Contact Dr Fabian Steinmann

Areas of expertise

  • Air Transport Safety & Investigation
  • Aviation Management & Operations
  • Safety, Resilience, Risk & Reliability
  • Systems Engineering

Background

Fabian holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Stuttgart (Germany), and completed his PhD in Air Transportation Resilience at the Safety and Accident Investigation Centre of Â鶹´«Ã½AV.

His PhD research investigated how the concept of resilience applies to the UK air transportation industry and the work was supported by his two supervisors Professor Graham Braithwaite and Professor Colin Pilbeam. Fabian's thesis provided empirical evidence of where and how features of resilience are already being used in the operation. Based on the empirical findings, he developed a novel framework that includes proactive and reactive elements of resilience.

Current activities

Fabian is a Lecturer in Organizational Resilience and Change at the Cranfield School of Management. The focus of Fabian's research is on organizational and network resilience. In 2022, Fabian completed a five-month research exchange at the Global Resilience Institute in Boston (USA). His time in America allowed him to learn more about the US aviation system, compare his research findings against a different system, and collaborate with other researchers on resilience.

Fabian regularly attends the meetings of the UK Industry Resilience Group (IRG) and the Operations Director Liaison Group (ODLG). The IRG and ODLG are collaborations between airlines, airports, air traffic control and the regulator in the UK. With the aviation industry's interest in resilience increasing, Fabian's research area proved to be topical and also applicable to many disciplines and sectors. Industry stakeholder engagement is vital for Fabian's research and he completed projects in the aviation and maritime industry.

Together with Professor Braithwaite and the Boeing Global Learning Institute, Fabian also co-designed a one-week course for airline executives. The course outlines principles for strengthening organizational performance and resilience. In addition, Fabian created various lectures on resilience for MSc and MBA courses. He was also invited to speak at the 2020 Pilot Expo, the 2021 and 2022 ATRS World Conference, and the 2022 IAPH World Ports Conference and share his thoughts on resilience.