I REFER to last Friday's article, 'Don't assume, or you'll make an ass of everyone'.

While Mr Goh Chin Lian's discourse on possible underlying causes behind the 'official reasons' for the immigration slip-up at Changi Airport on June 23 is commendable and thought-provoking, he probably overlooked another crucial aspect of the issue.

Changi Airport has been famed for its efficiency and traveller-friendly system and environment. I do not know if efficiency targets are set for the security process undertaken by security guards and immigration staff.

If there are such targets, could this have, in some way, compromised the comprehensiveness of the security checks? As Mr Goh aptly pointed out, security work demands maximum alertness. How could an average person constantly maintain maximum alertness if he is under time pressure? It is a zero-sum game. All other things being equal, to gain speed of checks, the substance of checks is inevitably compromised, and vice versa.

I am not suggesting this is a defensible reason for security slip-ups. Certainly not. But when we scrutinise and comment on what security ought not to be, it is useful to step back and look at the other side of the equation.

Rather than pin hopes on repeated reminders, it is more crucial to think through how we can help those in security work to focus and maximise their alertness. Removing time pressure could be one way. Reducing fatigue by putting more people on the job could be another.

Lastly, we should accept that human error exists, no matter how hard we try to eradicate it.

This episode at the airport should be examined in this light. A distinction needs to be made on whether this is a discrete human error or a system failure. The occurrence of similar incidents once every two years is not too much of a comfort. Nonetheless, it at least indicates that this failure may not be systemic.

Wilfred Lin