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Safety Management System Debate Gets Hot

by Allen Howell | 2 Comments | This entry was posted on Mar 11 2010

As the CEO of a Part 135 / 91 aircraft charter and management company, I can not proclaim to be an expert on SMS. There are people in our industry a lot smarter on the subject than I am because they have taken the time and energy to study, learn, listen, share knowledge, and attempt to develop systems that incorporate the best practices of the collective knowledge of our industry.

What I can proclaim is that Safety is critical to our company. The fact is that Safety is the most critical issue we face. We cannot afford to do anything that does not allow us to operate at the highest level of safety. The group of people I have worked with over the years will tell you that I support them in operating at that level. I have often said, and I truly mean it when I say it, that if we cannot make a profit and operate at the highest level of safety, then I will get out of this business and do something else to make a living.

So, I have taken the time to listen and learn SMS and, as a company, we have invested money developing the processes and taking the time to put a true SMS in place – and, more importantly, to actually use the system. 

Our industry and the consumers that use us have not always rewarded those who adhere to the highest level of safety. Some users of our services have either assumed that the FAA keeps our industry “safe enough” or they just don’t care, concerning themselves only with price.

Safety Requires Thought and Time Investment! Safety Costs Money!

The debate has gotten heated over the requirement to have a Safety Management System in place, even in operations that do not hold themselves out for hire. The NBAA Avmgr Forum has hundreds of emails over the past few weeks from flight department managers and consultants to the industry on the subject of SMS.  

There are two sides to the debate and some merit exists even on the side that I do not sit on.

Here are comments from the side that says we don’t need SMS in our world of flying aircraft:

  • Common sense, good, real training and operational policies that make sense (not policies on what to do when the pencil holder fails) are what we need to improve safety.
  • I have only been flying for 38 years and never needed a SMS manual to be safe. It might be a useful tool for larger operations but for a 2-5 pilot ops is simply a waste of time, money and trees.
  • Having me write a SMS manual for my three pilot one aircraft operation is a waste of my time, but reviewing a good document on aviation safety and best practices could be a good read on occasion.  Such an approach could generate discussion among pilots, promoting teamwork and better understanding of safe decision making…  The bureaucratic approach to safety will yield lots of paper documents but I suspect it will do little to actually advance safe operations.

 And from the pro-SMS side: 

  • Many in our industry are making IS-BAO a lot more complex than it needs to be. The discipline of having an outside perspective (auditor) is a generally accepted business practice.  It is designed to give you credibility as a leader, not talk behind your back.  ”Because I said so….” Is not an effective tool.  We do this in the cockpit and call it CRM, line checks, etc.  Why not with our overall operations?
  • Yes, common sense is king. Commons sense is missing from allot [sic]of issues, in and out of aviation. Sure, he who flies with the most paper is not the winner. But neither is he who flies with the least paper the most competent and safe. It all requires balancing common sense, necessity, need and what really works.
  • The concept of risk identification and mitigation is embraced in many industries…. We often like to think we are ahead of the pact[sic], but the reality is most of the world has left us (Aviation) in the dust when it comes to codification of best practices and risk mitigation.

From Dwayne McMurry, our Director of Operations, with whom I have worked side by side for over 20 years, the following observation:

 “If I were the owner of an operation that had a flight department with 2 or 3 pilots, I would suggest that the Chief Pilot is not guaranteed to be at my company forever and the airplane, pilots and flight department as a whole would most likely survive him/her.  I would certainly want an Operations Manual or SOP of some type and a Safety Management System in place to pass down established policy, procedure and history of my flight department to the next pilot(s) for the future of my flight department.

Sometimes pilots and flight department managers forget they work for somebody and feel they only have to answer to themselves.  If you wrote the check for the plane and fly it yourself, that’s one thing.  When someone hires you to do a job … most likely, some day, for some reason, someone will replace you and a legacy should be passed on.  What better way to do it?”

This is a complex debate that cannot be fully covered in one blog post or article. What I will say is this: that I would not want our company to operate on pure common sense alone and would also not want to operate strictly from the manual without common sense. What about a combination of good common sense and experience combined with a system that establishes processes, procedures and ways to measure safety? Could it be that we need both?!

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The Time Gap Between Private Aviation and Air Mass-Transit

by Allen Howell | 2 Comments | This entry was posted on Mar 10 2010

There is a huge gap between the time it takes to get from origin to destination by Private Aviation and the time it takes on the Airlines. In some cases, even a small, single-engine, propeller aircraft can get you there quicker than the airlines. In all cases, a business jet aircraft can get you there quicker. What is your time worth?

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New Federal Rules Limiting Tarmac Delays. Good or Bad?

by Allen Howell | 0 Comments | This entry was posted on Mar 09 2010

In an attempt to regulate the airlines on the issue of leaving passengers sitting on aircraft on the tarmac for extended periods of time it appears that the DOT may end up making things worse.

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What The Heck Is An Asset?

by Dan Robles | 0 Comments | This entry was posted on Mar 08 2010

When a bank makes a loan, they “quantify” all of your valuable things like your home, cars, 401K, and personal income and they use the credit score to measure the quality of your finances (debts, credit pulls, past history, bankruptcies, etc).

Supply and demand cannot, absolutely cannot, be determined by any other means other than by measurements of quantity and quality.

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What Do You Want?

by Jon Anne Doty | 0 Comments | This entry was posted on Mar 07 2010

Here’s my question to you: what do you want? We’re not talking operational issues here, just customer experience. If you could design an airline from tip to grip, what would you do? What would you meet your own expectations?

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Business Friendly States in the US

by Rachel Charlize | 0 Comments | This entry was posted on Mar 06 2010

A recent article on www.roadwarriortips.com revealed what are the most business friendly states in the US. And with many business travelers who utilize private charter aircraft, I thought this might be an interesting read.

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The Price Gap Between Private Aviation and Air Mass-Transit

by Allen Howell | 3 Comments | This entry was posted on Mar 05 2010

In this discussion, we will focus on the gap of pricing between Private Aviation and Airline Travel. Is there a way for us to partially bridge the gap? And, if so, how much do we need to bridge it to make it worth the time savings and better experience?

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Who’s Watching the Watchers?

by Jon Anne Doty | 1 Comment | This entry was posted on Mar 04 2010

People regularly ask us about FAA imposed safety regulations and those we impose on ourselves. And, now and then, they ask us to bend the rules “just a little bit” to accommodate an extra hour in their schedules or an extra couple of hundred pounds of payload. We stick to the rules because they are there to keep us, our aircraft, our crew, our passengers and the people on the ground safe. Bottom line – the cost of being wrong is just too high.

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Private Air Travel versus Air Mass-Transit: Closing the Gaps

by Allen Howell | 0 Comments | This entry was posted on Mar 04 2010

There are three distinct gaps between flying by Private Aircraft and Air Mass-Transit. In this first of four blogs, we will identify the gaps and discuss ways of shrinking or even closing them.

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Social Media Power by the Hour

by Jon Anne Doty | 0 Comments | This entry was posted on Mar 03 2010

Making human knowledge and intentions tangible in a market place opens up the possibility of a whole new class of business plans. We call this Social Power by the Hour.

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