The FAA has recognised US MRO specialist Constant Aviation as having a single, corporate-wide safety management system (SMS), making it only the second US MRO so designated. Achieving FAA-accepted corporate SMS status means that Constant is operating under a single safety system company-wide, which generally reduces safety risk and ranks it as a leader in business aviation maintenance safety.

“The improvements throughout our organisation because of SMS implementation are clear, as evidenced by this latest recognition by the FAA,” says CEO David H Davies. “This honour underscores that we are a leader in moving from a reactive safety culture to one that is highly proactive, continuously improving and dynamically driving safety organisation-wide.”

SMS is the standard for safety programmes in aviation worldwide. Although SMS processes are optional for MROs, they are seen as highly beneficial and frequently are requested by both domestic customers and foreign certificate holders.

Although the FAA only recently recognised Constant's corporate SMS programme, the company has been operating with SMS processes since August 2018.

In April 2021, Constant's aircraft maintenance operation at Cleveland Hopkins International airport in Ohio became the first independent MRO to achieve active conformance through the FAA's voluntary SMS programme, and only the fourth MRO overall out of the more than 4,500 maintenance organisations nationally to achieve that designation. In October, the company became the first independent MRO to receive SMS Level 4 certification from Wyvern, and in December its aircraft maintenance operation at Orlando Sanford International airport in Florida also was designated by the FAA as attaining active conformance under the SMS programme.

During an FAA audit in December 2021, Constant Aviation demonstrated that its SMS system runs parallel between the Cleveland and Sanford facilities, thereby meeting the standard of a corporate SMS programme. It met such criteria as having a single accountable executive; maintaining a common database; having data reviewed and analysed at the corporate level; having the capacity to identify and communicate hazards across all affected organisations; and having a common manual and documentation.

“Having two or more systems generally means maintaining multiple manuals, operating multiple databases and operating with less communication and coordination,” says Davies. “The FAA understands that safety management systems work best with priorities, resources and interaction fully aligned to maximise their effectiveness. We have worked to integrate our SMS across our entire company, and FAA acceptance of our corporate SMS programme is recognition of this at the highest level.”