Tag Archives: Sextant Readings

Airport safety self-inspection programs

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Sextant Readings solution to support Airport safety self-inspection programs. Our solution will allow you to submit safety self-inspection information and create a single shared information environment to collect, analyze and report.  Safety Self Inspection is a critical cornerstone to establish and maintain an effective safety program.

Airports must reliably perform day-in and day-out while dealing with different and changing conditions, all while maintaining a relentless focus on safety. To address these challenges, many airports are seeking Safety Self Inspection Software to support operations and maintenance personnel on the Air Operations Area of the airport in submission of information into an electronic database.  The information in the database will then be used for analysis, action, follow-up and reporting as well as sharing with the FAA and other regulatory bodies.

Airports are not alone in seeking out a software application to support safety self-inspection and to create the foundation for a well implemented Safety Management System. Industry Associations and Regulators see a structured, risk-based approach to managing safety which incorporates safety into the fabric of the day-to-day decision-making process of an organization as an essential step in establishing a vibrant safety program.  Sextant Readings provides the essential tools to enable Airports to establish a structured, risk-based safety management system based on the capture of Self Inspection information.

Sextant Readings is actively involved in the on-going evolution of Safety Management Systems. It actively participates in the FAA SMS Working Group, ensuring access to the most current SMS information available and influencing the direction of the rulemaking process. We are also actively involved in SMS activities across multiple aspects of the Aviation industry, including Airports, Air Carriers, Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities and private, non-scheduled and public use operators. As a result, we apply holistic, best practices approaches to achieving best value from your safety management software investment as well as the processes and training required for its successful implementation.

Sextant Readings Solutions will provide world-class Safety Management information system software. In addition, Sextant Readings and partner with leading-edge GIS consulting firms that have been assisting airports throughout the Unites States with leveraging the power of GIS technology.  They apply geographic knowledge to move clients into a position where GIS technology can be used in the decision-making process.

Sextant Readings partners with recognized leaders in the development and support of safety, quality and compliance management software solutions.

We support a broad range of Safety Management System needs. We enable you to (i) collect safety data; (ii) identify non-conforming situations and hazards; (iii) track, report, and access risk: (iv) assign responsibility for corrective action/ preventive action; and (v) manage workflow. We provide robust analysis capability with real-time graphical presentations. It integrates with your existing email and network environment to provide active notification and escalation communications based on user-defined thresholds. Its integration of customer complaint management, suppliers, employees and assets into a single data system to deliver an unmatched capability to monitor and manage safety across all your operations.  We effectively support voluntary and confidential reporting including RSAP (Ramp Safety Action Programs), enables mobile devices (Documents, Audits, Reports), and supports airport self-inspection and Emergency Response Planning programs.

The combination of (i) your proprietary business knowledge and processes; (ii)Sextant Readings’ project management expertise, industry knowledge and experience; (iii) GIS enablement and (iv) award-winning software and services will produce the best return to your organization and its stakeholders for the investment in a Safety Self Inspection software solution.

Through our partnerships, Sextant Readings provides Airports with a single source for safety management software and the implementation services to align with your business processes and safety self-inspection program. We also train your team to maintain and modify the software configuration to maintain alignment with your safety program as you undergo continuous improvement. As your partner in the implementation journey, Sextant Readings will also support you with user training and on-going support services.

Sextant Readings’ approach to meeting your airport’s objectives is to provide and successfully implement a realistic, well-structured and professionally executed safety self-inspection solution. We believe that methodical planning and the delivery of the software solution in carefully managed and measured stages will ensure a successful, on-time delivery and implementation of the software.

Sextant Readings’ people drive our success. The experienced management team has extensive knowledge of compliance, safety, quality and risk management principles. Sextant Readings develops its employees and invests heavily in their training.  This ensures its people not only possess the appropriate knowledge and skills, but also can meet and overcome new challenges. Sextant Readings views its investment in its employees as an investment in its business future.

Sextant Readings appreciates the opportunity to present our solutions to Airports and we look forward to a long and successful business relationship.

GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE RENEWS ACSF SUSTAINING MEMBERSHIP

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ACSF Logo

 

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                  FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Bryan Burns
President
888-723-3135
bburns@acsf.aero

GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE RENEWS ACSF SUSTAINING MEMBERSHIP 

Alexandria, VA,  March 27, 2014 — The Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) is pleased to recognize Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation for its continued sustaining membership. The company has shown its commitment to the foundation’s vision of enhancing and improving safety through its generous financial support.

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 2,200 aircraft for customers around the world since 1958. The company employs more than 14,000 people at 12 major locations.

“Gulfstream is excited to continue to partner with the 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 continue as a sustaining member to further safety of air charter and fractional ownership flight operations.”

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

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

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“The vision of the ACSF is to enable on-demand charter providers and fractional program managers to achieve the highest levels of safety in the aviation industry. This goal will be achieved through:

  • Promotion of risk management programs,
  • The adoption of one common industry audit standard,
  • Dissemination of safety information and,
  • Creation of additional programs that advance the goals of the foundation.”

Civil Aviation Authority Safety Review for Offshore Rotor Operations

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In September 2013, following a number of incidents involving offshore helicopter operations, the UK CAA, in conjunction with EASA and the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority, conducted a safety review. The review examined the risks and hazards of operating in the North Sea and considered how these could be managed more effectively.

This comprehensive analysis of North Sea helicopter operations and safety performance proposes a series of actions and makes a number of important recommendations for the industry. The focus is now on managing the changes arising from the report in a considered and systematic way.

Although focused on oil and gas operations in the North Sea, the Review has indirect relevance for offshore Search and Rescue (SAR) too and will arguably be of interest to other offshore oil and gas locations around the world.

The Review contains 32 Actions which the UK CAA have committed to but more widely 29 Recommendations. Of these, 13 are to EASA, 12 to the Helicopter Industry (AOC Holders, MROs, ATOs and manufacturers), 3 to the oil and gas industry and one collectively to all three of these

Read the full report

Annex 19 – The Next Steps in Proactive Safety Management

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Annex 19 – The Next Steps in Proactive Safety Management

By Danielle Kelly

Sextant Readings Solutions - SMS ICAO Annex 19For the first time in 30 years, ICAO are set to release a new Annex – Annex 19 – that pulls together current safety management practices and future expectations for facilitating safety risks that exist in our lands and skies.

The Annex looks to promote and enhance the alignment between the state and service providers and operators, which in my opinion should be welcomed and can only be a positive thing. Sharing and learning from each other is good, it’s what we are taught as kids and is something we would do well to remember as adults. ICAO have provided us with Annex after Annex of standards and regulations depicting how things should be done in the industry, with lots of references to safety for operation of aircraft, air traffic services, aerodromes, and airworthiness. This new Annex brings together all of these different provisions to further embed safety oversight and systemic risk sharing, but shouldn’t we be doing this already anyway?

There is a lot of emphasis on the management of safety risks, focusing on what we don’t want to happen, and on the sharing of information. However, how worthwhile the sharing of information actually is depends on what is done with it. ICAO appear to be providing an answer to bridging the gap between simply being aware of other industry incidents and proactively managing and implementing further mitigation strategies to prevent the same thing from occurring on our own watch. But why has it taken a new Annex to be published for us to do this, shouldn’t this be something we should be doing as part of working practice? How do organizations learn and share?

It seems ICAO have produced this Annex to show that it is no longer acceptable just to Prevent, Detect and Respond; we need to be able to learn and share information, particularly as the demand for air travel increases. To that end, ICAO has offered greater support for the next generation of safety management systems. The co-ordination effort being established between State Safety Programs (SSP) and the SMS provides an opportunity to improve the performance of the existing SMS to meet state safety policies and objectives, state safety risk management, assurance and promotion.

Like I said before, we can no longer be seen just to be preventing, detecting and responding to occurrences. Learning isn’t just about reporting, understanding, implementing and then backtracking; it’s much more than that – learning is the sharing of knowledge and information, so let’s get more information about our controls instead of the outcomes.  How about we manage the precursor and build our resilience?

Now, it’s all very well saying this but how do we actually achieve it?

Well, we need to start somewhere…so how about our controls? Do we have confidence in our controls?  If not, why not? And what do we do about it to make sure we are confident in the controls in place?

Yes, States play a role to establish and prescribe a State Safety Program in order for us to achieve an acceptable level of safety. However, it is up to the service providers and operators who fundamentally need to demonstrate and actively manage risk and the effectiveness of mitigation strategies through their own Safety Management Systems.

So, where do we go with Annex 19?

Well, we have to make time to look at what we’ve got; we know an SMS will give us the means to do everything we need to do and to be able do them effectively in terms of manage hazards and associated risks, log incidents and occurrences to be able to report on performance. There will no doubt be policies and procedures with associated workflows that are required to be followed to ensure the investigation is appropriately dealt with.

With Annex 19, we need more than this. We need a platform to not only do all the things we need to do, but also all the things we want to do; such as anticipating and predicting, strengthening our position and giving us confidence in our controls. Because if we’re not doing that…well…in the eyes of Annex 19…are we doing it wrong?

How does your SMS measure up against the new Annex 19 recommendations?

Sextant Readings Presentation on SlideShare has been viewed over 1,750 times

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The Sextant Readings presentation – 8 Steps to an Efficient SMS – has been viewed over 1750 times on SlideShare.

Positioning the “8 steps to an efficient SMS” is intended to clarify some of the mis-information about Safety Management that is rife on the internet.  There is a lot of hype about SMS – usually focused on the particular strengths of a vendor’s offering.

However we view Safety Management in the context that safety is a direct result of  “A management system based on professionalism and safety principles” of an organization.  There are many ‘pieces’ of management system support in the offerings from so-called Safety Professionals.

At Sextant Readings we believe that supporting the management of an organization based on the principles of professionalism and safety is our business.  You can see the presentation here:


FLIGHT CHARTERS JOINS AIR CHARTER SAFETY FOUNDATION

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Bryan Burns
President
888-723-3135
bburns@acsf.aero

NEW FLIGHT CHARTERS JOINS AIR CHARTER SAFETY FOUNDATION 

Alexandria, VA, July 26, 2013 — The Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) is pleased to announce that New Flight Charters is the newest charter broker to join the ACSF.  Along with over 106 other businesses, New Flight Charters supports the ACSF’s vision to enable on-demand air charter providers and fractional program managers to achieve the highest levels of safety in the aviation industry.

“With our management team’s experience and first-hand understanding of flight safety, New Flight Charters calls upon a macro view in evaluating air charter safety,” said New Flight Charters President, Rick Colson.  “Our emphasis is on obtaining the highest levels of safety data, records and statistics.  From the largest charter aircraft listing in the marketplace, we narrow options for each flight to the top operator and aircraft choices in the passenger’s best interest.  ACSF helps us do that well.”

“We are pleased to welcome New Flight Charters to the foundation,” said ACSF President Bryan Burns. “Becoming a member of ACSF is a testament to their commitment to providing the safest aircraft and flight crews for their clients.”

Colson noted, “You must understand the overall environment and all sources of information, including your own personal experiences with an aircraft operator and their personnel, to continually arrange the safest and most enjoyable jet charter flights. Joining ACSF will help us achieve that goal.”

For more information, visit www.newflightcharters.com or 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.

Aviation Document Management

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Aviation Document Management

Whether you are flight crew, an aircraft engineer or ground staff, it’s imperative that the day to day use of circulated documentation must be accurate, up to date and accessible in order to achieve compliance standards set by aviation regulators.

A SMS Information Management solution Document Management provides a central storage for all controlled documents and associated records. Any documentation type, such as user manuals, company processes and procedures and associated supporting material, are fully supported.

Staff can be confident that they are accessing the latest version of any given document through their PC or mobile device at anytime, and in any place.

A SMS Information Management solution prevents the use of incorrect documents and always presents the most current approved revision to users. Documents are securely managed to prevent uncontrolled modifications, drafts or copies. Records pertaining to document change, history, approval and distribution are securely held for each revision of a document and are readily available for review. Document registers are automatically updated with approved changes, helping to eliminate the risk of human error.

The fundamental benefit of the Document Management module is its flexibility and capability. It dramatically reduces the bureaucratic burden of compliance management and provides an infrastructure to make the correct information available where needed. The module allows for efficient and effective change control and effortlessly demonstrates compliance to your management system. Significantly, it facilitates collective ownership of the management system within the organization.

The objectives for Document Management are to:

  • Make the correct information available at the point of need, when required
  • Encourage ownership of the compliance management system across an organization
  • Effectively manage change from an initial request, through drafting, approval, distribution and publishing
  • Contribute to more effective use of management system information
  • Reduce the bureaucracy of managing document control within a compliance management environment
  • Extend the accessibility of controlled documents throughout the organization and beyond via a secure web interface

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