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The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) has chosen to adopt the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI)-INDICATE safety program as the basis of its safety management activities.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service announced it would be using the BASI program at a safety seminar and workshop at Broken Hill on 19-20 June 1999.
A BASI spokesperson said that BASI-INDICATE, (Identifying Needed Defences In The Civil Aviation Transport Environment) is a safety program which provides simple, cost-effective and reliable means of capturing, maintaining, monitoring and reporting information about safety hazards in aviation operations.
'The BASI-INDICATE program is a self-management safety tool which encourages aircraft operators to critically evaluate and continually improve the integrity of safety defences', the Spokesperson said.
'It also provides a formal communication channel for aircraft operators to regularly identify and pro-actively report current weaknesses in aviation regulations, policies and standards to BASI.'
A BASI representative, Miss Kerryn Macaulay, attended the seminar at the invitation of the Chief Pilot of the NSW Section of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Captain Don Campbell. Mr Graham Edkins representing QANTAS Flight Safety and Mr Andrew O'Connor of O'Connor Airlines also presented at, and participated in the seminar. O'Connor Airlines has implemented the BASI-INDICATE program and in February 1999 received the Certificate of Air Safety from the Aviation Safety Foundation of Australia, awarded to organisations that had implemented significant air safety techniques or institutional initiatives.
Key RFDS personnel who attended the workshop included the Chief Executive Officer as well as a cross-section of pilots and engineers from the five bases that comprise the NSW RFDS. Also in attendance were members of the Central, Queensland and Western Sections of the RFDS who were keen to implement a similar safety program in their respective sections.
'Whilst the RFDS already has an enviable safety record, the organisation has recognised the benefits of taking a further step to ensure that the record gets even better and that their operation continues to be viable in today's competitive market', the spokesperson said.
'The Bureau provided an overview on the structure and benefits of implementing a formal and pro-active operational safety management program to enhance the current safety practices of the RFDS.
'Feedback received by the Bureau from industry experience provided some valuable guidance on the pitfalls to watch out for on the road to achieving success with such an initiative.
'The commercial benefits of implementing such programs were clearly illustrated through the experiences of the QANTAS group of regional airlines.
'Not only do such programs primarily assist to ensure a consistent and acceptable level of safety within an organisation, but also they influence the bottom line.
'A few simple changes to procedures for example may serve to save thousands of dollars, money that could be well used to enhance and expand the services currently provided by the RFDS.
'In addition, operational experience in running a safety program was provided by O'Connor Airlines, a small regional airline operating out of Mt Gambier in South Australia. Again, many valuable lessons and tips were gleaned from this presentation.
'The workshop set out to provide a framework for the implementation of a formal safety program within RFDS. The workshop participants identified a time-line and set of key tasks. Resources have been committed and progress to commence implementation will start immediately.
'The RFDS provides a good example of an organisation that regards safety as a priority and has provided support for this priority from management level down to those involved in the daily activity of providing a much needed service to rural Australia', the Spokesperson said.
Dr Robert Lee
(Director, BASI)
Media Inquiries:
Peter Saint (Bureau of Air Safety Investigation): (02) 6274 6590
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