Flight operations are ever more in need of advanced aviation Safety Management System (SMS) solutions to ensure a standardized approach to not just safety management, but to the entire range of critical organizational structures, accountabilities, and policies and procedures. As SMS technology and best practices continue to evolve and become more efficient, we have pinpointed four important SMS trends to keep up with.
Category: Safety and Risk Management
Why You Should Review and Update Your ERP
An Emergency Response Plan (ERP) is a mandatory component of a Safety Management System (SMS), which is required by international standards.
Here’s how to be sure your ERP is kept up to date:
- Keep contact information current
- Out-of-date contact information will cost you precious minutes in the early stages of a response
- Add new employees and remove former employees
- Review phone numbers and email addresses for accuracy
- Ensure corporate resource contact information is accurate (legal, benefits, media relations, etc.)
- Ensure contact information for contracted resources is accurate (e.g., emergency response partners, CAA regulatory contact, insurance company)
- Update the ERP with lessons learned from tabletop exercises (drills) and industry best practices
- Ensure your ERP includes the latest and greatest content suitable for your operation
- Revise procedures so they best fit the needs of your department
- For IS-BAO-registered operators, it is mandatory to incorporate lessons learned from ERP tabletop exercises
- Involve your entire department in the update process
- Review the plan to ensure everyone is aware of the ERP, comfortable with assigned roles, and trained in what to do in the event of an emergency
- Confirm role assignments are logical. Do not assign pilots to both the Primary and Backup positions for a specific role if they could both be on an aircraft involved in an emergency
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
Contact AviationManuals for ERP support: info@aviationmanuals.com or (240) 546 4030.
Does Your Team Know What To Do In An Emergency?
Could everyone on your team answer the following question: If an aircraft is overdue or unable to be reached after its scheduled arrival time, what is the first thing you do?
An Emergency Response Plan (ERP) is a vital document used to ensure proper actions are taken if the worst occurs. For operators of all sizes, it’s important to have processes documented not only for responding to the initial phone call and emergency, but also for ongoing considerations such as what to say to the media or press.
Here are 4 things to consider when developing your ERP:
1. It should be customized to the size and complexity of your operation
From the large corporation to the single pilot operator, an ERP should be tailored to match your needs. While large companies may need to concern themselves with interactions between internal departments (such as HR, Public Relations, and any established Business Continuity Plans), a single pilot operator may need to focus on logistics such as documenting where critical aircraft and personnel records are kept, as well as who should be notified on their behalf in the event of an emergency.
2. It should cover more than just an aircraft accident
When most people think of an “emergency” in aviation they think of an aircraft accident or incident. However, a good ERP should cover non-aircraft related emergencies that your operation could encounter as well. These could include medical emergencies, a hangar fire, or security-related incidents. Additionally, an ERP should have procedures to cover immediate and post incident responses, as well as long-term processes to return to normal operations after the emergency has passed or subsided.
3. It should be objective oriented
The ultimate goal of any ERP is to take care of your people and protect your brand in a critical situation. When developing your ERP, you should keep it focused on basic objectives to support that goal, such as assisting crew and families with travel, communicating effectively internally and externally, and supporting investigations or other regulatory requirements. As you think through the steps of your plan, be sure to ask yourself, “How can I best support our objectives?” and “Does this activity support the objectives?”
4. It should be built so anyone can handle the initial phone call and begin the response process without prior training
It is recommended to train your personnel on the ERP, which could include periodic practice drills and table-top exercises or, if possible, appointing individuals with ERP responsibilities. However, your plan should be clear enough that, if needed, anyone in your organization can pick up the manual and be able to initiate and execute a response. The manual layout should be clear and procedures should be formulaic with easy to follow steps. Language should be as non-technical as possible so non-aviation personnel can easily follow the procedures.
While we always want to hope for the best, it’s important to have a solid and comprehensive plan in the event something unfortunate does happen. This way you can rest assured your entire organization has the tools necessary to respond to anything that may occur.
Lithium Batteries Onboard? 5 Ways to Manage the Potential Risk of Cabin Fires
As recent news stories have shown us, the desire for smaller and more powerful devices has led to an increased threat of Personal Electronic Devices (PEDs) combusting as manufacturers try to meet user demands.
The FAA has already banned the Samsung Note 7 from all commercial flights, but what about your flight department? At the moment, the FAA has not banned these devices on private or commercial/charter flights, so it’s up to you to set your own policies and to make sure your passengers are aware of them.
Here are five ways to mitigate the risk on your own aircraft:
1. Complete a Safety Risk Assessment (SRA)
We recommend that everyone familiarize themselves with SRAs; FAA SAFO 16001 contains a helpful list of things operators should consider. An SRA may vary with different aircraft depending on how they are equipped (e.g., fire fighting equipment) and the type of flights generally taken (e.g., long extended overwater operations vs. terminal/domestic operations). Completing an SRA will allow you to gain valuable information by taking stock of where you should be focusing, as well as inviting participation from everyone in the operation on mitigating this serious and real risk.
2. Establish procedures for the transportation of electronic devices
As with anything in your operation, your SRA findings should lead to the development of clear procedures, such as:
- Not leaving devices in direct sunlight for extended periods of time
- Not leaving devices in the aircraft unattended while charging
- Monitoring device temperature and discontinuing use if warmer than normal
- Asking passengers if they are carrying devices known to be at higher risk
3. Include onboard fire procedures in passenger briefings
While in flight, the first people to notice a PED that could become a fire hazard may be your passengers, so it is important that they are briefed and instructed on what to do, as they are your first line of defense. Include procedures for handling such situations in the pre-recorded passenger briefing, oral briefing, and/or printed materials to help reduce response time.
Such procedures may include:
- Notifying flight or cabin crew
- Locating and using fire extinguishers and fire containment devices
- Using towels to cover nose and mouth to filter smoke
- Moving away from any fire
- Ensuring therapeutic oxygen is moved away from a fire
4. Make in-flight fires part of your recurrent training
Given the pervasiveness of PEDs and the corresponding increased risks of PED-related fires, in-flight fires should be emphasized in recurrent training for both pilots and flight attendants. Part of this training could include familiarization with regulatory guidelines, procedures, and industry best practices.
FAA AC 120-80A is a valuable source of information for handling in-flight fires, as it covers topics such as the use of halon and water fire extinguishers. The AC also includes procedures for after the fire is extinguished such as dousing the device with water or other nonalcoholic / nonflammable liquid to help cool the device.
5. Equip your fleet with fire containment devices
A fire containment device can be excellent supplementary support for PEDs that have not yet caught fire but may pose a fire risk, as well as for PEDs that have already caught fire and where initial steps to extinguish the fire have failed.
Containment bags and boxes are made out of high temperature resistant materials and are specifically built to contain not only the fire, but smoke and toxic fumes as well. Some may even contain fire suppression systems within the containment device. Note that some kits come with a glove or other means of handling or scooping the PED into the container. If yours does not, consider adding a thermal glove to your kit.
Batteries are a real risk in PEDs, and while the industry has long had procedures for battery fires for onboard aircraft equipment, it is clear that those should be extended to PEDs and other battery-operated devices brought on board the aircraft during a trip, since they have become such a common part of daily life.