Baldwin Safety and Compliance is offering the Internal Evaluation Program (IEP) to all its clients at no additional cost. Introduced in 2020 to provide timely internal audit evaluations from multiple sources, the Baldwin IEP includes ‘Steps to Excellence’ (S2E) and 10-15 challenging operational audit questions derived from industry standard and regulatory sources and delivered to the Baldwin portal for completion each month.

“The team here at Baldwin felt it was important to provide open access to this valuable tool so that we can identify emerging trends and make the industry aware,” states Jason Starke, director of standards. “One of the more important aspects of this IEP is that we have referenced many sources to provide a well-rounded and comprehensive assessment. We aren't simply copying standards but meticulously identifying appropriate standards and regulations to support your operation. The interest is high for this programme, and we expect the enthusiasm to continue.”

The Baldwin IEP service provides a multi-faceted look at an organisation to ensure defences are in place by drawing upon several different regulatory and best practice sources such as IS-BAO, IOSA, OSHA and 14 CFR. The FAA recommends an IEP should be performed no greater than on a three-year cycle (cf. A120-59B, 2018), but Baldwin's IEP service is currently structured on a 24-month cycle to provide higher resolution and engagement.

The Baldwin IEP service consists of: curated monthly audits designed to evaluate organisations across many facets; Monthly Steps to Excellence (S2E) questions that challenge organisations to become excellent; detailed audit guidance to help organisations understand what key aspects to evaluate; supporting language to place in the organisation's SMS manual; expert customer service to answer any questions regarding the IEP service; and feedback provided on aggregate IEP results.

Plans are in place to further develop this service for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and FBOs.