The Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) is bringing in Safety Lift, a MAP by ACSF offering, which is a new member service designed to provide aviation organisations with ongoing, dedicated safety support.

Building on ACSF's Member Assistance Program (MAP), Safety Lift gives participating members access to a named ACSF safety professional, a coordinated safety work plan and an agreed schedule of ongoing support for a low monthly fee. The Air Charter Safety Foundation launched MAP in October 2023 at NBAA-BACE as a project-based aviation safety coaching, mentoring and training programme to help operators build or improve their SMS in line with FAA requirements.

“Not every organisation has the resources or need for a full-time safety professional, but we believe every operator should have access to the expertise needed to build and maintain a strong safety programme,” says Debi Carpenter, president of ACSF. “Safety Lift is our answer to fractional safety officer arrangements. It is designed to give our members another way to bring experienced safety guidance into their organisation, with support tailored to their operation, their people and their priorities.”

Unlike traditional MAP assistance, which remains available for individual projects and ad hoc support, Safety Lift is designed for organisations seeking a more consistent relationship with ACSF. Members establish an agreed scope of work and determine where and how their ACSF Safety Lift designated officer will support their safety programme.

Safety Lift can support a broad range of safety activities based on the needs and priorities of each member organisation. That support may include strengthening safety policies and governance, identifying hazards and assessing operational risk, and improving safety reporting and investigation processes. ACSF safety professionals can also assist members with emergency response planning, internal audits and performance monitoring, safety meetings and communications, employee training and the management of operational change.

The service can extend to the day-to-day systems that help keep a safety programme organised and effective, including documentation and record management, safety culture initiatives and preparation for external reviews or audits. Rather than applying the same approach to every organisation, Safety Lift allows members to focus ACSF resources where they can provide the greatest value. ACSF's own mid-year data show the resource gap is real: small Part 135 operators typically lack dedicated safety departments, with the accountable executive, safety manager and operational leadership often being the same individual.

For each area selected, the member and ACSF determine the appropriate level of involvement. That may range from guidance and coaching to working directly alongside the member's team or performing agreed recurring safety activities. This flexible approach gives organisations access to experienced safety expertise while allowing the member's management team to retain responsibility for its policies, resources, operational risk decisions and overall safety programme.

“One of the things we heard consistently is that organisations don't necessarily need another consultant who comes in, completes a project and leaves,” explains Larry Soles, vice president of operations at ACSF. “They need someone who understands their operation, knows and understands what the safety needs are and can work with their team on a consistent cadence and basis. Safety Lift is designed to provide that continuity while keeping operational decisions and ownership where they belong, with the member.”

Each Safety Lift engagement includes a dedicated ACSF contact, an agreed coordination cadence, a shared work plan and an annual review with the member's accountable executive or equivalent senior leader.

The new offering is intended for ACSF member organisations operating under Part 91, Part 135 and Part 145, as well as charter brokers. ACSF membership is required to participate.

Safety Lift complements and builds on ACSF's existing safety programmes and services, including the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP), SMS resources, Industry Audit Standard (IAS and IAS Lite), and traditional Member Assistance Program support. Existing formal audits and ASAP facilitation remain separate ACSF programmes.

“Safety programmes are most effective when they are active, supported and continuously improving,” Carpenter continues. “With Safety Lift, we can meet members where they are and provide the level of ongoing support they need to keep moving forward.”

The Air Charter Safety Foundation is a non-profit organisation with more than 360 member companies. Its mission is to lead and support the advancement of the highest safety standards available; to enable the business, charter and fractional ownership industry to offer the safest air transportation products in the world; and to provide objective information about these standards and services to the public.

In accordance with its mission, the ACSF developed the Industry Audit Standard (IAS) for Part 135 and 91K operators, which serves as a detailed gap analysis of an operator's management practices. ACSF members can also access the organisation's low-cost Safety Management System (SMS) Tool and Member Assistance Program (MAP), as well as take advantage of its third-party oversight programmes: Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) and Aviation Safety Action Programme (ASAP). Each spring, the organisation hosts its annual ACSF Safety Symposium.