Sofema Online (SOL) www.sofemaonline.com considers oversight fundamentals related to the assessment of an EASA Compliant Quality Assurance System (QAS) / Compliance Management System (CMS)

Introduction – Oversight activities based on looking at how the organisation looks at itself

The Accountable Manager within the EASA system is directly responsible to ensure financing of any aspect of the business which directly contributes to the showing of compliance with regulatory requirements.

Sofema Online (SOL) www.sofemaonline.com is pleased to provide an open offer to Compliance Managers/Safety Managers/Nominated Post Holders

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Practical guide to Fire & Safety Risk Assessment

What is Fire Safety Risk Assessment?

Essentially it is the process of considering any aspect within the workplace which could cause harm to people or premises from fire. To determine both the possibility of a fire occurring together with the potential dangers from fire.

What do we Meaning by Risk?

“Fire Risk” or “Potential” can be defined as the Likelihood of a fire occurring multiplied by the Severity of the fire.

The potential of a fire hazard depends on the “opportunity for development” of a fire which originates from the hazard and then develops the potential consequences related to the loss or injury of both life & property.

What are we Trying to Verify?

An Audit will typically generate a number of findings, and whilst the first step is usually to take an immediate “short term” action, the important business is ensuring the fundamental cause or “root cause” is addressed – the challenge is that this is far from easy!

Essentially, we are seeking evidence that the cause or “causes” of the problem have either been removed or mitigated in an acceptable way. (It is not always possible to completely fix the issue and sometimes the best outcome we can hope for is a reduction of the causes.)

Essential Evidence for Verification

Risk Assessment

Driven by ICAO Annex 19 Identifying, Assessing, and Mitigating Risk is at the epicentre of an effective Aviation Safety Management System (SMS).

The challenge is to ensure that Safety Risk Assessment is performed in a genuine way with tangible benefits as a measurable outcome. The consequence of a risk can usually be expressed in several ways and these will affect the assessment of severity and likelihood, requiring care competence and diligence on the part of the analysts. 

Delivering Effective Risk Assessment Requires?

When considering Risk the challenge will always be related to the subjectivity of the perceived exposure. Therefore a broad range of contributors to the Risk Assessment Process is highly beneficial including.

Let’s consider the difference between Assessment & Audit

Assessment

The evaluation process used to measure the performance or effectiveness of a system and its elements.

Our goal is to perform an assessment of the auditing process follow up to determine both the cost effectiveness and overall value to the business.

Audit

An EASA Audit is a systematic and independent examination to determine whether quality activities comply with external regulatory requirements and internal organisational specifications and whether these specifications are implemented effectively.

A primary indicator of a poor or failing system is repeat findings or findings which should be addressed at a lower level – for example the Competent Authority should not identify problems which are normally expected to be found within the internal Quality Assurance System audit process.

Background

EWIS was initially introduced as AMC material by EASA through AMC 20-21, AMC 20-22 and AMC 20-23.
Unlike Fuel Tank Safety (FTS) this was not driven by primary legislation (It should have been essentially there is little difference in the need for both FTS and EWIS). Тhis was a shortfall introduced by EASA which was later corrected in November 2011 with the enhanced requirement to include EWIS as part of the competence (but note this only applies to 145 - still not “fixed” for CAMO staff in many organisations who have not received EWIS training).

Every year there are literally hundreds of electrical events, incidents & accidents caused by Electrical wiring on commercial aircraft.