Published Articles

Performance: Going for the Deep Dive
Safety Dan Parsons Safety Dan Parsons

Performance: Going for the Deep Dive

In this series’s previous post, I discussed the identification of critical controls in the service of a fully-functioning airport (or anything for that matter) safety assurance, but that is not the end of the story.

The point of having these critical controls is to provide your organisation with an account of how it manages risk.

The role of the Accountable Executive, supported by their subordinates, is to be in a position to provide that account and to ensure that it aligns with the organisation’s strategy and objectives, or vice versa.

There may be some discussion on the level to which this account should reach but the following article outlines what is thought to be an effective and achievable middle ground.

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Critical Controls: What Keeps You Up at Night?
Safety Dan Parsons Safety Dan Parsons

Critical Controls: What Keeps You Up at Night?

Today's post on safety assurance will focus on identifying and measuring critical controls.

Checking an entire system of controls is a big job. Reporting on those checks would be an even bigger job and not necessarily a welcome thing if your senior management is as busy as mine. The company I work for employs a criticality filter to focus our accountability on those activities that mean the most.

This article is going the explore both why you might want to use criticality and how you might apply it to your long list of controls.

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Setting the Airport Wildlife Hazard Scene
Airside, Airspace, Runway, Safety Dan Parsons Airside, Airspace, Runway, Safety Dan Parsons

Setting the Airport Wildlife Hazard Scene

A good airport operator knows that bird strikes and other airport wildlife hazards require special attention. In part 1 of this series, Safety Management System (SMS) processes had identified the overall risk associated with the hazard and you began consulting with your airport stakeholders.

But before making a list of bird and animal species and checking it twice, we need to set the context for the rest of this process - after all, context is everything.

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Airport Wildlife Risk Management: Framework and Consultation
Airside, Airspace, Runway, Safety Dan Parsons Airside, Airspace, Runway, Safety Dan Parsons

Airport Wildlife Risk Management: Framework and Consultation

It can be easy for an airport operator to brush off the impact of a bird strike. The majority of the cost, estimated to be between $700 million BSC USA and $1 billion EASA per year, is borne by airlines. But aviation is a team-sport and, as an airport manager, when I get a call notifying me of a bird strike, I run through my management choices again, each and every time.

Those choices and business decisions can be tough. The effect of various wildlife management techniques can be hard to measure as there is no silver bullet.

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