Duncan Aviation has accepted certification from Wyvern that recognises it for having a safety management system (SMS) in place at its repair station in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Duncan is an active participant in the FAA's voluntary SMS programme, and because of its voluntary nature, there is no FAA certification of a repair station's SMS. Wyvern, a global company that is committed to guiding aviation companies in safety-risk management has filled that void.

Based on ICAO standards, Wyvern verified that the Duncan Aviation SMS met four levels of performance: it has an SMS in place, takes measures to mitigate risks from human factors, incorporates safety into the company's culture and has a means to assess basic aviation risks.

Wyvern certifies an organisation to SMS Level 1 when all of the elements are present. SMS Level 2 verifies that the elements are present and operational, and SMS Level 3 shows that the elements work, that they're effective in ensuring the safety of team members, products and services, and customers.

“SMS Level 3 means that our SMS policy can't just be a manual on a shelf collecting dust,” says manager of audit programmes Mike Brown. “The organisations that set international standards want to see the policy in action. Wyvern verified that our SMS coordinates all safety-related activity so we can better manage hazards. The audit found that we as a company use the SMS to help us learn from history, mitigate risks and make informed decisions as we resolve issues.”

SMS Level 4 indicates that a company's policies and best practices align, the safety culture has been sustained, the human factors programme is effective and decisions made by the organisation are based on solid safety data. Duncan Aviation can apply for Wyvern to perform a SMS Level 4 audit in 2021.

With the FAA's 1 January, 2020 mandate deadline for upgrading aircraft to Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) just a few weeks away, the company has also received approval from Honeywell Aerospace to perform ADS-B upgrades on the Honeywell RMU-855 and the RCZ-850 and RCZ-833 series transponders on aircraft that are on-site at one of its facilities. Vice president of parts sales, avionics, accessories and satellites Mark Cote says: “We're especially pleased to have received this approval from Honeywell to perform these modifcations in-house. It will allow us to maximise the time remaining to complete ADS-B mods for these systems and prevent flight delays for our customers in the New Year.”

All three of Duncan Aviation's full-service facilities in Battle Creek, Michigan; Lincoln, Nebraska; or Provo, Utah, as well as its 27 satellite avionics shops and workaway stations, will be open through the final weeks of 2019. Clients can visit any facility for their ADS-B upgrade, but the Honeywell units will be sent to Lincoln for the modification.

“Our turntime at this point has been running five days,” says team leader of component technical representatives Dan Magnus.