ECAST – EASA
MEETING SUMMARY – UKFSC CE
·
Agenda
·
The
Chairman welcomed the attendees, approved the agenda and the Minutes from the
last meeting and reviewed the action list.
Item 4 -
SMS WORKING GROUP OUTPUT
·
A brief from the EASA SMS Rule maker
-
NPA
Activity on EASA SMS Rulemaking is as follows:
o
Rules
will specify the necessary Authority requirements, Organisation requirements
and Technical requirements.
o
NPA
on SMS has now been issued for comment by March 2009
o
The
final EU approved Rules will be issued in mid 2010
-
For
SMS Rule Compliance, an organisation manual will be needed which details the
organisation and responsibilities of management. Its content will be related to
the size of the company to which it applies and the activity in which the
company is engaged.
-
Each
organisation will nominate an accountable manager- normally the CEO but another
individual may be nominated where a CEO does not exist
-
Each
organisation will have training manager
-
Each
organisation will have the necessary qualified and experienced staff for planned tasks and activities
-
For
an SMS to be
o
Adapted
to the size and tasks of the company to which it applies
o
Based
on ICAO
o
It
will state safety policy, safety risk, safety assurance, organisation and
accountability for safety, safety training and communication arrangements
-
The
safety manager will drive the SMS and the safety plan behind it – but the
ultimate responsibility will remain with the accountable manager
-
To
comply with SMS, the org must look carefully at integrating quality and safety
management together – and also take into account other SMS’ in use by customers
and contractors
-
Conclusion
o
To
ensure safety – companies will need to comply with the prescriptive rules
o
It
should build upon any current QMS experience
o
Integration
is the key
SMS Work
Packages
o
WP1- Review of Current SMS Material, Initiatives
and Culture
o
WP1
intention was to produce:
-
SMS
guidance that is flexible/adaptable/regulator friendly
-
Advice
aimed at being aviation specific and practical
-
Takes
into account current best practice in ATM and airline ops
-
Defines
a practical framework
- The information is made
readily available: is already lodged on Skybrary
-
Aim
was to align the output with the ICAO guidance
Safety Culture
-
Key
to an effective SMS is the development of a positive safety culture
-
WP1
undertook to identify the characteristics of a good safety culture
o
To
assist orgs in achieving an effective SMS
o
Not
a rule, nor an
o
Not
necessarily applicable for every organisation – several already one!
-
Why
have an effective safety culture in the first place?
o
Save
money
o
Provide
a common language for all levels in an organisation
o
Establish
a reference dataset
o
Expedite
the wider introduction of safety culture
-
What
are the Obstacles?
o
Culture
tends to be based on Belief rather than physics and logic
o
Some
already have their own
o
It
is a gimmick! - Build on existing work- at least 17 frameworks already exist
-
Approach
taken towards establishing the correct safety culture:
o
It
needs to high level but flexible to match a variety of organisations
o
Must
contain sufficient detail to allow a deep understanding
-
Culture
Slogans can be useful – but
o
Safety
culture descriptors are insufficient
o
Need
to be precise and not fuzzy!
o
The
final definition by the WP1 Culture Group is :
A set of enduring values and attitudes to safety that is shared
across every member at every level in an organisation
-
Safety
culture framework consists of 6 components which are definable and measurable
-
Culture
maturity level scale is available by which an organisation’ culture can be
assessed
-
It
is important that the measurement of a culture’s effectiveness is known and
understood across the entire organisation – and you have to take into account
the person you are asking to make the
judgement
-
A
practical application of SMS is essential if you are to achieve buy-in right
across the organisation
o
WP2 – Organisational Structures
o
The
WP 2 aims were to :
- Seek best practice on
structures by examining a variety of current organisational frameworks, both
large and small. Conclusions were:
o
Many
companies had separate Safety Depts which were independent of the operational
delivery
o
There
was evidence of a lack of communication between Safety Dept and the accountable
manager
o
A
lack of effective risk management arrangements was also noted
- Six Golden Rules for
effective organisations have been identified which align with the EASA Rules
and
§
Full
accountability is established at the top of the organisation
§
Independent
safety support function is required with full authority from the top
§
Individuals
within the safety support function should have respect and influence across the
organisation
§
Formal
communications is required from the top into the safety support function
§
Actions
necessary to support SMS must be communicated and managed throughout the
organisation
§
Safety
accountabilities and responsibilities must be formally documented and understood
by the incumbents
WP3 – Hazard
Identification
o
The
aims of the WP3 Team were to produce:
- Simple, concise and useful material and
references
- A
document on Hazard Identification which:
o
Provided
clear definitions of hazard and risk
o
Provided
practical methodologies for Hazard Identification
o
Identified
data driven methodologies for hazard identification - FM, audits, surveys,
reports, simulations
o
Qualitative
Methodologies - several tools have been suggested to address this requirement –
select the one most suited to your particular company size and tasks
WP4 – Risk
Assessment
o
The
WP4 output is based on the Aviation Risk Management System Methodology – which
is underway through an Airbus group. The ARMS group aim is to produce an
operational effective approach to risk assessment
o
Why
do CEO/accountable managers need to understand the risk they are carrying?
o
Risk
to their business
o
Risk
to their freedom
-
An
explanation of a company’s risk management
to provide the ‘court’ – has everything in our power been done to
address the risks!
o
Event
risk classification will be different for different orgs
o
Risk
assessment must then take into account the approach to risk an individual
company and its capability to manage it - this system does!
o
Risk
assessment has been around for years – this gives a framework to base it on
o
Regulators/Insurers/Judges
will wish to see a formal/recorded system
The Way Ahead
o
The
SMS WGs will reduce from 4 to 2 WP Groupings and continue to refine the SMS
output
o
The
ECAST Plenary endorsed the SMS output and sought wider distribution
o
The
output is not an EASA regulatory process, nor is it official guidance, but the
SMS output is practical tool set – seen as best practice – and its advice and
guidance will not be ignored by EASA in its deliberations on the NPA work on
SMS Rules and
o
The
SMS ECAST output will be presented to European aviation industry and publicised
more broadly later next year.
o
ECCAIRS
– there is an EASA conference in the summer to address the shortage of a European
database for safety reporting
Item 5 – GROUND SAFETY (GS)
o
The
current
o
There
is no GH regulation or framework currently.
o
The
output from the GS WG is likely to be to develop best practice; it will be
neither
-
Expertise
support is sought from the floor and from the wider ECAST membership
-
The
draft GS TORs provide the guidance on the WG output
-
The
precise form of the output is to be decided by the GS WG.
-
The
target is an action plan to enhance GH safety overall
-
First
report for the March Meeting to indicate where the GS WG wishes to go.
Item 7 –
o
The
FAA briefed its approach to SMS implementation.
-
Since
the Jan 09 date will not be met, the FAA will file a difference with ICAO.
-
Total
package in place by 2012
-
FAA
support the SMS approach
-
Systems
integration is the key – all safety
systems combined and integrated
-
The
FAA will conduct extensive SMS rulemaking exchanges and collaboration with
other international aviation authorities followed by manufacturers in due
course
o
CAST
Update Briefing
-
Work
ongoing to address the TCAS RA issues which have been raised by several
airlines flying into the
-
A
new TCAS logic is being developed for issue
o
‘Adjust
vertical speed’ is to change to ‘level off - level off’
-
Data
fusion info being used to address Minimum vectoring altitude alerts going into
airports with high ground on the approach lanes
-
Gulf
Regional Safety Team is being developed for Aug 09.
Rich
Jones
Chief
Executive