. He had stopped the automatic system and was trying to source an engineer to fix an apparent issue.
Using my knowledge from a previous diversion to Noumea and refuelling the aircraft myself I discussed with the other crew that what was happening was a normal procedure and that the automatic system would close the applicable valves and level out the distribution.
I convinced the Capt and also with the Chinese refueller to turn the auto sys back on and try and see what happened with the distribution.
This worked and allowed an on time dep
How do your values fit in with the values of Sydney trains?
The role of a train driver is very similar to a pilot and our skills are highly transferable.
Safety is always first. Working as part of a diverse team. Managing maintenance issues, schedule constraints, unplanned outages are all part of the day to day.
Safety always safety first
Pride pride in our role
Accountability own your actions
Collaboration listen to different perspectives and sharing ideas
Excellence strive for excellence always exceed requirements and strive to improve
Describe a time when you followed rules and procedures?
This has always been part of my aviation life.
From learning on small aircraft, and as they became larger there has always been a set way of doing things and no divergence is allowed.
When I went to Japan and learnt their way of operating their Boeing767 aircraft I happily fell into line and followed their procedures. Some of their ways were slightly different to Qantas but the outcome was the same. It was their company and as an employee of theirs was happy to do as I was told.
Emergency procedure wise it is very similar. We have memory items for some items which must be completed as soon as possible but otherwise some procedures which are not as urgent can be read and actioned from the QRH QUICK REF HANDBK
Describe a time when you solved a difficult problem?
HKG DEP FUEL ISSUE
Describe a time when you have been on a comprehensive training course?
AIR JAPAN TRAINING
last downturn I took LWOP from Qantas and worked for Air Japan which is a subsidiary of ANA.
This involved an intensive five month course in Japan away from my wife and two kids. The knowledge level required was very high and involved approx 40 simulator sessions. In Australia 10 simulators is normally enough to be proficient so the Japanese course was intense and their strandards very high.
The course was also not finished after five months we had a ten day break at home then line training for two months before becoming qualified.
Describe a time you handled an emergency situation
Grandparent situation
??
Rough running engine in circuit YPJT
Why do you want to become a train driver?
Explain aviation background.
It’s built on a safety first mindset.
I take pride in presenting a professional trust worthy character to passengers.
I enjoy being part of a team and learning from new perspectives.
I always believe that we can improve and every day is another opportunity to learn something.
Aviation and operating as a train driver are closely linked. I enjoy being part of a professional safety conscious company and look forward to learning the technical parts of the various trains and the operating procedures and EMERG procedures as part of that. I’m sure no day is exactly the same and I enjoy the challenge of that
What can you tell us about the role of a train driver?
Responsible for safety of the passengers
Care about what you do and making a difference
Make decisions autonomously in high pressure situations
Action orientated problem solver
Committed to continuous improvement and ongoing learning and development
Maintain route knowledge track speeds grades and curves
Situational awareness ie track work
Deal critical incidents and or EMERG situations
Customer service principles and one team app
What skills do you possess that you think will be an asset to our team?
Relate back to SPACE behaviours
SAFETY PRIDE ACCOUNTABILITY COLLABORATION EXCELLENCE
safety first
Pride in my ability and the desire to make no mistakes
Accountable for my actions
Collaborate across different groups, flight planners refuellers engineers other pilots cabin crew ATC
excellent we always try and do our job well but we can always improve and reach a higher standard. One of the reasons I love the transport sector and my sport of golf
Can you tell us about a situation when you have had to work under pressure
GA proc NRT
My first flight after training in Japan. It took the majority of my concentration to operate the aircraft proficiently. The Capt was in charge of the radios. There is two parallel runways at NRT and he had dialled in the wrong frequency. At a low height I queried if we had landing clearance and the mistake was discovered. I executed a GA and the capt had lost some SA and disappointment in his mistake and needed directing in to what to set up etc to assist the next approach.
At some stage in the next few days our safety capt approached me about the incident. We discussed what had happened and just advised that I should be checking each freq in the future.
As I became more proficient I was able to focus on more and more tasks and include this as part of my normal process
Do you have any questions for us?
If I am successful when do you envisage me starting?
How many train drivers are you recruiting?
When will I find out if I advance to the next stage?
How many classes are scheduled for next year?
Do you still use the merit list?
What would be your first priority if you were successful in this role?
I’ve read on some forums that there are some flash card apps that have information for learning signals etc
I’ve seen some station charts I’ll start to learn what each symbol means etc
Tell me about a time you have worked as part of a team to reach target/ goal
Fuel valve delay FAOR
On arrival at the aircraft the engineer had discovered a large fuel leak and the source could not be located.
We had started boarding at this stage.
What initially seemed to be a minor issue did not become easy to solve. We disembarked the passengers and let them back in the terminal and lounges. The four pilots and some cabin crew made regular appearances discussing the issue of a fuel leak with passengers and most were understanding.
The situation became more and more difficult as the delay prolonged. We were given optimistic times for it to be fixed, then an engine run was to be completed but the engineers licence had expired which meant the captain needed to do it. Eventually as it approached a five hour delay we started to run into curfew issues with Sydney if we did leave at a certain time even with speeding up we wouldn’t get the Sydney by 2300.
We left just on time and completed the engine run with passengers onboard. With confirmation of no fuel leak after start we departed. The crew had all worked well keeping the pax informed.
What motivates you at work
The quest for perfection.
Part of operating an aircraft is that there is no perfect flight. You are always working to perform to standard and exceed that.
My favourite sport at the moment is golf. It’s very similar in that no matter how much you practice and improve that during a competition you must focus and do your best to execute what you want
Relate back to SPACE behaviours
What achievements are you particularly proud of?
Grandparent flight
Being a parent to 3 kids
Describe a time when effective time management skills were the key to success
DELAYED SFO FLT
We were waiting on our aircraft which was late arriving into Sydney from Johannesburg.
We had curfew issues and then weather issues.
To use the northerly runway for departure you must be taxiing before curfew to allow the departure over the city. As a crew we discussed to board the aircraft faster and with PAs encouraging the pax to be seated quickly if they wanted us to depart. We taxied at the correct time but then a TS was directly at the end of the runway we were to fly over.
As we lined up for departure we required two mins on the runway for the cell to clear. Safety would not be compromised for curfew. We had five mins to go. Luckily the cell cleared and we could depart on time for an uneventful rest of the flight
Tell me when you had to manage or resolve a conflict between two or more co workers
LHR CABIN CREW COVID
Tell me about a disagreement between you and your manager/ supervisor
Senior mgmt capt EBA discussion
Also early on flying with much older captains. Who did not treats SOs as well due to their seniority in rank. This is due to the age and generational gap.
I always ensured i carried out my role aligned with SOPs. I will still communicate any safety related info.
In cruise in a reduced workload environment I will try and find some common topic to discuss.
Describe a situation in which the cause of the problem was not initially clear
Maybe use JNB example
When have you needed to solve a problem using abstract/ lateral thinking?
FOG decision NWWW
For flights we have a position between two airports where if the weather is not sufficient we must divert to the most suitable.
Flight from DFW BNE. At that time Gold Coast was not an approved airport except in an emergency. The DPA DECISION PT AEO was between BNE NWWW.
Fog was forecast at BNE. The weather was ok at Gold Coast but couldn’t be used. Our Qantas met section said it was ok at BNE and to continue they also had a report from the tower that it was ok. If there was fog at Brisbane we would have been on fuel reserves and had to declare an emergency.
The crew discussed that legally we needed to divert to NWWW and refuel despite the pressure from the company.
Fog eventuates at Brisbane for approx five hours. By the time we refuel and land it clears.
How do you make a decision?
For many years now I’ve used the acronym GRADE
GATHER
REVIEW
ANALYSE
DECIDE
EVALUATE
The time given to the above will depend on the nature of the decision. For example an emergency scenario we have memory items which move straight to the decide scenario.
However, a minor incident will allow time for all crew members to have their say and the pros and cons can be weighed.
