Category Archives: Blog

Airport SMS

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Airport SMS

Sextant Readings Solutions - airportsAirports across the world are using Q-Pulse to streamline safety, risk and quality management processes. FAA Part 139 Airports benefit from Q-Pulse supporting Daily Inspection, Self Inspection, Annual Audit, Emergency response planning, Personnel and Asset management.

Q-Pulse provides enhanced safety levels, mitigates risk and encourages an overall safety culture across the airport facility, in line with ICAO Safety Management System (SMS) requirements.

ICAO Annex 14 demands that member states introduce regulations to ensure aerodromes have an effective SMS in place. ICAO recommends that airports base their SMS around four main components:

  • Safety Policy
  • Safety Assurance
  • Safety Risk
  • Safety Promotion

By implementing Ideagen Gael’s Q-Pulse as their Quality, Safety and Compliance management solution, airports have a framework to use as the foundation to their SMS needs, allowing airport operators to meet the ICAO’s requirements effectively and efficiently. Through Q-Pulse, they have a single point of reference to manage all compliance activities, eliminating duplication of records and effort. Policies, processes and work instructions are controlled, managed and distributed with a minimum effort and with full visibility of any outstanding actions. Safety related events are captured into one system for investigation and analysis to allow identification of risk and resultant mitigating/corrective/preventive action(s). Internal, Customer or Regulator Audits can be scheduled, planned, conducted and reported with actions requiring follow-up being managed as required. A view of outstanding actions is always available to ensure compliance activities are being completed on time and effectively. Risk management, supplier and staff competency can also be managed effectively through Q-Pulse providing the ideal oversight of your compliance activities and status.

For each of our customers, Q-Pulse is customized to streamline existing processes benefiting the organization with a greatly improved workload management that improves efficiency throughout. During the last decade, as regulators have introduced SMS guidance, Ideagen Gael has worked closely with the aviation community to develop solutions that help integrate quality, safety and risk management processes and information in order to reduce bureaucracy, identify improvement opportunities and improve overall safety and quality levels.

GCAA lead the way – choosing Q-Pulse as the solution

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GCAA lead the way – choosing Q-Pulse as the solution

iStock_000002708193LargeThe General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is a federal, autonomous body set up to oversee all aviation-related activities in the United Arab Emirates. Created in 1996, the GCAA provide designated aviation services with observance to safety and security to strengthen the aviation industry within the UAE and its air space.

Regulating over 550 organizations throughout the UAE, the GCAA required an electronic auditing system which would allow them to easily demonstrate traceability of audits and analyses their findings within and across organizations.

By implementing Q-Pulse, developed by Ideagen Gael Ltd, the GCAA moved from their laborious paper-based system to an electronic auditing system, allowing them to holistically analyses the audit findings and issues from their regulated organizations.

In doing this, the GCAA became the first such regulator in the world to use Q-Pulse for their entire internal and external auditing processes.

The Background

The aviation industry in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the few growing markets in the world. Founded in 1996, the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) regulates Civil Aviation across the UAE, ensuring that safety and security is being met to regulatory standards.

Since its inception the authority has made considerable progress as the aviation industry in the UAE continues to grow, embarking on bold new initiatives to provide a better service for the aviation industry.

Modernization of the air traffic control center program, radar equipment’s and the establishment of new facilities to serve the aviation growth in the UAE are just some of the projects initiated by GCAA. The GCAA have also been busy behind an overhaul of civil aviation services in the UAE, creating the necessary infrastructure required to bring them in line with the rapidly growing market. These include state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control systems; Civil Aviation Regulations and AIP upgrades; Flight Safety Services procedures; internal HR structures and policies; and a host of other activities to ensure safe and efficient services.

The UAE were the first in the Middle East region to introduce Satellite Navigation GPS approach procedures, when it was introduced for Dubai International Airport.

The Challenge

With over 550 organizations – from Aircraft Operators to Air Traffic Control centers – GCAA realized that it was imperative they moved from their dated and laborious paper based auditing system. Previously, evidence and findings had been collated through a series of impractical phone calls and e-mails – meaning traceability was then hard to demonstrate.

The GCAA recognized that they needed a single, clear system to relay their audit findings from their hundreds of regulated clients and organizations, and allow them to analyses those same findings quickly and easily.

By turning to Q-Pulse – developed by Ideagen Gael Ltd – GCAA had found the most comprehensive and flexible software tool that met their auditing needs, allowing them to integrate all their audit schedules and findings electronically in one centralized place.

Ismaeil Mohammed Al Balooshi, Director of the GCAA’s Aviation Safety Department, said: “It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep on top of our auditing. Our previous system was paper based and having used this for several years it was proving extremely complicated when trying to retrieve and access information, such as previous audit findings. A need arose to analyses trends and source potential problems – which ultimately made it more difficult in ensuring aviation safety to industry regulations.

“At the GCAA, we regulate hundreds of organizations across an extensive range of services in the UAE such as Aircraft Operators, International Airports, Dangerous Goods forwarders as well as training, medical and maintenance organizations. So our new system had to show we were actively ensuring safety in all the organizations we regulate.

“What we needed was a system that allowed us to integrate all our auditing schedules, findings and evidence into one easy to use database, allowing all our regulated organizations to submit their evidence centrally. But also one that had the scope to extend beyond our initial auditing requirements into areas such as document control for manual and other such approvals, plus the scope to manage a fully integrated SMS system.

“We found Q-Pulse – and quickly realized it provided the solution to our immediate and future needs.”

The Solution

By implementing Q-Pulse, the GCAA became the first such regulator in the world to adopt a centralized electronic system deployed directly into the organizations they regulate, firmly establishing a robust scalable solution capable of managing audit, document and SMS activities.

The unique and groundbreaking new project allowed the authority to introduce an innovative idea and completely overhaul their previous auditing system.

Through Q-Pulse, the GCAA integrated all of their audit schedules and findings – in areas such as Airworthiness, Flight operations, ANAs, Licensing and Security – into one central database. Instead of working with a traditional paper based and laborious system, all of GCAA’s auditing plans and results can be found through easy-to-use Q-Pulse features yielding significant benefits.

All of the authority’s regulated organizations are now managed within Q-Pulse to track all their audit activity and findings, plus keep a copy of the latest version of their approved manuals. Previous revisions are also automatically archived and can be retrieved on demand. The latest version is always available at the point of audit thus findings can be raised against them, checklist questions or ad hoc findings, all of which can easily be graphically analyzed.

Q-Pulse has allowed the GCAA inspectors to plan and process their audits from creation to final closure, while regulated organizations interact with Q-Pulse to resolve their audit findings. This has had a hugely positive impact on both the GCAA and their regulated organizations, with response times being cut dramatically for issues needing resolved for example.

As with any similar organization managing a large quantity of other organizations, the result is a vastly improved regulator/regulated relationship. Strengthening this bond has resulted in the better control and scheduling of audits, an improved sharing of knowledge across disciplines and an easy, user-friendly tool to analyses the results. In industry terms, the GCAA’s innovative decision to introduce Q-Pulse has resulted in an upsurge in market confidence – and safer skies above the UAE.

Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, who took up his role as GCAA’s Director General in 2006, said: “As the first CAA in the world to adopt this approach, the GCAA has taken a truly proactive stance in maintaining and improving safety and security oversight.

“As well as being an innovative project with a truly unique approach, it is extremely encouraging to see technology being applied in such an innovative way. This is within an industry in which it is imperative both to take full advantage of the advances that are occurring around us, and to keep pace with the continuing expansion in the region’s aviation sector. This will assist the GCAA in establishing a strong infrastructure to formulate the basis for their safety and security resolutions and enforcement action. This platform is also used by many of our partners in the UAE civil aviation industry which will allow us to streamline our related processes, and hence allow us to provide better services to our clients.”

Safian Baharome, Quality Assurance at flydubai, revealed their improved relationship with the GCAA has helped boost their Quality Management. Safian said: “We have found the GCAA’s interaction with Q-Pulse as helped us manage our non-conformances better. The CA/PA module has enabled us to track our non-compliances better and provide data for analysis and review while the ‘My Action’ provides a snap shot of any findings that are outstanding. Q-Pulse will also prompt and flag any non-conformances that are still open so that they would be able to be closed in a timely manner. Q-Pulse has enabled us to not only manage our audit findings better, it has provided us with easy data extraction for our CI program.”

Tony Mackenzie, Manager of Operations and Compliance at Etihad Airways, said: “This is an excellent step forward in the UAE and light years ahead of some countries in Europe. Well done.”

The Results

By implementing Q-Pulse as their centralized auditing system, GCAA eradicated their confusing paper based methods and ensured that the gap between the regulator and the regulated – a huge problem experienced across the entire aviation industry – was bridged. As the regulator, GCAA now have complete control of their audit schedules and timelines and can share knowledge across disciplines, something they previously had difficulty in achieving.

By implementing Q-Pulse, the GCAA provided their 50-plus inspectors and over 550 regulated clients with a simple and easily accessible auditing database. Analyzing their audit findings has also been made realistically achievable within an acceptable timescale. Q-Pulse allows GCAA’s auditors to study findings easily and effectively, meaning they can learn and target areas of improvement across region, regulation and industry.

In terms of the regulated, GCAA’s implementation of Q-Pulse has provided them with one place for all their evidence collation – allowing them to prepare for audits and see all their historical findings.

Donald Maciver, Managing Director at Ideagen Gael Ltd, said: “This project is poised to bridge the gap between the regulated and the regulator that has been such a source of frustration within the aviation industry worldwide. Ideagen Gael is an experienced provider of aviation safety solutions, and Q-Pulse is without doubt the solution of choice within the aviation community.”

Ideagen Gael Ltd’s Chief Operating Officer, Ashley Marron, insists the benefit for both the GCAA and their 550 regulated clients is clear. He said: “The GCAA visionary approach of working with their regulated customer base has expanded the interaction of Q-Pulse to over 550 customers via the web. The GCAA have undoubtedly taken advantage of the fact that Q-Pulse is a robust scalable solution ideal at handling this extensive level of data reporting and action management.

“With over 50 inspectors alone within GCAA, the annual number of audits performed and findings raised is enormous and the operational benefits taking place internally by implementing Q-Pulse in terms of process management and scheduling is also significant. Imagine then the benefit of using the powerful Q-Pulse Analysis functionality to analyses trends across all the audits the GCAA perform. Utilizing the Wizards functionality and mandatory fields, a disciplined approach to data entry, the GCAA’s vision of using the data trend analysis proactively can be achieved. I am really excited about the impact and success of the project.”

Within the GCAA, Q-Pulse will also serve to enhance communication between their internal divisions. This will enable the authority to provide an integrated environment offering safety and security while meeting their commitment to provide the highest standards in aviation safety and security.

Abdulla Al Housani, the GCAA’s Audit Development Manager, said: “As the audit development manager, I’m looking forward to the long term benefits that we’ll get from using Q-Pulse. Not only will we get valuable analysis from the performance and areas of development of our audited organizations, but we’ll also be able to improve and develop our Inspector performance and auditing techniques.

“As we are using one system for all GCAA audit programmers we’ll be able to learn across the organization and develop best practice with our Inspectors, plus new Inspectors will also benefit from this system as they’ll be able to use the data generated from previous audits across the GCAA.”

Sextant Readings Solutions partners with Ideagen Gael Ltd to deliver comprehensive quality, risk, and safety management solutions to the America’s aviation industry

Business Jets and BoldIQ

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How a leading private jet company leveraged BoldIQ to position itself for profitable growth both geographically and fleet size

JetSuite is a California based private jet company bringing private jet travel closer than ever before to the mass market with increased efficiency. By flying more efficient aircraft for more hours a month, they are able to reduce fares to their customers providing them with unsurpassed value. When JetSuite was looking for a partner that could support their need for optimized operations planning and management that would complement their efficient aircraft, they turned to BoldIQ.

Sextant Readings Solutions iStock_000009033182LargeJetSuite needed to be able to plan the use of their aircraft and pilots in the most efficient manner to serve their growing customer base. Moreover, they needed to be able to react in real-time to the disruptions in the ever changing environment they operate in. From customer requests coming in within 24 – 48 hours of flight, to weather changes, to unplanned mechanical pop ups, JetSuite needs to be able to maintain the highest level of customer satisfaction and performance reliability.

BoldIQ with our unique aviation operations focused software – ASTRO – and with the integrated proprietary optimization engine – SOLVER – was able to answer the range of requirements that JetSuite had.

Our ASTRO platform enables JetSuite to plan, implement, and manage their day-to-day operations including both long-term planning and day-of-operations, real time quoting for their customers, disruption management and more, all in a configurable, flexible, and user friendly way. Moreover, by integrating SOVLER into ASTRO, JetSuite is able to plan the utilization of their resources more efficiently, and is able to manage and recover from disruptions in a quicker and more efficient manner enabling them to focus their own resources on their most valuable assets – their customers.

With BoldIQ services and solutions, JetSuite was able to confidently and with the same level of efficiency, expand their optimized operations across the United States and offer their customers more choice, more flexibly, and ultimately more value. Additionally, due to the increased value they offer their customers now across the country, JetSuite announced their growth with a second fleet of aircraft offering more seats and longer range. They were able to do this knowing that BoldIQ and our platforms – ASTRO and SOLVER – would be growing with them offering them the same level of optimization, planning, and disruption recovery across both fleets and ultimately offering their own customers enhanced choices and increased value.

Audit – Positive or Negative connotation in your operation?

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Posted by Fiona Macintyre on Mon, Aug 26, 2013

Audit.  A small but highly significant word.  A word that can illicit so much fear and dread throughout an organization.  There is an automatic negative response to the thought of an audit, it’s seen as something negative, something designed by those in authority just to catch you out.  It is easy to see audit as a negative if it is viewed in this way or as just another tick box exercise designed by authorities.

An audit can be conducted internally, by an external regulatory body or by a supplier.  Regardless of who is conducting the audit, all employees need to be on board with the audit process.  To do so, an organization needs to turn any negativity on its’ head and have an audit seen as a positive.  That means all employees adhering to standard working practices at all times and not just for the audit.

So how does any organization turn negativity and doubt into positivity?  This may be one of the hardest things any organization will do.  Indeed, in any walk of life there will always be those that are negative for the sake of it and will never see a positive in anything, ‘every silver lining has a cloud’!

Company culture can contribute greatly to all employees being on board in an audit process.  How do management convey to their staff that an audit isn’t designed to find out what they are not doing and pull them up for it but rather it is designed to highlight areas across a business that are working well in an attempt to replicate those across the rest of the business?  Highlight the positives and identify the areas that require focus, while also conveying that this is ultimately for the good of the business and subsequently for them as employees.  Organizations successful in doing this have an established learning and sharing culture.  In practice this is not an easy culture to create.

There are many benefits in the audit process that should be promoted.  In terms of aviation, these benefits extend to how the audit process is built into the overall Safety Management System.  An effective and efficient SMS is underpinned by System Safety principles and Quality Management and a large part of that is audit management.

Audits ensure all policies and procedures are working, to verify that processes adhere to standards and regulations and to maintain a level of competency.  Performed regularly, audits contribute to complying with regulatory standards as well as identifying shortfalls and areas of improvement.  Audit Management provides a closed loop system from scheduling, planning, conducting and following up of audits in a manner that supports organization-wide improvement.

The key point in the above statement is – “supports organization-wide improvement.”  Promoting that fact can turn the negative views of an audit into a positive.  By that, I mean ensuring that people understand the reasons for the audit, everyone is on board and fully appreciate the importance of auditing to improve all areas of the business and ultimately as a result reduce their suspicions that the audit is merely performed to catch them out.

To achieve this goal, an open learning and sharing corporate culture is required.  That has to be organization wide and that comes from the top down and vice versa.

In conclusion, it is the culture of an organization that dictates whether employees will view the audit process in a positive light or not.  In saying that, there is no accounting for the naturally negative minded people in life and it wouldn’t matter what type of corporate culture they were working under – they will always moan regardless and I have no answer for getting them on board – that’s a completely different topic.

New FAA, OSHA Policy Aims to Protect Aircraft Cabin Crew Members

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Aug 23, 2013      OSHA will be able to enforce some safety and health standards not currently covered by FAA oversight.

The Federal Aviation Administration and OSHA have jointly issued a final policy for improving workplace safety for aircraft cabin crew members, agreeing to share enforcement in the skies. FAA’s aviation safety regulations take precedence, but OSHA will be able to enforce certain safety and health standards FAA currently does not cover.

“Safety is our number one priority, for both the traveling public and the dedicated men and women who work in the transportation industry,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “It’s important that cabin crew members on our nation’s airlines benefit from OSHA protections, including information about potential on-the-job hazards and other measures to keep them healthy and safe.”

His DOL counterpart, Secretary Thomas Perez, said the policy “shows the strength of agencies working together and will enhance the safety of cabin crew members and passengers alike. “It is imperative that cabin crew members have the same level of safety assurances they provide the public.”

The FAA news release said aircraft cabin safety issues that fall under OSHA standards include information on hazardous chemicals, exposure to bloodborne pathogens, hearing conservation programs, recordkeeping, and access to employee exposure and medical records. The agencies will develop procedures to ensure that OSHA does not apply requirements that could harm aviation safety. “Our cabin crewmembers contribute to the safe operation of every flight each day,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “We’re taking an important step toward establishing procedures for resolving cabin crew workplace health and safety concerns.

“We look forward to working with the FAA and through our alliance with the aviation industry and labor organizations to improve the safety of cabin crewmembers,” said Dr. David Michaels, OSHA’s assistant secretary.

The FAA and OSHA announcement is here

 

SMSLift from Sextant Readings Solutions

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“In a recent poll, the NBAA identified that the single largest challenge to implementing an effective SMS is employee participation.”

SMS LIFT Logo white
Convergent Performance’s SMS Lift program solves this challenge.

Convergent Performance’s SMS Lift program solves this challenge.
SMS Lift is a training solution designed by Convergent Performance, the industry leader in human factors training and performance improvement solutions, to address the largest challenge in SMS implementation that face flight departments today: employee engagement. This self-facilitated course is conducted at your
team’s own pace and contains all the components for small to medium flight departments to capitalize on the time you’ve already spent establishing your existing SMS.
SMS Lift is not an explanation of SMS; it is an easy to utilize program that removes the complexity of safety management systems and teaches the critical roles that individual employees play within the system. It will demonstrate to your entire staff their important roles and responsibilities and your department can realize the
many benefits that an optimized and well-implemented SMS provides.

SMS Lift Kit Contents_image

This cost-effective course is conducted in-house by your Safety Officer or designated trainer, and is either taught in a single day or split into four separate 2-hour blocks—whichever best suits your operation.

The SMS Lift boxed courseware program includes:
• Four- two hour lessons based on the pillars of SMS

  • ?? Safety Policy
  • ?? Safety Risk Management
  • ?? Safety Assurance
  • ?? Safety Promotion

• DVD that includes eight brief videos designed to facilitate learning
• Comprehensive resource library
• One step-by-step Instructor Guide to facilitate program implementation
• Ten Participant Handbooks
• Eleven Spheres of Safety Influence exercise forms
• SMS Lift Capture Form, in electronic and hard copy versions
The SMS Lift boxed collection includes enough class materials for 10 participants. Additional participant materials are available for purchase for larger class sizes.

For only $1499 (or $1359 for preferred aviation insurance carriers)
you can gain the benefits from your SMS you’ve been looking for.
Contact Convergent Performance today for more information or to “preview” the material.

Airline Profitability Still a Challenge Says New Study

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Airline Profitability Still a Challenge Says New Study

By Gretchen Kelly

Travel Pulse
July 01, 2013 10:10 AM

A new study by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has been published which claims that returns on capital invested in airlines have improved in recent years but are still far below what investors expect to earn. The study, “Profitability and the Air Transport Value Chain,” supported by analysis from McKinsey & Company, points to the fact that although airlines are increasing profitability through efforts like unbundling and more fuel efficient aircraft, the industry as a whole is still challenged when it comes to attracting and keeping the financial investment needed to support growth and global connectivity.

“The airline industry has created tremendous value for its customers and the wider economies we serve. Aviation supports some 57 million jobs globally and we make possible $2.2 trillion worth of economic activity. By value, over 35% of the goods traded internationally are transported by air,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s director general and CEO. “But in the 2004-2011 period, investors would have earned $17 billion more annually by taking their capital and investing it in bonds and equities of similar risk. Unless we find ways to improve returns for our investors it may prove difficult to attract the $4-5 trillion (1) of capital we need to serve the expansion in connectivity over the next two decades, the vast majority of which will support the growth of developing economies.”

During the 2004-2011 period, returns on capital invested in the airline industry worldwide averaged 4.1%(2). This is an improvement on the average of 3.8% generated in the previous business cycle over 1996-2004(3) but it is not near the average cost of capital of 7.5%, which represents the return on capital that investors would expect to earn by investing in assets of similar risk outside the airline industry. On average, industry returns were just sufficient for the industry to service its debt, with nothing left to reward equity investors for risking their capital.

The study showed that over the past 40 years virtually all industries have generated higher returns on invested capital (ROIC) than the airline industry.  Airlines are the least profitable segment of the air transport value chain while other segments consistently generate good returns for their investors. The biggest cost for airlines today is fuel and companies in this sector benefited from an estimated $16-48 billion of their annual net profits generated by air transport. The most profitable part of the rest of the value chain is in distribution, with the computer reservation systems businesses of the three global distribution system companies generating an average ROIC of 20%, followed by freight forwarders with an ROIC of 15%.

The study pointed to the industry’s fragmented and unconsolidated structure and the nature of competition as a major factor in its continued financial challenges.

“More effective partnerships are required among stakeholders in the air transport industry. Efficiency gains are a win-win for all concerned. We have seen that with the adoption of 100% e-ticketing and the introduction of global self-service standards. Not only did partners in the industry benefit,  but consumers gained great value through more efficient and convenient processes. This study points to the active collaboration needed to find even more such solutions, said Tyler.

Tyler pointed to the fact that “smart regulation is needed from governments around the world in order to maximize the economic benefits of connectivity—jobs and growth. Unfortunately, high taxation and poorly designed regulation in many jurisdictions make it difficult for airlines to develop connectivity.  On top of the cost issues, airlines also face a hyper fragmented industry structure owing to government policies that discourage cross-border consolidation. There is plenty of room for some fresh thinking on all accounts.”

ACSF RECOGNIZES CAE AND GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE AS SUSTAINING MEMBERS

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Alexandria, VA, June 6, 2013 — The Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) is pleased to recognize CAE and Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation as sustaining members. Both companies have shown their commitment to the foundation’s vision of enhancing and improving safety through their generous financial support.

CAE is a global leader in modeling, simulation and training for civil aviation and defense. The company employs approximately 8,000 people at more than 100 sites and training locations in approximately 30 countries. CAE offers civil aviation, military and helicopter training services in more than 45 locations worldwide, and trains approximately 100,000 crew members yearly.

“I believe ACSF is one of the key drivers of safety and standards in the industry and want to support it and help shape where it is going,” said Rob Lewis, Vice President and General Manager for Business and Helicopter Aviation Training.

Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics, designs, develops, manufactures, markets, services and supports the world’s most technologically advanced business-jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced more than 2,000 aircraft for customers around the world since 1958. The company employs more than 12,500 people at 12 major locations.

“Gulfstream is excited to partner with Air Charter Safety Foundation as a sustaining member to further the mission and vision of the foundation,” said Gulfstream Aviation Safety Officer Tom Huff . “As a business aircraft manufacturer and world-wide service provider, it made perfect sense to join-on as a sustaining member to further safety of air charter and fractional ownership flight operations.”

“The generous support of CAE and Gulfstream enables the foundation to carry out its mission,” said ACSF President Bryan Burns. “We are extremely pleased that these companies share our vision to achieve the highest levels of safety in the industry.”

For further information, go to www.acsf.aero.

Dassault to expand Little Rock completion centre

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By:   Dave Majumdar Washington DC

12:00 3 Jun 2013 Source:FLIGHT

Dassault is planning to expand its completion center in Little Rock, Arkansas, in anticipation of the company’s new Falcon SMS business jet, which will be unveiled later this year.

“Our next step in the Falcon family is an airplane – the code name is SMS – and that’s really why we needed to extend our presence here,” says John Rosanvallon, president and chief executive of Dassault‘s Falcon Jet division. “This brand new Falcon will be introduced at the next NBAA [National Business Aviation Association] convention in Las Vegas [Nevada] in October and we believe it will be the best Falcon yet.”

Over the next three years, Rosanvallon says Dassault will invest $60 million in new construction and the refurbishment of its existing facilities in Little Rock.

The construction will add 250,000 sq ft (23,225 sq m) to the factory’s 1 million sq ft of floor space. The project will also include refurbishments of the cabinet, upholstery and headliner shops and upgrades to older hangars.

Site preparation for the work will start in early 2014 and construction will be undertaken through the early part of 2016.

 

Sextant Readings Solutions – aviation professionals with a focus on Safety and Risk Management, Quality Management and Quality Assurance, and Compliance for the Aviation Industry.  Sextant Readings Solutions is an IS-BAO Support Services Affiliate, IS-BAO safety consultant, and Auditor.  Ideagen Gael Limited recognizes Sextant Readings Solutions as the authorized re-seller of Q-Pulse®, Ideagen Gael Risk® and MindGenius® for aviation for the Americas.