If there is one word most people dread, it’s the word “audit.” Fortunately, for Global Aviation, it also means “excellence.” This spring, two auditors from the Aviation Research Group (ARGUS) arrived to conduct another rigorous on-site inspection of Global Aviation’s Safety Management System (SMS), along with the Flight Operations, Line Service, Maintenance, and Scheduling departments. “The core of this audit is the SMS, but every department is scrutinized to ensure that industry best practices are being used,” says Blair Delaney, Global Aviation’s Director of Safety. The audit used a combination of the ARGUS Platinum Standards and the International Standards for Business Aviation (ISBAO). “I believe there were 82 pages of questions,” says Delaney.
The Global Aviation SMS uses the ISBAO “Four Pillars of Safety Management” concept. This includes safety tools such as Internal Auditing, a Flight Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT) for the pilots, and web-based online reporting of safety events. Also, Global Aviation has exceeded the ISBAO Standards by having a Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) Department, which monitors all aspects of individual flights through use of the aircraft’s Flight Data Recorder.
Upon completion of the three day audit, Global Aviation was presented with a renewal of the ARGUS Platinum Rating along with a promotion to ISBAO Stage 2 Certification. The final Stage 3 Certification is scheduled for February, 2015. Flo Newton, President of Global Aviation, states, “Successful completion of these biennial audits proves to the aviation marketplace that Global Aviation strives to set itself apart as a charter operator committed to safety and excellence.”
