The Economics of Safety Panel Session 29 September 2005

1. The Economics of Safety Panel Session 29 September 2005

2. Session Plan • Agree on the goal • Identify key actions to reach the goal • Identify key barriers • Agree action plan to overcome barriers and carry out the necessary steps to achieve the goal. • Agree on session summary

3. Can we reduce the accident rate for helicopters by 80% • Need to measure serious injuries as well as fatalities – focus on fatal accidents and effort that will do the most good for the least money • Need to say by when – 10 year goal? • Depends on which types of helicopters we include in the goal • Goal will be much more difficult for single engine piston training helicopters • Goal will be much more difficult for the more challenging missions (e.g., EMS, seismic support) • Need to focus on commercial operations and try to influence private (general aviation) operators • Have to pick a measurable subset or subsets (e.g., EMS, offshore helicopter operations) – must have a baseline – start with those who know their baseline and target baseline development in other areas

4. Session Plan • Agree on the goal • Identify key actions to reach the goal • Identify key barriers • Agree action plan to overcome barriers and carry out the necessary steps to achieve the goal. • Agree on session summary

5. Problem Definition • Analyse each major type of operation (EMS, offshore helicopters, seismic support) and determine top causes (Note: already done for some sectors) • Identify the best risk reduction measures for each type of operation

6. What are the high-priority steps to achieve the goal? • Get buy-in for the goal from all stakeholders (manufacturers, operators, insurance companies, all operators, and their customers) • Establish voluntary accreditation programs to encourage private (General Aviation) operators to improve safety • Focus on key influential groups; e.g., CFIs • Ask private operators to voluntary provide their flight hours • Provide standards/guidance for these voluntary programs • Establish a education program to encourage volunteers • Address rule breaking – use HFACs – HOMP – establish a program for voluntary reporting like the FAA’s ASAP program for commercial airlines (reference ICAO Annex 6 Part III

7. What are the high-priority steps to achieve the goal? • Monitor the equipment (HUMS/VHM, FDR) and its usage – establish automatic diagnostics • Improving maintenance human factors and work processes/procedures (Quality and Safety Management System) • Operating standards in high risk areas (e.g., adverse weather policy, go/no-go guidelines, operational controls for mission-specific hazards,, pilot certification for specific high risk tasks, use of NVGs, take-off and landing profiles, etc.) • Equipment standards • Work with regulators to establish a baseline for new aircraft certification that requires all practicable key risk reduction measures

8. What are the high-priority steps to achieve the goal? • Training - mission specific for pilots and maintenance personnel, mentoring, recurrent training in high-fidelity simulator with focus on CRM in LOFT - compliance monitoring – address avionics • Establish a universally accessible (not password protected) common database for accidents/incidents for sharing best practices, safety alerts, trends, flight hours, etc.) – use Blogs or “push” system like HeliStat??? Ensure the postings are factual, not rumors • Establish fit-for-purpose Safety Management Systems – provide guidance on fit-for-purpose solutions

9. What are the high-priority steps to achieve the goal? • Share best practices and establish cooperative “pools” for small operators – try to change culture through positive models • Establish accountability for safe practices • Senior level accountability (financial or punitive measures) • Lower level focus on training and non-punitive measures (just culture) • Roll-up existing safety initiatives and establish coordinated focus on the things that will do the most good. • Improve crash survivability • Reduce pilot workload • Make it easier to do maintenance right

10. What are the high-priority steps to achieve the goal? • Establish repository for success stories regarding the cost/benefit of risk reduction measures – establish and share cost/benefit analysis techniques/process and results – engage the military as well as commercial operators • Challenge the insurance industry to provide incentives or at least cost consequences for various levels of safety or the lack of risk reduction measures • Engage financial experts to make the economic case for action more compelling • Use CAST model for moving forward • Promote industry research on methods to reduce the cost of key risk reduction measures (e.g., FDR, HUMS, EGPWS, TCAS, crashworthy seats and fuel tanks) – engage the military

11. What are the high-priority steps to achieve the goal? • Validate current mission profiles against design criteria – we could use HUMS to determine whether the actual usage fits the manufacturer’s expected pattern • Ensure quality and chain of custody for spare parts • Engage insurance companies regarding final disposition of accident aircraft (rebuild versus retirement)

12. Session Plan • Agree on the goal • Identify key actions to reach the goal • Identify key barriers • Agree action plan to overcome barriers and carry out the necessary steps to achieve the goal. • Agree on session summary

13. What are the key barriers? • Have to engage all helicopter manufacturers including the Mil Design Bureau. • Must engage all international helicopter operators, including the small ones • Training needs analysis • Proprietary data (flying hours, customers, missions, accident reports, etc.) • EMS fleet is ageing and there may not be enough money to update it • The perception that safety costs money instead of saving money and lives • $

14. Session Plan • Agree on the goal • Identify key actions to reach the goal • Identify key barriers • Agree action plan to overcome barriers and carry out the necessary steps to achieve the goal. • Agree on session summary

15. How can we overcome the barriers and carry out the steps necessary to achieve the goal? • Educate the customers and all the stakeholders who benefit from the use of helicopters • Establish a partnership with international regulators to facilitate best practices

16. How can we overcome the barriers and carry out the steps necessary to achieve the goal? • Show economic value • Insurance (hull & liability, and workers’ compensation) • Training costs for replacement workforce • Warranty costs • Liability costs • Redesign costs • Retrofit costs • Accident investigations • Human costs (grief and loss) • Credibility and reputation – good will • Maintenance costs • Operational readiness • Develop high-volume for safety equipment to reduce acquisition costs

17. Session Plan • Agree on the goal • Identify key actions to reach the goal • Identify key barriers • Agree action plan to overcome barriers and carry out the necessary steps to achieve the goal. • Agree on session summary

18. What should we report to the plenary session? • Establish expert sub-committee to determine and document the top causes of fatal accidents by operations type (e.g., EMS, offshore, seismic, logging, etc.). • Establish expert sub-committee to determine and document the most effective risk reduction measures for these causes, including potential application of new technology. • Establish expert sub-committee to quantify the cost and benefits of each of these top risk reduction measures. • Establish expert sub-committee to develop a global strategy to influence those who control the regulations and funds necessary to promote and implement the best risk reduction measures.

19. What should we report to the plenary session? • Start the improvement process with those operations that have the data for a valid baseline. • Determine which types of operations most need to collect the data to establish a baseline. Use percentage of accidents per aircraft type/model to get started in key areas while the baseline is being established. • Establish common taxonomy. • Establish a common database for sharing data/information regarding this effort. Dedicated website?

20. What should we report to the plenary session? • This Symposium has been an excellent step toward establishing awareness and cooperation between all stakeholders in the helicopter business. • Some organization should take ownership of this initiative to ensure that it keeps moving forward. • There should be follow-up symposiums on this subject and they should strive to engage more manufacturers and more operators, especially the smaller operators. • Develop a “road show” presentation for all participants in this Symposium to take this message out to other organizations. Reach out to all public safety organizations.

21. What should we report to the plenary session? • AHS and HAI should co-chair an industry collaboration effort. Establish helicopter risk reduction as a standing session at all AHS/HAI conferences. • Establish a helicopter safety technical committee within AHS to sponsor technical sessions/briefings at conferences/symposiums. Publish good papers in journals or on the web. • Establish a project plan with process/sub-project owners and milestones, and an overall project manager.