At the upcoming Air Charter Safety Foundation Symposium, I will be addressing the need for an enhanced set of professionalism standards to “empower accountability” at the level of each individual in our ever more connected industry. I would like to offer the following analysis to set the stage for that discussion.

A few months ago, a federal grand jury charged six former executives and supervisors at an FAA-approved aircraft repair station in California with using bogus parts and unapproved procedures in repairing and certifying aircraft parts for service. U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner said the indictment alleges that the defendants knowingly cut corners in repairing aircraft parts and concealed the fact that they were not complying with FAA regulations. This gross breach of ethical conduct was the central topic of discussion with many of my colleagues in the aftermath of the announcement, with nearly all expressing various degrees of shock at the scope and magnitude of the indictment, which included allegations that the defendants “regularly directed technicians to use unapproved parts in repairs,” and on one occasion “allegedly used a paperclip instead of an approved part to complete a repair and then returned that part to the customer after certifying the repair had been done properly,” according to Lauren Horwood from the U.S. Department of Justice.”

Such egregious breaches of professionalism are uncommon, but in order to fully comprehend why this event is important the vast majority in our industry who try to do it right day in and day out, we have to ask ourselves three important questions. The first is, “When and how did this ugly scenario begin?”  I sincerely doubt that one morning the boss came in and announced to everyone, “OK lads, throw out the regulations and stock up on paperclips, we are about to make some real money here by operating outside the lines.” It is far more likely that it began with a single instance of profitable noncompliance that spread like a cancer from employee to employee, resulting in a culture that was not only noncompliant, but allegedly criminally so. The second question follows naturally from the first, “Why did no one at the company stop the crazy train from gaining steam?” The culture specialists will likely tell us that over time, the normalization of deviance became rationalized, and the path of least resistance and greatest profit became too difficult to get off.

The third question is perhaps the most important. “What if we asked the same questions in our own settings?” How shocked would we be to hear that our aircrews or line maintenance were becoming a bit sloppy with the paperwork or “knowingly cutting corners and concealing the fact that they were not fully complying with regulations?” Topics like crew rest, required briefings, weather/fuel minimums, backdating of service and training requirements and hazard reporting immediately come to mind. Maintaining an aircraft with bogus parts is shocking, but flying with less than perfect compliance with operational procedures seems to some to be accepted practice in an organizational or personal setting where the risk of getting caught is minimal and the temptation to deviate to get the job done is often large.

Herb Brown, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Sacramento Office said in a statement about the bogus repair indictment that “it is appalling that these defendants would put financial gain and reward ahead of the safety and well-being of the many people who could have fallen in harm’s way as a result …” Once again, when applied to the bogus repairs event this made perfect sense, but when I recalled an interview with a Chief Pilot from a large flight department for my recent book project, I had to wonder again if we were applying very different standards of ethics to aircraft operations. He told me in no uncertain terms that “this is a competitive business, and if I followed every rule in the book I would be out of business in a hurry.” I wonder how this Chief Pilot would feel if he knew his aircraft were being repaired and maintained under this business philosophy?

Empowered Accountability

So what steps can we take to restore the integrity of our operational guidance and compliance? First, we must stopping using blunt instruments on a complex safety issue. Telling someone to “do the right thing” is insufficient and perhaps misleading in some cultures or organizations (where getting the job done may trump safety on occasion). Defining and committing to higher defined standard of professionalism and teaching the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of empowered accountability seems like a reasonable starting point. Towards that end, I offer this call to personal action. The Aviation Professionalism Pledge was designed to highlight the first three elements of a full set of professional ethics standards – competence, compliance, and mutual trust between professional peers.

Aviation Professionalism Pledge

I am an aviation professional and operate within a system that is — as the famous poster says — “terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity or neglect.” I believe our profession is, and should remain, essentially self-regulating, standing upon the three pillars of competence, compliance, and mutual trust between professional peers. Those who do not meet these standards damage the profession as a whole. Therefore, I pledge to remain vigilant, not only of my own performance, but also for identifying, reporting, and if possible, correcting all threats to the safety and integrity of my proud, chosen profession.

To sign the electronic pledge and download a color copy suitable for framing as a daily reminder to you and your organization, visit our professionalism pledge page at the following link.  http://www.convergentperformance.com/Pledge.html. Join those of us who have already made the commitment.

I look forward to furthering our discussion at the upcoming ACSF Symposium.

Visit or return to ACSF site: www.acsf.aero

Presentation highlights from the Symposium included:

         A Safety Management System (SMS) update from Dr. Don Arendt, SMS program manager for the FAA, who noted the need for top management to stimulate a healthy safety environment, build trust and gain knowledge through a company-wide SMS program. Dr. Arendt discussed the FAA SMS Pilot Project, which currently has 60 Part 135, 43 Part 121, 4 Part 141, and 10 Part 145 participants.

Presentations from the symposium are available to the public on the ACSF’s Web site at www.acsf.aero.

Next year’s Air Charter Safety Symposium will be held on March 13^th and 14^th, 2012.

“We are pleased that the FAA has acknowledged that our audit standard can be used to validate a company’s SMS,” said ACSF Chairman Jim Christiansen.

The ACSF Industry Audit Standard (IAS) comprehensively evaluates both an air charter operator’s or shared aircraft ownership company’s SMS and its FAA regulatory compliance. The IAS consists of a rigorous review of an operator’s processes and procedures, and regulatory compliance, as well as the business’ implementation of, and adherence to, an SMS.

“We designed the ACSF audit program to be a single, comprehensive standard for the charter and shared aircraft ownership industry,” added Christiansen. “Our listing in the advisory circular is further acknowledgement of our program’s credibility.”

In 2009, 24 audits were completed and another 32 audits will be completed in 2010. The Foundation will soon be announcing a series of new operators that have successfully completed their audits and made the ACSF IAS registry.

With the ACSF IAS, the charter consumer can be assured that audited and registered operators are compliant with the highest standards of safety and compliance. Customers should look for the ACSF IAS-registered logo and encourage their preferred charter provider to participate in the program.

ACSF makes its operator registry and key company details available at no charge so verification of IAS registration is quick and easy. Charter consumers can view the registry at www.acsf.aero/registry.

By Bryan Burns

You may say: “I have never had an accident within my operation, so I must be safe.” Is that really true; does never having an accident mean you are safe? You may just be lucky; or maybe the holes in your cheese have not lined up as yet. Having an SMS program within your operation will improve safety throughout your organization. It fosters a safety culture within the company that allows every employee in every department to contribute and be involved in assessing day-to-day activities, identifying hazards, mitigating risks, and enhancing the quality of operations to promote safety in the organization.

So, instead of waiting for a major event to occur before you start thinking about improving safety in your operation, learn about SMS and start implementing it within your organization today. For more information and resources on SMS, visit www.acsf.aero/sms.

So, the lingering question is Who’s educating the customers on the different types of audit programs available? Is it the audit companies or the charter operators? One would think it wise that operators would be educating their customers on the best audit program for their operation, as they have the experience of going through the audit and know the details of each audit program. But it seems as though operators are allowing customers to dictate the type of audit that is done to evaluate the safety operations, regulatory compliance and best practices of the operator.

Should this critical decision be driven by customers and the little they have heard and/or read in advertisements from audit companies sporting their fame? Don’t get me wrong, audit companies supplying these programs should educate the flying public on the details of their audits. But as an operator having gone through the myriad of audit programs, you know which one does the best job in thoroughly evaluating your operation. You know if your operation needs to be audited by company A and B or only by company C.

So, have you succumbed to choosing a mediocre audit based on requests from your customers, or have you done your job to educate your customers on the best audit program for your operation?

Visit or return to ACSF site: www.acsf.aero

You would think that when hiring someone employers would make professionalism a priority during the interview process. Knowing who someone is as a person is as vital as knowing flight hours and experience. But how can you tell just how professional an employee will be upon hire?

You might say it’s by trial and error or that your screening and selection methods were good enough to weed out the non-professionals. But even if your employee turns out not to have this trait, it’s one that you as an employer can help him or her develop with the right company culture, structure, and training.

It will be interesting to see what comes out of the NTSB three-day forum that will focus on the screening, selection and training of pilots and controllers and methods to reinforce professionalism and excellence.

You can view more information on the forum at http://www.ntsb.gov/events/symp-professionalism-aviation/symp-professionalism-aviation.htm. For those who can’t attend in person, the entire event is planned to be available live over the Internet via the NTSB’s Webcast service. Visit http://www.ntsb.gov/events/symposia.htm on the day of the event to launch the Webcast.

Return or visit ACSF site: www.acsf.aero

The first article titled “ACSF Audit Lessons Learned” highlights the rigorous process Part 135 operators must complete before being added to the Industry Audit Standard Operator Registry.  The article spells out how important preparation is for the operator as well as some pitfalls operators encounter during the audit process.  To view the “ACSF Audit Lessons Learned” article, please click here.

The second article titled “Industry Audit Standards:  Fact or Fiction?” discusses many of the misconceptions about audits for the Part 135 community.  Written by ACSF Chairman Charlie Priester, the article provides a point-by-point analysis of how the ACSF Industry Audit Standard stacks up against other audits in the industry.  To view the “Industry Audit Standards:  Fact or Fiction” article, please click here.

To learn more about the ACSF Industry Audit Standard, please visit www.acsf.aero/audit.

The difference between the traditional approach to safety and the current safety management system (SMS) principles can be summed up in the last two letters in SMS; the operative words being Management System.  Under the SMS concept, safety:

• Is integrated within the normal management of an organization and is not viewed as being separate and expendable;
• Flows down from top management into line management and all employees;
• Makes safety achievement a line management achievement that is reportable and accountable to the top level of management; and
• Makes best use of company resources through coordinated risk assessment and management efforts across all departments, otherwise known as “silo busting.”

The above activities can only be accomplished through policies, practices and procedures that are documented, communicated and “lived” on a daily basis. This means that safety accountability is documented in everyone’s job description, especially managers. And everyone participates in assessing and managing risk, not just the safety guy or gal.

This process isn’t instantaneous. It must be developed over time and reflect your operating environment. The goal is to develop such a good proactive approach to managing risk that, if an event does occur, your first question will be: “How did we let this happen?”

Visit of return to ACSF Web site: www.acsf.aero

The sobering reality is that SMS isn’t just another manual for your library that becomes “shelf-ware,” to be put on exhibit whenever the FAA or aviation safety auditors drop by, but instead is an active program to comprehensively identify, review and manage risk throughout your organization.

Probably the most significant piece of an active SMS program is a positive safety culture or “way of doing business.” This isn’t something you get out of a manual. It’s a mind-set that must be constantly reinforced by telling employees that they are doing the right thing when it comes to safety. Everyone at every level of the organization must be involved. It can’t be the sole responsibility of the safety manager to worry about safety “24/7.”

At this point you might be thinking, “Get real, I don’t have time to develop an SMS program on my own.” If you do decide to buy a manual, be sure it comes with assistance to: (1) customize its contents to your way of doing business, and (2) implement its contents throughout your company. You’ll also need mentoring and guidance to keep you on the path as you develop an SMS program tailored to your operation. Find someone who will stick with you over the long haul.

An SMS program can’t be thrown together in 60-90 days. It takes a long-term commitment to put all the pieces in place and conduct periodic reviews to ensure it actually works, and hasn’t turned into shelf-ware.

To visit or return to www.acsf.aero.

For the better part of the last three years, the Part 135 community has worked diligently to take important steps to improve its safety record through enhanced audits, safety data reporting, Safety Management System implementation, risk assessment and many, many other important safety measures.  It is the very reason why the Air Charter Safety Foundation exists today, to raise the safety bar for the Part 135 industry.  I applaud every operator in the Part 135 community who has taken many of the steps listed above to improve safety within their operation.  The community rarely gets the credit it deserves, especially when folks like the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General discredit the industry with poorly researched and unsubstantiated reports such as the one it issued last July.  But now, this industry deserves recognition for its tireless efforts to improve safety.

Thanks to all Part 135 operators for their great work.  While there is never a time to rest on your laurels, especially when it comes to aviation safety, you all should be proud of this major accomplishment.

ERB

Visit the Air Charter Safety Foundation at www.acsf.aero