US operator GrandView Aviation held an all-day/all-local employee mandatory safety stand down at its headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland.

"Getting our team together in one room on one day to focus on safety is vital to strengthening our team bonds. We have built a 'Just Culture' at GrandView where we learn both from our successes and mistakes together, which makes our entire team stronger," says president Jessie Naor.

The company's safety department is managed by a director of safety and a safety officer, responsible for establishing and monitoring programmes following industry best practices that exceed the requirements of similar-sized private aviation companies. GrandView maintains impressive safety ratings from the aviation industry's top associations: ARGUS Gold, Wyvern Wingman and IS-BAO Stage II.

"On the day of the safety stand down, GrandView suspended all operations, including flights, so that employees could attend information packed sessions. Topics included decision making, human factors, fatigue management, hazard reporting, lessons learned and a number of other important safety subjects," says safety officer Joseph Hendron. "Guest speakers NATA senior vice president Ryan Waguespack and FAI POI Harry Arthur presented information about aviation operations and safety topics including proactive safety measures."

"Our commitment to safety is paramount, and we recognise that each team member plays a pivotal role in our safety culture," adds director of safety Manny Figlia. "Holding an all-day/all-employee stand down meeting focused on safety provides the opportunity to share what we do well, to identify where we need to focus to improve and to stress the critical importance of preventing any potential undesirable events or outcomes. Similar meetings will be rolled out in the coming weeks at our other seven bases across the country."