Tag Archives: compliance

Audit Management Software for Aviation

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Audit Management Software for Aviation

Auditing throughout the aviation industry is a mandatory task to ensure that certificated organizations are performing to the strict regulations set out by the governing bodies. Audits are performed regularly throughout the aviation industry and contribute to complying with standards as well as identifying shortfalls and areas of improvement.

The Q-Pulse Audit Management module provides the ability to check a proposed audit plan for coverage, completeness and availability before finalizing schedules, automatically creating and updating the audit calendar. Past audit reports and historical data and status of all previous audit and CA/PA findings are available for review. Audit checklists can be created, exported and imported to and from external sources and audit packs can be created as points of reference.

A trail of departments visited, people spoken to, and processes checked etc, simplifies the creation of the audit report. Positive findings and opportunities for improvement are included, individual records created for each finding and the audit report agreed, formalized and tracked to conclusion through Q-Pulse.

Q-Pulse continually monitors the status of each audit action from when it is raised until closure and ensures the compliance management system is properly maintained, managed, and that actions are not overlooked. Q-Pulse can integrate with email systems to offer point-of-need access to audit records direct from automatic email notifications of upcoming or overdue events or actions.

Audit Management provides a closed loop system from scheduling, through planning, conducting and following up of audits in a manner that supports organization-wide improvement.

Offline Audit extends the Q-Pulse compliance management solution, enabling auditors to perform key activities when not connected to Q-Pulse. Auditors can complete checklists and record document findings while on-site at the point of need.

The objectives of Audit Management are to:

  • Provide a central repository for all audit management information that allows the demonstration of compliance with minimum overheads and disruption
  • Manage internal, external and third party audits across a specific or any number of compliance management systems
  • Identify potential improvements in systems, processes, equipment, material and people
  • Report both positive audit results as well as managing actions and findings  through to conclusion
  • Manage the complete audit life cycle from scheduling, planning and conducting to reporting and following up actions through to conclusion.
  • Manage Audits offline, providing the import and export of data to record and perform audits remotely

 

 

Corrective/Preventative Action Management

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Corrective/Preventative Action Management

Q-Pulse manages non-conformance through the CA/PA, (Corrective Action/Preventative Action) module, by automating established workflows and highlighting areas of improvement. Any type of aviation organization can identify, manage, control and correct areas of non-compliance in order to correct and pass any type of regulatory requirements.

Direct access to compliance actions from a central register streamlines the management of processes, reducing the effort spent managing activities and accelerating time to completion for actions. Role-based message management closes the loop on overdue processes by enabling the conditional escalation of actions to other roles where required, and the setup of different workflows based on record content.

Once collected in the CA/PA Management module, information can be viewed in isolation, either in groups of related information or across the complete organization. Robust security allocates access to information as you require it.

Any number of reports can be published and saved in personal or shared folders which significantly reduce the amount of time and effort spent searching for information. In addition, the Analysis module provides extensive graphical grouping and trend reports that greatly assist in spotting related issues and more importantly help identify opportunities for improvement.

The flexibility and capability of the CA/PA Management module ensures Q-Pulse is core in enabling an organization to reap significant benefits from their compliance efforts.

The objectives for CA/PA Management are to:

  • Automate the non-conformance process for the business within a single system
  • Extend the non-conformance process throughout a business with a centralized approach
  • Promote a systematic and holistic approach to non-conformance management
  • Notify and manage those responsible for non-conformances that in turn promote reduction in recurrence
  • Streamline non-conformance management to increase stakeholder satisfaction and improve the bottom line

Aviation SMS and FOQA Integration

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Sextant Readings recognizes that within the aviation industry there are many IT suppliers that provide systems to manage the day to day running of the organization. While Sextant Readings specializes in compliance, safety and quality software, there are also other IT suppliers that have synergies to allow Q-Pulse to effectively manage the data integrated from these systems to manage both quality and safety. Through integration, Sextant Readings’s approach is to create a holistic view of safety and in turn allow the organization to have a full understanding of areas of concern which can be identified for improvement.

FOQA integration is an extension of Q-Pulse that provides a two-way interface between Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) analysis through Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) solutions and the Safety Management System (SMS), which in turn streamlines the incident investigation process. Flight safety data can be centralized and at the same time improve visibility and accessibility throughout an organization.

Q-Pulse FOQA Integration encourages the reporting and subsequent investigation of events where operational parameters have been exceeded. Through the incidents being reported and investigated, corrective or preventative action can be taken to mitigate risks and in turn improve safety levels.

The FOQA data is instantly accessible from the SMS, allowing quick access to events related to an investigation, which in turn saves time and promotes corrective actions to be implemented more quickly.

Q-Pulse FDM Integration allows full analysis of related incidents and in turn can provide a review of associated incidents and enable the identification of trends, leading to improved safety levels and increased efficiency performance.
Ideagen Gael is partnered with three major FOQA solution suppliers:

  • Aerobytes
  • Flight Data Services
  • Sagem

Ideagen Gael is constantly working with other vendors to increase the scope of Q-Pulse FOQA Integration.

The objectives of FOQA Integration are to:

  • Encourage reporting and investigation of events where operational parameters have been exceeded
  • Improve safety levels and mitigate risk
  • Improve efficiency in the process of safety management
  • Identify trends for analysis and identify changes in processes and procedures where necessary

Aviation Safety Data Sharing Integration with Q-Pulse

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ASIAS (Aviation Safety Information Sharing and Analysis System) supported by the FAA and STEADES (Safety Trend Evaluation and Analysis Data Exchange System) provided by IATA and are aviation safety incident data management and analysis programs.

  • ASIAS combines data from a number of sources, including Flight Operations Quality Assurance programs (FOQA), Aviation Safety Action Programs (ASAP), the Aviation Safety Reporting System, the Air Traffic Safety Action Program for air traffic controllers, the national offload program, radar track data and data from ASDE-X.
  • The STEADES database provides the world’s largest database of de-identified airline incident reports, providing a secure environment for airlines to pool safety information for global benchmarking and analysis needs.

Both provide data on key safety performance indicators, helping airlines to benchmark and establish safety performance targets.

Operator data is made available to ASIAS using Application Program Interface (API) capability of Q-Pulse. STEADES integration with Q-Pulse allows customers to provide their data to IATA directly, securely and with confidence to contribute to the powerful analysis tool that IATA provides.

The objectives of STEADES integration is to:

  • Simplify the process for Ideagen Gael’s customers to provide data in a format required by regulators
  • Ensure data is communicated in a secure and confidential manner
  • Provides Ideagen Gael’s customers with the ability to contribute to the appropriate program with minimal effort.

Airlines agree common plan for tackling emissions

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CAPE TOWN | Mon Jun 3, 2013 8:04am EDT

(Reuters) – Global airlines have agreed on a proposal for tackling aircraft emissions in a bid to break international deadlock over an issue that has stoked fears of a carbon trade war.

Airlines representing 85 percent of global traffic urged governments to adopt a single market-based system designed to offset growth in their post-2020 emissions against the funding of projects to cut emissions deemed harmful to the environment.

The decision is designed to offer governments a basis for negotiation after United Nations talks failed to resolve a stand-off between the European Union and a broad flank of other countries over an issue with cross-border implications.

Airlines have been racing to avert a trade war after the European Union suspended an emissions trading scheme for a year to give opponents time to agree on a global system.

So far, little progress has been made in the UN effort to craft an agreement to lower emissions from international air travel, raising doubts that a September target date can be met.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), a group of 240 originally state-owned airlines set up to help the UN harmonize aviation after World War II, backed the plan after balancing the interests of airlines usually noted for cut-throat competition.

State-owned Chinese and Indian airlines voted against the measure, echoing what analysts see as the reluctance of their governments to set a precedent for wider climate control talks.

IATA’s director general told Reuters earlier that failure to agree a common position would expose the airline industry to a “patchwork horror story” of different regulations.

Airlines have been trying to use a slim window of opportunity to smooth over their own divisions and seize the initiative before the UN’s aviation body meets in September.

One of the most sensitive topics is whether the whole industry should pay for its emissions or whether the airlines growing the most should pay the most.

Airlines in the Gulf and Asia are growing at a much faster pace than those in mature European and North American markets. The IATA plan includes safeguards to protect the various camps.

“It is a question of finding the right sweet spot,” American Airlines Chief Executive Thomas Horton told Reuters.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Siva Govindasamy, Samantha Lee; Editing by Mark Potter)

 

Sextant Readings Solutions – aviation professionals with a focus on Safety and Risk Management, Quality Management and Quality Assurance, and Compliance for the Aviation Industry, is an IS-BAO Support Services Affiliate, IS-BAO safety consultant and Auditor

Key Components of a Risk Management System

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Sextant Readings Solutions - Risk Key Components

Key Components of a Risk Management System

Risk management requires organization support, an assurance framework and the ability to manage a collection of risks and opportunities. An organization that is successful in implementing an effective risk management system will recognize that there is an upside and a downside to risk.

In order to benefit from a robust risk management system, there are five key components that an organization is required to implement. It should:

  • Ensure executive management support and understanding
  • Consider risk in objective setting and decision making
  • Make the management system transparent, inclusive and accessible to all
  • Continually sense change and respond accordingly
  • Ensure that engagement is systematic, timely and sustainable

The Challenges

Ensuring these five key components comes with its own challenges.

Organizations face the challenge of ensuring that the terminology and methodologies are widely understood and consistently applied. All risk must be systematically evaluated, assessed and managed effectively and risk management and understanding must be widely adopted in all disciplines across the organization.

Risk management is an on-going process, and organizations must be ever ready for scrutiny and able to stand up to audit, as well as to ensure that learning from every incident is shared.

The Pitfalls

For effective risk management, organizations must avoid storing information in disconnected systems, formats and locations and make sure that change is managed and communicated effectively. Organizations are also open to exposure from actions that are not assigned or completed while time intensive and error prone reporting processes could be harmful, or even fatal, to the business

Q-Pulse Integration

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Sextant Readings Solutions - Solutions

Q-Pulse Integration

Ideagen Gael Risk’s ability to integrate with Q-Pulse enables operational data held across the organization to be directly associated with:

  • Building confidence in the knowledge that your risk management system is effective.
  • Providing early warning indicators based on your risk management requirements and making the right preventive decisions before it is too late.
  • Linking Ideagen Gael Risk to Q-Pulse documents, assets, incidents and non-conformances to provide the information you need to assess your system.
  • Linking Ideagen Gael Risk to other operational systems that mitigate risk in your organization.

For example, when reviewing a risk control linked to a Q-Pulse procedure, Ideagen Gael Risk provides you with a summary that highlights key information such as:

  • Number of non-conformances
  • Last review date
  • Last audit date
  • How often updated
  • Number of people trained on this procedure

Sextant Readings Solutions - Integration with Docs

This is key information that is vital to support any type of review.

Ideagen Gael Risk is an integrated solution providing comprehensive risk assessment, treatment and management across the whole organization.

 

 

Risk Value Creation

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Sextant Readings Solutions - Risk Value Creation

Value Creation

Risk management has traditionally focused on Value Protection – taking steps to ensure something undesirable doesn’t happen. Yet the disciplines of risk management are ideal for identifying the contributing factors and how they ought to be managed to optimize performance – Value Creation

Risk Learning and Sharing

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Sextant Readings Solutions - Risk Learning and sharing

Learning and Sharing

Lessons learned from incidents and near misses need to be shared across the organization. This can be very challenging in multi-national and geographically disparate situations and can leave organizations exposed if it can be proved that an incident could have been prevented, or would have been less serious, had the learning from a previous event been shared effectively.

Sextant Readings Solutions - Global Reach

An effective SMS Information Management solution provides the ability to share learning and best practice in a controlled manner. This capability imust be two-way, allowing for command and control from a central location and also from the local autonomy where conditions differ from what is regarded as normal

Stand Up to Scrutiny

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Sextant Readings Solutions -Risk Stand Up to Scrutiny

Stand Up To Scrutiny

An effective SMS Information Management solution provides the ability to always be in a state of readiness and to provide confidence to regulators, customers and third parties that you are in control of your management system.

The SMS Information Management solution makes it easier to adopt risk management in all disciplines across the organization. It provides a consistent mechanism to manage risk effectively and efficiently

Risk management is an on-going process and there will always be actions to complete or improvements to be made.