Articles

Implementing an SMS is mandatory in Europe, and coming soon to the United States, both for airports and operators. We spoke with Jim Gautrey, a long-time aviation operator and subject matter expert in SMS, with experience across the aerospace ecosystem, from business jet operators, airports and airlines, and as a key consultant. He is a nominated safety person with several organizations, and a key member of the Centrik team.

Gan International Airport is located on the Island of Gan Maldives, catering to passengers wishing to visit the southernmost islands of the Maldives. Once a military base during World War ll, Gan has transformed into a 24-hour international gateway to the Maldives. At an elevation of six feet, it is one of the lowest airports in the world, in a country renowned for its unique beauty and archipelagic living. The largest of the world’s aircraft can land at Gan, with the airport served by national carrier Maldivian and Sri Lankan Airlines, among others.

Biggin Hill Airport is a general aviation airport south of London, England. It's perhaps best known for its critical role in the Battle of Britain, where the airport was a primary base for the defence of London. And today, as it turns out, the airport is a center for innovation with security management systems, using TrustFlight's Centrik software. In this Q&A, we interviewed Ben Spiers, the Head of Safety and Compliance of Biggin Hill Airport, and Lee Russell, Airport Lead at TrustFlight, about how Biggin Hill used Centrik to implement a state of the art security management system — no Excel used here.

Maintenance organizations are now required to implement a Safety Management System (SMS) in Europe — and other regions will likely follow suit. TrustFlight spoke with its in-house experts and others to identify five pain points related to SMS for maintenance organizations, and potential solutions.

It’s a culture shock, no doubt. In the minds of many leaders of maintenance organizations, implementation of a safety management system (SMS) for a maintenance organization was “something the regulatory authorities always just talked about”. But, it’s here, and initially, in Europe. As of December 2022, Part 145 maintenance organizations regulated by EASA are required to implement an SMS. “There’s a transition period leading to December 2024, but the feeling in the industry is that it’s time to get started”, said Andy Wilkinson, of TrustFlight.

For decades, business jet operators have managed their minimum equipment lists (MELs) manually — even ones extending to 1,000 pages or more. And often, they rely on lengthy Microsoft Word documents to edit MELs and Excel spreadsheets to track revisions. (Every first officer will recognize the pain, as it’s a duty often left for them.) If your business jet operation still relies on tools for MEL creation such as Microsoft Word, there’s a much more efficient solution.

Aircraft Minimum Equipment List (MEL) management and use plays a critical role in the safety and operational efficiency of an airline or business jet operator. Efficient use of the MEL allows for operational flexibility, but they also expose an operation to more risk — the airline or business jet operator is flying with inoperative defects unresolved. Today, the vast majority of operators use an iPad, displaying the PDF output of the MEL. And while this is an improvement on the paper-based MELs of years past, the MEL is being digitized as a software product coupled with a digital workflow, with benefits for operational safety, efficiency and costs. TrustFlight has developed a product called MEL Manager to address this potential and ease pain points.

Following the recent FAA ruling, airports meeting certain criteria MUST implement an organization-wide safety management system (SMS). While meeting regulatory requirements is important, it should not be the end goal of implementing a safety system. With the right SMS, you can not only stay compliant but also enhance your safety culture, reduce risk, and improve the overall safety performance of your airport.

Airlines and business jet operators alike often weigh investment decisions related to aviation-related digital software and technology. Large operators may have internal software teams with hundreds of employees working on various projects, ranging from consumer-facing eCommerce solutions to rudimentary electronic tech logs and everything in between. Indeed, these development teams are established, competent in-house tech firms in their own right.

When an aircraft is on the ground, time is everything. Can data coupled with processes rewind the clock?