march2023 - 6

Editor's Note
JOSH SMITH
josh@AviationPros.com
+1 920-563-1644
LinkedIn
Focused on Improving Safety
An SMS is essential to ensuring operations across the aviation industry
are carried out while keeping people out of harm's way.
T
he ground support industry takes safety seriously -
as it should.
In this issue, there are numerous examples of the
industry sharing crucial information and demonstrating
best practices to conduct ground service safely. In
the following pages, you will find
information on properly maintaining
ground power unit (GPU)
cables, updated training to avoid
misfueling aircraft and efforts to
mitigate ground damage and delays,
among others.
Recently, the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) announced a
new rule designed to help airports
detect and mitigate safety problems
in order to prevent accidents
or safety incidents. The keystone
behind this rule is a requirement
for certain airports to develop and
implement a safety management
system (SMS).
" The safe operation of our nation's
In the ground support industry, the concept of SMS isn't
airports is paramount during these
historic times in aviation as we
work to repair and construct necessary
airport infrastructure, " FAA
associate administrator for airports
Shannetta R. Griffin, P.E., said in a news release announcing
the new rule. " This rule promotes safety and allows airports
to work collaboratively with partners to mitigate risks and
avert accidents. "
According to information supplied by the FAA, the final rule
applies to more than 200 commercial airports across America.
Depending on classification and operations, airports that
do not have an SMS established will have a timeline ranging
from 4-5.5 years to fully implement one. The rule takes effect
60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
6 || Ground Support Worldwide || March 2023
The safe operation of our
nation's airports is paramount
during these historic times in
aviation as we work to repair
and construct necessary
airport infrastructure. This rule
promotes safety and allows
airports to work collaboratively
with partners to mitigate risks
and avert accidents.
new. Ground service providers and FBOs have been utilizing
SMS to improve ground operations and secure key certifications
in the industry.
An SMS actively looks for safety issues in a business' operations
and services offered, considers
safety objectives and identifies safety
concerns. The framework for an
SMS is included in the International
Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO)
international standards and recommended
practices as part of Annex
19 to the Convention on International
Civil Aviation.
For an FBO to achieve registration
in the International Standards for
Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH)
program, that business must have an
SMS in place. An SMS serves as the
backbone of IS-BAH and helps an organization
maintain best practices as the
SMS matures and evolves.
The IATA Safety Audit for Ground
- Shannetta R. Griffin, P.E.
Operations (ISAGO) is an industry
global standard designed to improve
the safety of ground operations and
standardized operational procedures.
ISAGO registration requires a ground
service provider to implement an SMS if there are no regulations
similar to those applied to air and airport operators.
To ensure safe practices are conducted consistently across
the industry, oversight and audits are key. An SMS is crucial
to identifying risks and taking steps to mitigate potential
dangers.
SMS implementation has been best practice for some time
now. However, given the importance of safety in aviation, in
general, and ground support, specifically, we could see SMS
implementation become a necessity.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-smith-9309557/
march2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of march2023
