The Spring of 2020 has been a trying time for most of us. Each one of you have certainly experienced unique challenges due to the COVID-19 disruptions. It has been our privilege to partner with you by quickly implementing necessary solutions to assist you through these unprecedented times. Our efforts to support you have been focused on utilizing virtual technology while continuing our path of executing on our Vision 2020 promises of the modernization of the IS-BAO programme.
We have had great success with the new remote auditing policy and recently provided a revision effective until the end of the year. Scores of operators have utilized the online audit option since the first one in March 2020. In addition, the online workshops have been well attended and have provided us with valuable lessons learned. As a result, we plan to move to a completely new workshop format later this year that will be focused on Initial and Recurrent tracks that are designed with operator direction and include online options.
The Progressive Stage 3 (PS3) is being rolled out now to current Stage 3 operators and has been well received as an advanced and personalized programme. The FlightPlan Stage 1 was introduced at NBAA-BACE 2019 and is growing rapidly with many new entrant operator registrations. The small operator focus group is currently directing the evolution of the FlightPlan Stage 1 through to FlightPlan Stage 2 and into the Progressive Stage 3 as planned.
The Progressive Stage 3 operator leadership team is planning an online virtual roundtable in August. The roundtable, Operating in the New Not-So-Normal Covid-19 World, will focus on the return to “normal operations” with a focus on change management in light of COVID-19 challenges.
As you know, IS-BAO is recognized around the world and with IBAC’s official observer status at ICAO, we are connected and represent business aviation’s best interests, every day, especially during these dynamic times. One example of these efforts was shared last week in an INFO regarding the Collaborative Agreement for the Prevention and Management of Public Health Events in Civil Aviation (CAPSCA) Public Health Corridor guidance to protect flight crews. IBAC was instrumental in expanding this guidance to go beyond cargo operations and to include maintenance, ferry, and delivery operations.
Please continue to reach out to the IS-BAO team for assistance as we continue to navigate these extraordinary times and thank you for your continued support.
IS-BAO Registrations Expiring During The COVID-19 Pandemic
Daniel Devraignes, IBAC Audit Manager
As the COVID-19 pandemic challenges the world as a whole and aviation in particular, IBAC continues to monitor the evolution of the outbreak and its impacts on the operations of our registered operators around the globe, as well as the initiatives from ICAO and the various CAAs, striving to support our operators in the best possible ways.
Following the issue on 18 March of Policy 2020-01 authorizing and providing guidelines for the conduct of remote IS-BAO registration audits, we have already authorized more than 30 audits to be conducted remotely. The first remote audit took place on 30 March, followed by more than 20 others in April, May, and June to date, that have taken place since we started. The feedback from operators and auditors involved in the audits is very positive and confirms this is a good alternative for many operators. We encourage operators whose registration will expire in the coming months to go over Policy 2020-01 Rev1, which can be accessed via the operator portal after logging in to our website, and please reach out to is-baoauditmanager@ibac.org with any questions. READ MORE
The Usual Suspects - June 2020 Edition
Yvonne Marinus, Accreditation Manager and Daniel Devraignes - IBAC Audit Manager
Aircraft Equipment Protocol Items 14.1.1 & 14.1.2
The IS-BAO Standard Protocol items 14.1.1 and 14.1.2 often causes delays in the processing of audits submitted to IBAC. In fact, 14.1.2 is the single most common protocol to be sent back to the auditor with issues to be resolved. Very often, auditors and operators alike misunderstand the intention and/or full scope of this item. So, let’s break it down and see if we can provide better clarity on what these items are all about. READ MORE
Changing Course – Adapting and Reinventing
in a COVID-19 World
Katherine Hilst - Operations Manager
The previous IBAC newsletter was written in what we all thought was our “normal” world. Just a few short months later, we are smack in the middle of a COVID-19, brand new, global reality for our modern world. In the last newsletter, I left you with a question to ask yourselves about your risk management processes: how do you know whether your operation is “on a successful voyage or whether it is veering off course”? But what happens when an unexpected circumstance, like COVID-19, literally takes the world off course? A few months ago, we all probably felt like we were navigating our chosen courses and managing change reasonably well, without an inkling that we were coming up on a world in crisis. We are all learning right now, in real time, that things can change on a dime and that we need to have the adaptive capacity (thank you Dr. Sidney Dekker) to rework/reinvent ourselves moving forward. COVID-19 has us all reassessing our operations and how we can be sustainable going forward in a world that is in the process of evolving to a new and currently unknown ‘normal.’ We’ve all basically worked through our emergency response plans, figuratively and perhaps even literally: ceasing operations, standing down to reassess where we are, and now embarking on planning to return to ‘normal’ in a changed world. READ MORE
This is a forum where operators, auditors, or those just curious about either International Standard to interact with peers, ask questions, and learn about important IS-BAO and/or IS-BAH events and news. You can locate the forum HERE.
These are strange days, indeed. COVID-19 has turned our world upside-down and nothing is as it once was. Most of us around the world either are currently, or have been, on lock down in our homes. Schools are closed. Business are shuttered. Many people are out of work for the time being. Parents are trying to manage home schooling.
While we at IBAC are fortunate enough to continue to support our operators and auditors, alike, things are still not anywhere near “normal.” Audits continue to go on although many of them are being conducted remotely by leveraging technology. Workshops are being offered live online. We continue to find new and different ways to get the job done from a distance and keep the programmes moving along. READ MORE
Together We Can Do So Much
Stéphane De Wolf - E.U. Operations Specialist
Every language probably has an equivalent to a French saying – loosely translated here – that “it’s in adversity that friends reveal themselves”. The saying probably has its roots in Ancient Rome: Cicero, whose eloquence and wit inspired many generations, told us: “friends are proved by adversity”.
The unfolding of the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t a particularly far-fetched scenario (considering recent experience with SARS, H1N1, etc.), but it nevertheless rocked everybody’s boat by surprise. Regrettably, many difficulties arose to test our resilience. In this context, the Member Associations of IBAC (i.e. your national or regional association) temporarily put non-urgent tasks on hold and quickly reconfigured themselves to help reunite people, to ensure the timely transport of critical staff and supplies, and to mitigate the knock-down effects on the whole industry. They are now heavily focusing on resuming safe operations. New guidance, resources and stories pile up online on a nearly daily basis, demonstrating once again the value of aircraft and the dedication of millions of aviation professionals to serve the community and mankind in general. “Unfortunately,” those efforts are likely to continue over the coming months with varying - and hopefully quickly decreasing – intensity. Whatever ‘new normal’ eventually emerges from this crisis, your association is there to support you and is also already actively gearing up for the post-COVID-19 world. READ MORE
Your IS-BAO™ Standards Board Members
Chairman
Stan Medved, EBAA
Vice Chairman
Len Beauchemin, NBAA
Secretariat
Bennet Walsh, IBAC
De facto member
Kurt Edwards, IBAC
Members
Juergen Wiese, EBAA
David Nigri, NBAA
Jens Henning, GAMA
Matt Zuccaro, HAI
Doug Carr, NBAA
Joanne Wong, AsBAA
Keith Washington, NBAA
Pat Dunn, NBAA
Mohammed Waggas, MEBAA
Dan Boedigheimer, NBAA
Mike Ott - NBAA
Lynette Sims - ABAA
Kent Wong - AsBAA
Thank you all for your participation.
Bennet Walsh
IS-BAO™ Programme Director
bwalsh@ibac.org
Katherine Hilst
Operations Manager
khilst@ibac.org
Daniel Devraignes
Audit Manager
ddevraignes@ibac.org
Yvonne Marinus
Accreditation Manager
ymarinus@ibac.org
Stéphane De Wolf
E.U. Operations Specialist
sdewolf@ibac.org
Further details can be found on the IBAC website: www.ibac.org
Don’t Forget The IS-BAO/H LinkedIn Forum
