This issue focuses on building a safety reporting culture and adopting or enhancing safety management systems as part of the new regulatory changes.
What can CASR Part 133 Operators do?
Operators can do a number of things to help them adopt new requirements. This includes:
- Identifying a greater need for reporting of hazards. These are not just hazards required to be reported as per ATSB Transport Safety Investigation Regulations. We can also see there are lower reporting rates for this sector in the sector safety performance analysis.
- Encouraging personnel at all levels across the organisation to identify and report hazards and other safety issues. All personnel must have access to effective safety reporting systems.
- Building a positive safety culture. This relies on both management and employees through their commitment to:
- safety
- ability to learn from past experiences
- awareness of aviation risks within the ogranisation
- having a clear distinction between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.
- Consider creating location safety teams such as runway safety teams or engage with local aerodromes or flight schools. This way you can discuss hazards or risks identified and trends in reporting.
- Safety training and education. Use lessons learned not only from ATBS investigation reports but any internal investigations or safety reviews from occurrence reports. This also supports building a positive safety culture.
What is CASA doing or has already delivered?
We have developed online and hard copy resources to support the transition to the new Part 119 SMS requirements. These include:
- AC 119-01 will assist organisations meet Part 119 of CASR requirements and provides examples of SMS processes suitable for organisations operating under them:
- Safety Management Systems provides additional guidance and information on how organisations can develop an SMS, supporting operators put SMS into practice. It also has guidance on other areas more specific to you operation such aerodrome safety, hazards and fatigue management.
- Safety Management System Resource kits are structed on ICAO's safety management principles of:
- safety policy and objectives
- safety risk management
- safety assurance
- safety promotion.
They also include human factors integration and have a booklet that assists operators scale their SMS for the size and complexity of their activities.
We also hold ongoing seminars and workshops covering safety education. These include AvSafety for pilots, engineers and flight instructors. They will also support operators setting up their SMS.