US MRO Constant Aviation has been certified as an active participant in the FAA Part 5 Voluntary Safety Management System (SMS) programme, putting it on the forefront of business aviation maintenance safety and risk mitigation efforts. The certification will also help to create a blueprint for implementing SMS among other business aviation maintenance providers.

Effective since 2015, the FAA Part 5 SMS programme provides aviation organisations with systematic procedures, practices and policies to manage safety risk. Constant Aviation used the FAA's guidelines to enhance its existing SMS programme to address four key SMS elements: safety policy, risk management, safety assurance, and safety promotion.

“We have operated with an internal safety management system for quite some time now, and obtaining FAA certification reinforces our programme,” says environmental health and safety manager Timothy Wade. “Maintaining an FAA-validated SMS strengthens our organisation and the safety of our employees, which ultimately gives our customers a better quality product. That is always the focus of our team.”

While the FAA does not currently require MROs to implement SMS, customers and foreign certificate holders are reported to be increasingly demanding it. ICAO started keeping SMS data in 1997, and it can prove these programmes mitigate risk in a productive manner. With continual oversight and monitoring, Constant Aviation and the FAA will work together to refine SMS for maintenance providers.

“For too long, aviation maintenance organisations have been viewed as simply the support system for aviation operations,” adds VP of quality, safety and training Kent Stauffer. “Subsequently, maintenance rules and programmes have lagged behind their operational counterparts in their requirements. SMS implementation is an aggressive approach to prevention that brings maintenance safety to the leading edge of the aviation community.”