Avionics News January 2013 - 15

As a n o rga n i z at i o n , we a r e a l l a b o u t s a fe t y . Th r o u g h o u t i t s m o r e t h a n 5 0 - yea r h i s t o r y , t h e A E A h a s l eve r a ge d t h e k n ow l e d ge a n d ex p e r i e n c e o f i t s i n d i v i d u a l m e m b e r s t o a d va n c e t h e av i o n i c s i n d u s t r y a s a w h o l e .

about the management system the repair station will use to assure safety and quality. So, as we performed the gap analysis, we found we didn’t need to add a management system; we already had one. And we didn’t need to add a safety objective; we already had one. We simply needed to determine where our management system and our safety objective needed to be enhanced. The ICAO states that within the context of aviation, “Safety is the state in which the possibility of harm to persons or of property damage is reduced to, and maintained at or below, an acceptable level through a continuing process of hazard identification and safety risk management.” If safety is the goal, then what is the objective? The objective is “the limiting of accident risk through design of a systematic, methodical and forward-looking hazard identification and control program, beginning in the conceptual design phase and continuing through its development, fabrication, testing, production, use and ultimate disposal.” Interestingly, this definition has been around for decades and is the FAA’s definition of system safety. When we started looking at management systems, we discovered it is generally understood that management systems refer to what organizations do to manage their processes, or activities, so that its products or services meet the objectives it has set for itself. These objectives typically focus on satisfying the customer’s quality requirements, complying with regulations and meeting safety objectives. So, we need to ensure our management system, as required by Part 145 (or equivalent), includes the necessary tools to support our enhanced safety objective of system safety; or, the limiting of accident risk through the design of a systematic, methodical and forward-looking hazard identification and control program, beginning in the con-

ceptual design phase and continuing throughout the life cycle of our process. The mission of the ICAO is to achieve its vision of safe, secure and sustainable development of civil aviation through the cooperation of its member states. According to the Civil Aviation Act and in compliance with the Convention on International Civil Aviation, the FAA administrator shall consider the following matters, among others, as being in the public interest: • Assigning, maintaining and enhancing safety and security as the highest priorities in air commerce. • Regulating air commerce in a way that best promotes safety and fulfills national defense requirements. • Encouraging and developing civil aeronautics, including new aviation technology. • Controlling the use of the navigable airspace and regulating civil and military operations in that airspace in the interest of the safety and efficiency of both of those operations. • Consolidating research and development for air navigation facilities and the installation and operation of those facilities. • Developing and operating a common system of air traffic control and navigation for military and civil aircraft. • Providing assistance to law enforcement agencies in the enforcement of laws related to regulation of controlled substances, to the extent consistent with aviation safety. If the FAA administrator has performed the job correctly, the Federal Aviation Regulations must be the safety standards necessary to “assigning, maintaining and enhancing safety and security as the highest priorities.” If this assumption is correct,
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Avionics News January 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News January 2013
