Aviation Business Journal 1st Quarter 2013 - 49

some gaps in your operation prior to
securing an auditor and setting a date
for the audit. Once you have chosen
an audit date, complete the pre-audit
checklist thoroughly. List the manual
in which each standard is addressed
along with the appropriate page
number or other identifying details.
Not only might this lessen the auditor’s
time at your facility, but also it provides
the auditor with more opportunity to
observe your operations instead of
being buried in manuals for days.

Be realistic.
Lesson 4: Be realistic. This goes
back to lesson 3. If you have
prepared appropriately, you will not
be especially surprised by most of
the findings the auditor discovers.
Similarly, do not set unrealistic
expectations for yourself (or your
staff!) in closing audit findings.
This audit is a totally new ballgame
for many FBOs, and you might be
surprised by the overall number of
findings. This is not an assessment
of you or your team’s abilities or
dedication to your work. It is a
process intended to make your
operations safer and more efficient.
Lesson 5: Address safety issues
quickly. If an auditor points out
an unmarked cabinet containing
flammables or a lineman smoking
within 50 feet of an airplane being
refueled, do not wait until you receive
the audit findings before you address
those issues. There is no time like the
present to address a safety concern.

Bragging Rights: A.K.A. Why
Perform an Audit?
I could say the benefit of doing
an audit like this one is to evaluate
your facility objectively to become a
safer operation ultimately. Certainly
that is one great reason to consider
doing any audit. But there is also
a business case for conducting an
audit such as this. An audit that
focuses on safety and quality can
help identify a safety risk before an
accident or incident occurs. It can
also help reveal inefficiencies in your
operations, allowing you to tighten
your procedures and become more
efficient and effective.
Another reason to undergo
an audit such as this is to lower
insurance premiums or at least slow
the rate of increase in premiums.
Contact your insurance broker.
Would the broker help subsidize the
audit or provide resources to help you
prepare? Could a third-party safety
and operations audit lower your
insurance premiums?
Pursuing this type of audit could
keep your customers (and airport)
happy. Part 135 air carriers eventually
will be required by the FAA to
implement a Safety Management
System (SMS) within their operation.
Some airports will be required to
implement an SMS soon. There will
be a trickle-down effect when SMS is
required of air charter operators and
these airports. Part of a complete SMS
is the oversight of service providers,
and FBOs should expect oversight
from air charter operators to increase
as SMS implementation progresses.

FBOs, based at designated airports,
will be required to comply with SMS
regulations because they operate on
the airport’s ramp.
However, FBOs are not in business
for the express reasons of being safe,
efficient, or making customers happy.
Cleary if you accomplish none of these
goals, you probably will not be in a
business long. But one other, more
important thing keeps your doors open
and your staff employed: revenue.
With any luck, PROFIT! You could
be the safest, most efficient, most
customer-centric company on the
planet but if you do it without making
money you will not be around long.
Completing an audit like the NATA
Safety 1st Ground Audit Standard,
especially while it is in its infancy, can
set you apart from your competitors.
If you have only one other competitor
on the field and you have completed
this audit but they are known for both
cheap fuel and hangar rash, where
do you think most customers will go?
There will always be aircraft operators
who would sell their first born to save
two cents a gallon, but as SMS and risk
management concepts become more
prolific with corporate and charter
operators, expect more customers
to choose the lower risk — if slightly
higher cost — FBO.
Stay tuned for more information
on the NATA Safety 1st Ground
Audit Standard. Several auditors
have been trained and are
available to conduct the audit. Visit
http://www.nata.aero/
Safety-1st/Ground-Audit.aspx
for more information.

Registered FBO status can be verified at www.nata.aero/groundaudit
Aviation Business Journal | 1st Quarter 2013	

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Aviation Business Journal 1st Quarter 2013

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