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CBAA announces new SMS program for members

Jan. 6, 2015, Ottawa - The Canadian Business Aviation Association has released the CBAA Member SMS, which uses a simple checklist system to help private operators comply with the new 604 regulations.


January 6, 2015  By Carey Fredericks

Created by Merlin Preuss, CBAA’s Vice President, Government and Regulatory Affairs, and former Director General Civil Aviation, Transport Canada, the CBAA Member SMS has been designed expressly to help private operators fulfil their regulatory obligations respecting Quality Assurance and Safety Management Systems.

The  template SMS manual provides a baseline for operators to create their own, tailored SMS manual by amending it to reflect the operator’s approach to developing, implementing and maintaining their SMS.  The template manual and the guide address all the regulatory requirements and offer best practices.   If the manual is appropriately customized and the processes and procedures implemented, used and maintained as designed, then the CBAA member SMS is an acceptable means of compliance with the applicable regulations.

As the regulations will require trending data to be compliant, the CBAA will launch an online National Aggregate Database on March 1st, 2015, to allow participants in the CBAA Member SMS to upload their de-identified and confidential information.  At that point, they will have full access to data on risk mitigation, hazards and other information required to fulfill regulatory obligations.

“The CBAA Member SMS is truly unique” said Rudy Toering. “First, it was designed by Merlin Preuss, one of Canada’s foremost experts on aviation safety management systems and who implemented SMS when he was Director General at Transport Canada.  Second, it has been reviewed by Transport Canada.  Third, it has been tested by member operators, who provided important input into the final version.  Finally, the National Aggregate Database will be a simple and effective way to comply with the new trending data requirement.”

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The SMS and Aggregate Database, available to CBAA members only, are elements of the CBAA’s Partners in Safety initiative. “We know that corporate aviation is the safest form of flight, and within that, Canada’s corporate aviation safety record is the best in the world.” said Toering.  “Partners in Safety allows the CBAA  to work with  the extended business aviation community to instil that high level of safety in every operation, and to assist corporate aircraft operators maintain their exacting standards.”

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