Jóhann Wium

Contribute to the design, development and evaluation of ICAO’s aviation psychological and mental health Standards, Recommended Practices and guidance material and enhance awareness and training related to psychological wellbeing and mental health in aviation.

Notable accomplishments

• Managed and organised the work of ICAO's Mental Health Working Group (MHWG), a multi-national expert group with a geographical representation of ICAO member states, aviation industry representatives and medical specialists.
• Collated and developed the Aviation Mental Health Terminology with over 250 terms identified, investigated and defined. The Aviation Mental Health Terminology will form part of the proposed Manual for Promoting Well-being in Aviation. 
• Investigated the current state of peer support in aviation, determined common and possible best practices and created a document that can form basis for further work. Representatives from 25 peer support providers were interviewed (peer support providers are organisational entities that run one or more peer support programs), that provide services to over 250 aviation organisations and employing over 350.000 aviation personnel. 
• Represented ICAO's Aviation Medicine section on occasions, such as at the International Conference of Aerospace Medicine (ICAM), the International Pilot Peer Assist Coalition (IPPAC), the European CISM Conference, the International Aerospace Neuroscience Consortium (IANC) and more.   

Applied principles of psychology to HR and operational problems within an aviation setting. Oversaw psychological testing of applicants, employee surveys, psychosocial risk assessments, employee wellbeing initiatives and more. 

Notable accomplishments

• Oversaw student ATCO selection for both Iceland and Greenland from 2014 and onwards. This has included a complete overhaul of ATCO student selection when Iceland's ATC collegiate approach was terminated, development of modular assessment centers in line with recent research, the creation of a novel task-based stress resistance measure, introduction of game-based assessments, specific analysis of applicant risk seeking/avoidant behaviors and much more.  
• Worked as part of Isavia’s talent acquisition team. This included administering and interpreting psychological tests for applicants, interviewing candidates, designing and running both assessment centers for bulk hires and work sample exercises. 
• Project manager for the implementation of Just Culture policies and procedures pursuant to EU regulation 376/2014. This included revising methodologies for occurrence analysis, liaising with employee unions, designing interventions to increase employee trust in management and working with senior management on disciplinary action transparency. 
• Developed and delivered Crew/Team Resource Management and Human Factors training for air traffic controllers, flight data specialists, radio operators, aerodrome flight information services, airport security, fire & rescue and safety personnel.  
• Responsible for mental health and wellbeing initiatives, including a self-assessment burnout questionnaire with individually-tailored recommendations, organisational health check surveys, psychosocial risk assessments and more. 
• Operational support for air navigation, aerodrome, airport security and meteorological services. Included assistance in occurrence investigation, human error analysis, MET user surveys, flight information quality assessments, and creating stress and critical incident stress management guidelines for employees and managers.

One of two experts asked by the Icelandic airline pilot union to act as a mental health practitioner for their peer support system for Iceland’s largest airlines in accordance with EU regulation 2018/1042. 

Delivered initial and continuous pilot peer training and provided support on unusually complex or difficult cases.

Part of a five person working group nominated by the European Association for Aviation Psychology to develop and publish recommended best practices in the selection of pilots, air traffic controllers, air crew and other aviation personnel. 

Directed and planned human resource and security functions for Isavia ANS, Iceland’s air navigation service provider. Oversaw employee contract negotiations, hirings, terminations and other HR functions.

Nominated post holder and responsible for Security toward ICETRA (Icelandic Transport Authority) and nominated security officer with regards to both EU and NATO. Responsible for physical and cyber security, security risk assessments and applications for security clearances. 

Notable accomplishments

• Project lead on the implementation of the Human Factors Requirements of EU regulation 2017/373 for air navigation service providers. This required creating new policies and procedures regarding use of psychoactive substances and alcohol/substance abuse as Iceland had no comparable regulatory requirement. Among my tasks was developing procedures for screening employees, developing management response protocols if employees tested positive, designing employee appeal processes, mapping available treatment options and more. This project required considerable discussions with ICETRA, aeromedical examiners, employee unions and senior management utilizing published research on drug testing, industry practices, ICAO's Document 9654 and more. 
• Appointed as Covid-19 crisis coordinator. Was part of a small team of managers and specialists who oversaw crisis coordination for Isavia and all subsidiaries in Iceland and Greenland. The team developed intra-company Covid responses, created mental health support initiatives, communicated with employees on recent developments of the pandemic and worked with national authorities on restrictions on air travel and arrival quarantines. In March of 2021, the team also coordinated response during the eruption of Fagradalsfjall that was within 20 km of Iceland's largest international airport. This created several logistical problems that needed to be solved while simultaneously adhering to Covid-19 restrictions and limitations. 
• Project lead on the implementation of stress and fatigue management for air navigation services in both Iceland and Greenland. This included developing resilience training for operational personnel with optional resilience development tests, guidelines for critical stress management, guidelines for supervisor identification of personnel compromised by acute stress, employee point-of-contact method for stress reporting and more.