Smart Aviation Management Uses An As9100 Consultant For ISO Certification

By Judy Sullivan


The flying public is reasonably unaware of how many complex system of systems must all come together to make air travel possible. They are concerned with safety, their luggage and delays, and anything they need by exception. Aviation companies that wish to remain competitive or become the best can use an as9100 consultant to make the effort easier.

The problem with setting out on a new course, for a company, is that in general people fear change in any situation, especially in their work. Once an established set of processes has become comfortable, anything that interrupts or alters the process is frightening. This investment in the way things have always been done stifles progress and can hide inefficiencies and inconsistent performance which must be highlighted and eliminated.

One of the hallmarks of the airline industry is its remarkable safety record, where it ranks as the safest form of travel by distance traveled. This is due, among other factors, to the discipline of aircrews checklist use. This same rigid mindset, however, makes change problematic a necessary part of continuous improvement and ISO compliance.

International standards are difficult to develop, with more than 160 nations involved agreements are hard to achieve. An organization called ISO was organized in 1946 to put together the means to assure the safety and consistency of products, no matter where they are produced. Headquartered in Switzerland, they have successfully developed voluntary standards for most fields, including aviation.

The organization has been producing agreements ever since, but the quality management movement created a more receptive environment. Once the ISO 9000 series were published in 1987, they received international approval, and the option to neglect them faded. Now competitors and the consuming public are aware of the standards and companies go without certification at their peril.

Unfortunately for businesses, this is not the kind of accreditation one can simply apply for and get approval. It entails a thorough, company wide analysis of everything that is done to produce the product or service, and the supporting functions, then an application and finally an independent externally conducted assessment of the company. It also means senior leaders cannot order it to be done, the workers supervisors and leaders will have to work together to succeed.

The kind of deep look at the business is unlike most management reviews, it entails every process accomplished by anyone working, from administrative support and training to operational flying. The goal of this first deep look is to assess exactly what is really being done, seeking those tasks that either hurt efficiency or do not help. This is a difficult step to accomplish without an independent outside assistant.

Once the new processes are well established, the hard part really begins, as the term continuous improvement implies, the effort is never ending. An as9100 consultant can help establish a maintenance process that helps prevent stagnation and encourages an environment of self inspection. Staying ahead of competitors is less the goal than simply being the best that one can be in given circumstances.




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