Amsterdam Airport Schiphol aims to continuously improve safety in all processes. The Schiphol joint sector Integral Safety Office identified residual risks in aircraft ground handling and ground transportations despite previous actions undertaken. Therefore, the need to truly understand these risks and the root causes behind them has arisen.

Intergo in collaboration with Hudson Global Consulting performed the following activities to answer the research question:

• Procedure & Practices questionnaire (Hearts & Minds);
• Meta-analysis of the Schiphol incident database (SOLACE);
• Sessions with workers (Incident & Driving for Excellence focus groups);
• Sessions with management (QMS & SMS gap analyses);
• Observations of all ground handling processes (Human Factors appraisal of critical sites);

This mixed-methods approach gave insight into the root causes behind behaviour on the stands and perimeter roads and the contributing organisational factors. This offers concrete directions to improvement in airside safety.