Practice, Procedure, Policy, Technique, Philosophy: What really is "BEST?"

This is one of the basics. Knowing these relationships helps us understand how to do alot of other things correctly. Back to basics is always valuable.
I will challenge my readers to put them in a logical order:

Practice, Procedure, Policy, Technique, Philosophy: What is the right order?

Then read my letter below.

Dear All my Friends:

With respect to the term "best practices," I would like to make a comment. What we are really fostering here is better labeled "Best Procedures." To clarify, procedures are documents, they are published, they are written down and promulgated by an authoritative source such as a company or a regulatory agency, they are dated, they are signed, they can be and almost always are formally modified, updated and changed through a formal process.

As safety advocates for Flight Safety Foundation (FSF), it is my opinion that we should be fostering Best Procedures.

The term practice most often denotes the work of an instructor in teaching students how to carry out a procedure, which the practitioner then uses as a tool for conducting the Standard Operating Procedures correctly, consistently and safely.

The follow-on term is technique. Technique is the individual styles that operators and practitioners employ to make the practice smooth, tailored to the operation and refined.

Best Procedures is what we, I believe, should be advocating. Leave the techniques and practices to the individuals who are the technicians and practitioners.

As FSF, should we not be about influencing commercial companies and regulatory agencies to set up new authoritative written and published formal methods of operating? Is not our real customer, if you will, is not our real customer each company and regulatory agency? Are not these the parties that we are really trying to address and influence?

Can we expect to address all commercial pilots (70,000 just in the US) with a suggestion on how to adjust their practices? Remember that PRACTICES ARE NOT WRITTEN DOWN. But Procedures are. So this is the difference.

And the use of the word protocol is even more problematic, because we really do not know the authority of the protocol writer?

I would encourage us and the rest of the commercial airline industry to consider using the term BEST PROCEDURES from now on and leave the practices to the practitioners.

The right order is: The ordered ideas of our own innovations become our philosophy. Our leadership transforms our philosophy into our policy. Our need for standardized action transforms policy into procedures. Operational reality creates practicality for our actions and our human factors translates practice into individual techniques.

So for my readers the correct order is: philosophy, policy, procedures, practice and technique. Any or all of them may be fostered as "best." That is the right of global free speech.

But in fostering Safety, it is my recommendation that we use the taxonomy BEST PROCEDURES. This denotes standardization, authority and actions based on research, science and accountability. The excellent safety records of organizations that adhere to this order may give you motive to agree.

Best regards, Paul Miller