If only 10-15 years ago, many airlines and airports had their own flight safety management system either under development or implementation, but nowadays, perhaps, there is no organisation left that does not have it, at least formally.
Therefore, the main task now is to constantly improve it and increase its efficiency. And one of the most effective ways is the digitalization of this process. How to do it quickly and efficiently?
What needs to be digitized?
It is advisable to digitize all components and elements of the flight safety management system, but first of all, we should pay attention to the most important and labor-intensive elements, such as:
– collection and analysis of data on flight safety;
– risk management, including:
- risk management based on statistical data;
- fatigue risk management;
- management of risks related to deficiencies in piloting technique.
- monitoring of flight safety indicators;
- planning, preparation and holding audits/inspections;
- analysis of the reliability of aviation equipment;
- staff training.
The list of the elements given above is far from complete, so each company can determine the necessity and degree of digitalization itself according to the needs and a scale of the organisation.
What should we start with?
Process analysis. First, it is necessary to analyse all processes within the safety management system, from goal setting to safety promotion. The main purpose of the analysis is to identify the weakest points and labor-intensive processes. They are the very processes the work on digitalization should be directed on.
Choosing an IT system. This is one of the most difficult stages as you have to choose one of three options.
Option 1. Create the system in-house with the help of your own flight safety specialists and IT departments.
Option 2. Use ready-made ideas.
Option 3. Develop your own system with the help of the external software company.
The first option is not quite often seen these days. Not every airline, airport or maintenance organization has enthusiasts which have both sufficient technical skills and knowledge in the field of flight safety and who are ready to do their main duties and create flight safety IT-systems at the same time.
You should also consider that such an approach is very time consuming and it can take you years or even decades to develop the system, so service providers tend to refuse this option.
The second option is rather popular as the ready-made system already has its own set of universal tools which one way or another is suitable for any company. If you choose the second option the main time will be spent on “fitting” the ready-made system to your current workflow and training of your employees to use this system. When choosing this very option, you should consider the flexibility of the system and its ability to adapt to the customer requirements.
The third option is developing your own system with the help of the vendor company. When choosing this option, the company will get a unique product which is fully consistent to the processes of the organization. However, you have to consider that this is the most expensive option, as it includes analytics of the developer company, preparation of the technical specifications and development of the system literally from scratch. What is more, there will be additional costs for improvement and support.
“When choosing the solution, you have to take into account that digitalization of the flight safety management should be undertaken independently if only the system of the company is sufficiently developed, i.e., there is a clear and well- established understanding of the processes”, advises AIM consultant and a flight safety expert Eleonora Surina. – If there is no such understanding and the company is only looking for it, it is not advisable to use the first and the second options as it can cause high costs for constant improvement / changing of the system”.
Implementation. After a ready-made system has been developed from the scratch or adapted to your company, it is time to implement it. On that stage everything depends on the learnability of the staff and how they are involved in the process and willing to study. Not all of them want to leave the comfort zone and study something new. They are used to maintain the flight safety database with the help of their pens and notebooks or at least using Excel. Therefore, comprehensive training and involvement of the staff and the leadership guarantees fast and efficient implementation.
What to require from an IT system?
The IT system should be based on the best international experience in the field of flight safety management and meet the following requirements:
- Integration. The system should have a modular architecture, allowing customers to select the required modules. Each module is a special topic, a separate part related to different elements of flight safety which is able to work independently and at the same time be part of a single whole.
- Flexibility. There should be an ability to adapt fast to the processes of the particular customer.
- Security and data protection. The system must provide the necessary degree of data security, have a data backup subsystem and be able to quickly recover from failures in its operation.
4. Availability. The system must be available 24/7.
5. Fast deployment. The system must be able to implement quickly.
6. Integration ability. The system should be able to integrate with planning systems, airworthiness, personnel databases, etc.
7. Customer support. Any requests should beprocessed by the customer support service at the time specified in the contract.
8. Convenience and ease of use. The system should have an intuitive interface, be simple and easy to learn.
9. Staff training. Supplier company must train users and administrators of the system.
AIM experts are always ready to help with digitalization of your flight safety management systems.