Surveillance
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What has led to the CAA adopting this risk profiling system?
The last auditor general’s report criticised the CAA for not carrying out its surveillance responsibilities using risk management principles. A basic risk profiling system has been in use for some time but its coverage of risk elements was limited, and it was only updated when a limited number of trigger events occurred (e.g. change of senior persons, change of aircraft, etc).
2. What will the CAA do with the information that it gets from the new risk profiles?
The information may lead to an intervention that will vary according to the matter(s) that led to the change in risk profile. It could be a telephone call to the CEO, the CEO being asked to provide additional information, action being taken on the operator’s certificate, the scheduling of a spot check, or a special purpose audit. If the change in risk is favourable, it could lead to a change in either the frequency or depth of safety auditing that the operator is currently receiving. Risk profiling will be a major driver of the safety surveillance system and it will enable the Unit Managers to prioritise the use of Unit resources (who needs to be audited, when, how often and to what depth).
3. How will this action differ from what is currently done?
Any intervention will be more easily justified to the operator and it will be clear from the data why the Director acted the way he did.
4. What are the risk factors that my operation will be assessed on?
There are about 30 risk factors and these are shown in the description of the system. Some of these will be automatically assessed by the CAA computer and some will be manually assessed by an auditor or an audit team following a significant contact with an operator, such as a routine audit or a spot check. You will only be assessed on the items that are relevant to the document’s you hold.
5. If I score highly (i.e. am assessed as high risk in one factor, will this automatically put my operation into the high risk area?
No. One high risk factor (such as becoming a bad debtor or having more than one senior person as a part timer) will not automatically cause an operator to be classified as a high risk. However, the operator would need to be assessed as a low risk in other factors to offset that.
6. Do all risk areas of assessment have an equal value?
Each factor has its own multiplier and the change in effect from, for example 2 to 3 will have a different effect depending on the risk area.
7. How has the CAA chosen the risk factors?
The list was distilled from an original list of over 150 factors that were seen as contributing to risk. This number of factors was considered to be too complex and unmanageable.
8. Who was involved in the design of this system?
A working party was formed from representatives of each operating group (Airlines, General Aviation, Personnel Licensing and Aviation Services) as well as specialists from the Safety Analysis Unit, and Enforcement Unit. The Unit Managers and General Managers also had input into the project as it progressed.
9. What will this system do for my operation?
It will be a means of recognising the measures that you have taken to improve safety within your operation. It will reward operators who have a positive safety culture; effective safety management systems; competent senior persons, who recognise when they have safety failures, do something about them, report them, and do not have too many of them.
10. How will my performance be transmitted to me?
You will be contacted if any intervention or change in your audit programme is proposed. Intervention may be as little as a telephone call or it may be a special purpose audit. Following an audit, a diagram showing your risk compared with other operators who hold the same certificate as you will be provided to you. Your position will be shown on that diagram, without naming them. You will be able to see whether you are tending towards high or low risk.
11. Who will make the risk assessments?
Whoever in the CAA that has a major contact with your organisation. For a Part 119 organisation It will normally be a flight operations inspector and / or an airworthiness inspector. Some risk factors will be generated by the CAA safety system computer assessing any changes that have been loaded during the day. The system will therefore be updated daily.