ASAP Newsletters:

August 2007 April 2007 January 2007 April 2006

August 2007:

ASAP- Aviation Safety Action Program August 2007 In This Issue: MOU signed by FAA Administrator Blakey... Need a Password? Read ASAP Voluntary Self Disclosure Program Hageland Joins Era Maintenance Joins FAXED reports New ASAP Report Format on the way MOU signed by FAA Administrator Blakey On July 5, Marian Blakely, FAA Administrator, signed our new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).  As you may recall, we have been working under a demonstration program which is the first phase of ASAP process.  During this phase we have been 'demonstrating' the effectiveness and viability of our ASAP program.  With the Administers signature, we have now moved into what the FAA calls the 'continuing' phase of our program.  We are very pleased with the FAA's support of our program which is the first of its kind in the country.  It is also noteworthy that the FAA Administrator herself signed the MOU which is very unusual.  Senator Ted Stevens was also in attendance and made a presentation during the event. The signing took place at a ceremony at the Hotel Capt Cook.  All of the Participating ASAP carriers were represented and they also signed the new MOU along with the appropriate FAA FSDO managers. Pictured: Front row: Clint Weise, FAI FSDO Manager , FAA Administrator Marion Blakey, Michelle  Fabry, Era Aviation, Terry Smith recipient of the FAA Alaskan Region Visionary Leader Award Back row: Patrick Thurston, Hageland  Dir of Ops ,  Hugh McLaughlin, ANC FSDO Manager , Art Warbelow, Warbelow Air Venture, Kent Adams, ASAP Medallion Foundation PM, Robert Hajdukovich, Frontier Flying Service, Richard Harding, PenAir and the 2007 Thomas H. Wardleigh Aviation Safety Advocate Award, and Senator Ted Stevens. Need a Password? We are still getting requests to provide new passwords to people who have lost the old ones. That is OK. We understand the employees don't use their passwords too often and when they need them to file a report they may not be readily available. If you need a password reissued, email kent@medallionfoundation.org with the request. We can't see your old password but can issue a new one to you via email. We can normally get a new password to you within a day of the request. Quick Links: Our Website     Read ASAP-----ASAP Each quarter the Medallion Foundation will be sending you an electronic newsletter regarding ASAP-Aviation Safety Action Program.  This newsletter will keep you up to date with changes, highlights, and information. Currently four air carriers in Alaska are involved with the ASAP Program through the Medallion Foundation; Era Aviation, Frontier Flying Service, Hageland Aviation, PenAir, and Warbelow's Air Ventures.  For more information regarding this program contact Kent Adams, ASAP Program Manager at Kent@MedallionFoundation.org. Voluntary Self Disclosure Program In September of last year the FAA published a new Advisory Circular (AC 00-58A) concerning self disclosures and it also address the ASAP process. It does allow the ERC corrective actions to be used as a 'comprehensive fix' required by the self disclosure program. If you are an ERC member please review the Advisory Circular. You can Google it by entering AC 00-58A. Hageland Aviation Services joins the ASAP program One of the companies that participated in the signing on July 5 th was Hageland Aviation. They are the fifth carrier to join which is very significant as you may recall from your ASAP training. Until we have five carriers participating we were limited to sharing the ASAP information with the company from which it came. This was required by our MOU to protect the identity of the carrier. It was felt that when five or more carriers were participating we could de-identify the information so it was not obvious were the reports originated. Now that Hageland Aviation has joined we will be able to share the ASAP information with all the participating carriers. This is an important step in our goal to provide as much safety data as possible to carriers so they all can benefit from the experience of others. Many ASAP events have the potential to benefit other carriers and now we will be able to share that information. Our next ASAP summary which is send to the carriers each month will contain all the de-identified reports which have occurred in July. This will be a first! Era Maintenance Department Joins ASAP When the new MOU was signed Era also added its maintenance department to the program. The maintenance ERC members had completed the required training the previous week and are starting the employee training. We are looking forward to working with them on their new program. Faxed Reports We are still getting quite a few faxed reports into the Medallion Office. This is a good process we put in place to 'stop the clock' in case employees are having difficulties getting into the on line system. The ERC uses these faxed reports as the initial notification date/time to determine the timeliness of a report. The fax report must be followed, however, by a complete electronic report as soon as the submitter can get access. The electronic report is the one which is de-identified and sent to the ERC members for consideration. It is also the information which is recorded in the system and tracked.      New ASAP Report Format on the way The contractor which provides our on line ASAP reporting has been working with the users to improve the reporting process. Many of the fields will be changed with the focus on simplifying the forms and making them easer to fill out. Everyone agrees this will be an improvement. We will also have some flexibility in tailoring our forms to meet our needs. This will also help to simply the forms. We expect to the new forms to be 'on line' shortly. If you involved in training other employees about the forms be alert for this change. Let Kent Adams know if you have any questions.

April 2007:

ASAP Newsletter
Aviation Safety Action Program	April 2007

Read the ASAP---ASAP Just Culture Turning Out Observing ASAP Training Completing the Demonstration Phase of ASAP Keeping Current Incomplete Submissions ERC's to review past corrective actions Newsletter Info   Just Culture What does a ‘Just Culture’ have to do with ASAP? You may recall that in James Reason book Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents; he describes an organizations ability to improve organizational safety by modifying its safety culture. One of the positive organizational cultures which can be developed is a ‘just culture’ which Reason defines as “an atmosphere of trust in which people are encouraged, even rewarded, for providing essential safety-related information—but in which they are also clear about where the line must be drawn between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. An active ASAP program at your company can help foster this positive safety culture. The ASAP program has the structure built in to the Memorandum of Understanding to identify and solicit critical safety information while providing protections for the employees involved. It also clearly defines unacceptable behaviors and gives the power to make the decisions to the Event Review Committee. This structure provide by the ASAP program can, over time, change the attitudes employees and improve the safety culture of your organization.  Quick Links... Our Website More About Us

The following comments were made by Nick Sabatini the FAA's Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety at a leadership conference at Southwest Airlines on October 11, 2006. We have edited out some of the material specific to Southwest Airlines but his comments are very germane to the work of the Medallion Foundation. It's great to be here with you today. I strongly believe in the value of leadership conferences. We hold them in my organization. Bringing an organization's leaders together is important for being a learning culture, for communication, and for leading change. When I think of Southwest Airlines, I think safety. Here's why: I think safety and Southwest because of your ASAP programs. Aviation Safety Action Programs encourage employee sharing of critical safety information. You have these programs with your pilots, mechanics, and dispatchers. Your employees volunteer information. You use it, along with your FAA team, as risk indicators. And, you make changes as needed. I understand you've recently made changes in dispatch procedures from what you've learned through ASAP reports. And, these are just among some of the changes you've made based on what you've learned from ASAP data. These are all important ways to improve the safety of air travel. Yet, with air travel's remarkable safety record it is getting harder and harder to lower the fatal accident rate. The current fatal accident rate for U.S. air carriers is .023 accidents per 100,000 departures. With a record that strong, it's hard to put into words just how good it is. Here's how I explained it last month in a hearing on Capitol Hill. I said that we are "in the midst of the safest period in aviation history. In the past three years, U.S. scheduled air carriers have transported approximately 2.2 billion passengers, or seven times the population of our country" with a total of 78 passenger fatalities. Working together, industry and government have produced a performance record where an accident with fatalities occurs about every 15 to 16 million flights. I also told the congressional panel that pilots are safer on the job than when they are not at work. Our industry's safety record is a remarkable achievement. Yet, we know we cannot rest. Air travel is growing. Those one billion annual passengers on U.S. airlines are now projected to be here in 2017. New aircraft types,from light sport aircraft to very light jets to unmanned aircraft, are entering the system. And, most important, the public expects the highest standards of safety. Everyone in this room knows how dramatically public perception can change when there is an accident. How do we make the safest mode of transportation even safer? In the United States (and the developed world) there are no longer major causes of accidents. Fatal airline accidents are such rare events that there are no longer what qualifies as "common causes." In the first century of powered flight, we addressed the common causes. We did this through technology, through training, and through attention to human factors. Today, we often hear that accident rates have reached such a low level that we should no longer expect sudden and sustained breakthroughs in future rates. I disagree. In the second century of powered flight, we are on the threshold of reaching the next level in commercial aviation safety. Here are the three areas that are key to the next series of breakthroughs. They are safety data, Safety Management Systems, and safety culture. One, safety data. Sharing safety data is essential to achieving a stronger future for aviation safety. Today, we don't even know how much safety information is out there, be it with operators, manufacturers, repair stations, suppliers, and more, across the aviation community. The safety data is in your hands. Today, FAA, through its own efforts, collects about 5 percent of the available data. If we're going to continue to put downward pressure on the accident rate, we need far more information about emerging threats, about trends, and about precursors. We need to know more about what is going on every day in the operating, the maintenance, and manufacturing environments. Our great safety record has come from a "forensics" and "diagnostics" approach to making enhancements. We lose one. We investigate and learn what happened. We make corrections. With so few accidents and no "common causes," we need more data points so we can move to a "prognostic" or predictive approach. We need analytical expertise to discern trends and identify precursors. And, we need to share what we learn. To bring the greatest safety benefits to the greatest number of people, sharing is of paramount importance. Today, 54 airlines, repair stations, and even including one fractional operator, have more than 100 ASAP programs covering pilots, mechanics, flight attendants, and dispatchers. At the same time, FAA has been working with NASA and others to get our arms around the many aviation safety data sources. We want to bring them together and leverage the power of combined databases to help reveal the rare and infrequent emerging threats and hazards. We want to push the science of advanced data analysis tools that will enable "vulnerability discovery," reveal precursors to accidents, and permit us to proactively take steps to mitigate risks before loss of life. The next logical step to enhance safety is what I see as the evolution from "inspecting safety in." We have matured to the point where we need to take a systems approach with Safety Management Systems. Safety Management Systems, or SMS, enable organizations to identify and manage risk. Managing risk is fundamental, and Safety Management Systems enable us to manage risk far better than before. Operating under an SMS assures a disciplined and standardized approach to managing risk. We can review past experience and address known hazards. And, at the same time we can look ahead and rigorously apply Safety Risk Management principles to any changes or introduction of new elements. Furthermore, under an SMS, the whole process, identifying potential problems and putting corrections in place, is ongoing and the procedure is continuously assessed to make sure it is working. SMS is rigorous. It is measurable. And, it is repeatable. I'm confident you will find that in this era of competing demands, tight budgets, and high expectations, safety management systems enable us to focus our limited resources on the highest priority hazards. SMS will help us find, understand, prioritize,and fix problems early , when it is less expensive in both lives and dollars. I have described Safety Management Systems in terms of process. Yet, what is equally important is that this disciplined approach goes hand-in-glove with a safety culture. Organizations that operate under an SMS are committed to safety. They know that success requires more than procedures, more than mitigations, more than measurement. To achieve the highest level of safety, requires that safety be a way of thinking, a mindset. Getting the culture right is as important, perhaps more important, than the systems you use. An organization with a safety culture is always striving to achieve maximum attainable safety, regardless of commercial pressures or who is in the executive suite. An organization with a safety culture recognizes and expects that people and equipment will fail. It develops defenses and backup plans. Professor James Reason has characterized a safety culture as one that is also a reporting, a just, a non-punitive, and a learning culture. To be a "reporting culture" requires an atmosphere of trust. Employees at all levels need to be willing and able to admit errors. These are the organizations with active Aviation Safety Action Programs. Here, reporting mistakes is the norm. Voluntary reporting is not only accepted - it is expected. Nor is it punitive. Yet, in a "just culture" employees acknowledge the distinction between blame-free and culpable acts. Responsibility for seriously unsafe acts is understood. Lastly, Professor Reason reminds us that a safety culture is characterized by continuous learning. How do you achieve a safety culture? You start with the processes, the structure, and the procedures. These will enable the beliefs,and attitudes, and values to follow. As the regulator, we look to you to operate with a Safety Management System. We expect you to operate with a safety culture. Peter Drucker once said, "The best way to predict the future is to create it." That is exactly what we are doing. As we work together to enhance our ability to use safety data, as we incorporate safety management systems, and as we improve our safety cultures, together, we are creating a safer and stronger future for aviation. Turning Out We had a room full of people show up to talk about the ASAP program at the Alaska Air Carriers Convention on February 16th in Anchorage. Two high level managers from two participating companies joined with two pilot representative from the Event Review Committees (ERC) along with one of the FAA ERC members to host a round table discussion on ASAP. The comments were very positive and the questions and the feedback from the audience were informative. One of the company officials even said he couldn't imagine why every operator was not participating in ASAP. The pilot reps discussed the program from their point of view and were outspoken in their support of the program although one mentioned that when he first heard about ASAP he was skeptical about it working. He has since changed his mind and "talks it up" with the company pilots whenever he has the opportunity. The FAA inspector who participates in the ERC was equally supportive of the program and discussed the safety benefits the FAA's sees in the ASAP program. There was one item that came up which in retrospect may have confused some people. We talked about there being four carriers in the program currently and we need five to share safety data per the MOU (memorandum of understanding). The sharing of data will only be among the carriers which are participating in ASAP not with all the Medallion Carriers. It would be great to share the information with everyone but the feeling at the time we drafted the MOU was that carriers should be in the program and providing safety data themselves if they want the benefit of others information.   Observing ASAP Training One other enhancement we are making is for Kent Adams or Jerry Schiller to observe one session of your company ASAP training once per year. This should help to provide consistent, high quality ASAP training for all company employees. So, if you are planning to do some initial or recurrent training and will be covering ASAP procedures please let Kent know so we can set in on one session. We would be happy to provide an update to your employees on the current ASAP status if you would like.   Completing the Demonstration Phase of ASAP We are nearing the end of the demonstration phase of our program and will be moving into the continuing program phase. We will be updating our MOU to reflect this change in status as well as propose some minor additions and clarifications in the MOU. After we submit our proposed changes we will meet with the FAA to review the effectiveness of our demonstration program and make the case for continuing our ASAP program. If you are a member of one of the participating carriers and you have input on the MOU revision, please pass the information to Kent Adams.   Keeping Current Since the number of employees in the system is now nearly 400 people we decided we need a better way to track information and to keep our system up-to- date. We have developed different user groups determined by the company and employees group; for example, ABC Company Pilots. In this way, we will be able to share the lists with company management from time to time to keep our system current. This will also become the basis for the monthly status report which we prepare for the Medallion Foundation Executive Director. Along those lines, if you add or delete aircraft please send Kent Adams an email with that information so we can keep that section correct as well.   Incomplete Submissions There are provisions in the reporting system to allow someone to start a report and then leave it to complete later. We have had several of these over the last couple of months. Most were never completed. I just want to let everyone know that an incomplete submission does not get handled like a normal report. They don't show up as a new report and so don't get processed and forwarded to the ERC. Some employees may think the incomplete report will be worked; it will not. Please clarify this in your training with employees. On the other hand, an employee can complete a report with preliminary information and come back to it later and add to his/her report. They can't delete the original material but can add or clarify up until the ERC takes action. So be sure to ask your employees to press the 'submit' button when reporting. There are only a few required fields and they can be edited later if needed.   ERC's to review past corrective actions The main criteria the FAA uses to determine the viability of our program is the effectiveness of the corrective actions developed by the Event Review Committee's. To make sure we are meeting that obligation we have started having face to face ERC meetings to review the past corrective actions and see if the ERC feels the corrective actions are still in place and effective. Some may have to be re-visited, others will be fine. We plan to do this every six months or so. We think it is appropriate for the ERC to do the review rather than someone from Medallion. Ultimately it is the responsibility of the ERC's to be satisfied the corrective actions are appropriate and effective.   Newsletter Info Each quarter the Medallion Foundation will be sending you an electronic newsletter regarding ASAP- Aviation Safety Action Program. This newsletter will keep you up to date with changes, highlights, and information. Currently four air carriers in Alaska are involved with the ASAP Program through the Medallion Foundation; Era Aviation, Frontier Flying Service, PenAir, and Warbelow's Air Ventures. For more information regarding this program contact Kent Adams, ASAP Program Manager at:Kent@MedallionFoundation.org Read on... ASAP Report Process The primary method of reporting is through our online reporting system at: www.medallionsafety.org. If, for some reason you can’t use that method, print the attached page and then reference the "more info' as the link. (FAX TO 907-222-3206) Otherwise, the third alternative is to call the Medallion office at (907) 222-3210 and provide the information. ASAP Reporting Form

January 2007:

ASAP Aviation Safety Action Program January 2007 Read the ASAP---ASAP   Why the Newsletter from ASAP? Automatic Reporting to NASA ASRS System Now Available FAA Changes Enforcement Policy ASAP Training for Employees Nears 100% All Employees are Now Assigned to a User Group Help! What's my PASSWORD? Alaska Air Carriers Association Convention & Trade Show Info   Why the Newsletter from ASAP? As our ASAP program continues to grow and mature, we wanted a way to pass information to all of you in a convenient and easy format. We decided an electronic newsletter would be the best way to accomplish that goal. There have seen some recent developments which we learned about at conferences this fall which impacts our program. In addition, when we add one more carrier to the program we will be able to share summaries of ASAP reports and we thought this quarterly newsletter would be an idea way to do that as well. We would appreciate any feedback you have concerning the content or presentation. Kent@MedallionFoundation.org Each quarter the Medallion Foundation will be sending you an electronic newsletter regarding ASAP- Aviation Safety Action Program. This newsletter will keep you up to date with changes, highlights, and information. Currently four air carriers in Alaska are involved with the ASAP Program through the Medallion Foundation; Era Aviation, Frontier Flying Service, PenAir, and Warbelow's Air Ventures. For more information regarding this program contact Kent Adams, ASAP Program Manager at Kent@MedallionFoundation.org. Automatic Reporting to NASA ASRS System Now Available Our ASAP contractor has made the final adjustments to allow automatic electronic transfer of ASAP reports into the NASA ASRS system. When a reporter fills out the information he/she has the option to automatically make a report to ASRS.   FAA Changes Enforcement Policy The FAA has recently issued Notice 8400.92. This notice allows the Event Review Committee (ERC) to use what is called the Enforcement Decision Tool (EDT) in ASAP programs. The EDT is a flow chart which helps the FAA inspectors and in our case the ERC, to decide on appropriate enforcement action. If the safety risk associated with an ASAP report is ‘low’ the ERC can close it with ‘informal action’ which means oral or written counseling. Previous to this change the ERC was limited to administrative action in those cases which are not sole source and where sufficient evidence of a violation exists outside of the ASAP report itself. This change expands the options available to the ERC. You will recall from your training that a non sole source report is one where the FAA is aware of the occurrence independent of the ASAP report. The fact that the FAA could issue a letter of warning or letter of correction has been a ‘big deal’ with many employees. Now the option of counseling is also available. Therefore, this is a significant change and should be passed on to the employees. If you are a member of the ERC we will discuss this change at our next meeting. Read on... ASAP Training for Employees Nears 100% It has taken a long time but we are closing in on 100% of employees in each participating group being ASAP trained. We all thought it would happen much more quickly but scheduling and completing all the training has taken longer than any of us expected. In the future, we are going to require a carrier participating in the ASAP program to have a large majority trained (exact per cent yet to be determined) before we will initiate the program. This is one of the changes we are writing into our ASAP procedures manual. Speaking of training employees, it is important to keep ASAP training records to include when each employee was trained and by whom. We will be auditing those training records once a year. This also will be part of our internal procedures to ensure we have a quality ASAP program.   All Employees are Now Assigned to a User Group Since the number of employees in the system is now over 400 people we decided we need a better way to track information and to keep our system up-to- date. We have developed different user groups determined by the company and employees group; for example, ABC Company Pilots. In this way, we will be able to share the lists with company management from time to time to keep our system current. This will also become the basis for the monthly status report which we prepare for the Medallion Foundation Executive Director. Along those lines, if you add or delete aircraft please send Kent Adams an email with that information so we can keep that section correct as well.   Help! What's my PASSWORD? We are still getting calls and emails from people who need to file an ASAP report and don’t have their username and password. We are happy to help but timeliness can become an issue since the general rule is they need to have the report in within 24 hours. Please encourage your folks to log in to make sure they can get in the system. They can also change their passwords if they want something easier to remember. Whatever they do, encourage them to keep the URL, their username and password in a safe place where they are available if they need to file a report.   Alaska Air Carriers Association Convention & Trade Show Info The 41st Annual Convention & Trade Show for the Alaska Air Carriers Association. Feb. 13th-17th, 2007 at the Hotel Captain Cook. This annual event will provide the conference delegate opportunity to learn more about ASAP. On Friday, February 16th at 10:00am, Kent Adams will provide information regarding this program. Also that day Angela Elgee, Flight Standards will be speaking about Systems Approach to Safety Oversight. Plus the Safety Award Luncheon will feature keynote speaker, Mr. Dave Prewitt, FedEx. For more information regarding this aviation convention, please contact AACA at (907)277- 0071 or www.alaskaaircarriers.org Read on... ASAP Report Process The primary method of reporting is through our online reporting system at: www.medallionsafety.org. If, for some reason you can't use that method, print the attached page and then reference the "more info' as the link. (FAX TO 907-222-3206) Otherwise, the third alternative is to call the Medallion office at (907) 222-3210 and provide the information. ASAP Reporting Form Kent@MedallionFoundation.org kent@medallionfoundation.org www.MedallionFoundation.org http://MedallionFoundation.org 907 222 3210 907 242 1889

 

April 2006:

On February 17, 2006, Mr. John Duncan, FAA Flight Standards Division Manager, signed the revised Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with three new participants. The revised MOU allows other employees to participate in the program in addition to the pilots. This is a big step in expanding the program here in Alaska.

The Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) basically provides immunity from disciplinary action in exchange for full discloser of safety information. The company uses the safety information, of which they might not otherwise be aware, to improve their operations.

The program originated in the 1990's to help a large FAR 121 carriers deal with an on going series of altitude deviations. Disciplining the pilots involved did not have an effect on the problem. With potential discipline pending, pilots seldom disclosed anything which could be used against them. Here was the breakthrough. The airline and the FAA offered to withhold any discipline in exchange for full and open discussions of the problems. As a result, the company modified its training and cockpit procedures and the results were a dramatics decrease in altitude deviations.

Over time, the concept was expanded to other issues beyond altitude deviations and other FAR 121 carriers adopted the program. The success of the program das been proven over the years and the number of participants has increased. There are currently 49 Part 121 carriers participating nationwide.

The Medallion program, which has been accepted by the FAA, is the first of its kind! The ASAP program was previously only open to FAR 121 carriers but now the Medallion Foundation, Inc. can offer the same benefits to its members. The ability to include smaller FAR 121 and FAR 135 operators which belong to the Medallion Foundation is a new approach. The key is that Medallion can provide some of the administrative support that otherwise would have to be provided by the carrier. In addition, the program was not previously open to FAR 135 operators. By consolidating the smaller operators under the Medallion umbrella it becomes an effective ASAP program. This has the potential to provide critical safety information to the Medallion carriers and help them continue to improve the safety of their organization.

Era Aviation, Frontier Flying Service, PenAir, and Warbelow’s Air Ventures are currently participating. We are pleased these carriers have decided to become involved in the ASAP program.

If you are interested in learning more about ASAP, contact Kent Adams at kent@mdallionfoundation.org or call Jerry Dennis at 907.743.8050.