Newsletters
May 2009
JDA and Northwest Data Solutions (NWDS) have announced a strategic partnership to assist aviation organizations understand, implement, and maintain a quality Safety Management System (SMS) that meets ICAO, FAA, IS-BAO, Transport Canada, and CAP 712 SMS standards. JDA and NWDS have combined their expertise to develop the most comprehensive SMS program on the market that includes safety culture assessments, gap analyses, planning, training, risk management, safety assurance, and promotion. The cornerstone of the JDA-NWDS SMS service is SMS Pro™ an integrated software application that assists the operations of airlines, airports, helicopter operators, towers, and MROs increase the efficiency of business processes through the enhancement of operational and management safety event reporting. SMS ProTM is a Web-based application, which greatly facilitates safety information sharing across an organization. Under the partnership, JDA will provide SMS Pro™ sales, marketing, planning, training, mentoring, implementation and SMS manual support. NWDS will support SMS Pro™ implementation, customization, technical support, and hosting. "While the FAA is moving towards rulemaking requiring aviation operators and businesses to implement SMS, the most prudent decision is to implement SMS now so that your organization can identify and take action on latent conditions before they become serious safety concerns or worse, an accident." stated Joe Del Balzo JDA President. "If eliminating accidents is not enough to motivate an organization to implement an SMS, firms may be motivated by the legal, positive return on safety investment, labor relations, and regulatory benefits that an SMS can provide, and easily tracked and managed, through SMS Pro." said Chris Howell, Managing Partner, NWDS.
Climate change initiative is one of the Obama administration's top priorities. One initiative being considered is a cap and trade program. Under this type of program, businesses would buy and sell permits allowing them the right to emit certain amounts of greenhouse gases. The price of the permits would be determined by demand and availability in the carbon-trading marketplace. A plan for establishing a cap and trade program has been outlined by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee. The plan would reduce global warming by reducing emissions from electric utilities, oil companies, large industrial sources, and other covered entities that collectively are responsible for 85 percent of U.S. global warming emissions. The effected entities would be required to have tradable federal permits, called "allowances" for pollution emitted into the atmosphere. Entities emitting less than 25,000 tons of CO2 equivalents per year would not be covered by the program as proposed. Data from the U.S. Department of Energy shows that one gallon of Avgas produces approximately 18.4 pounds of CO2 when burned. By comparison, automotive gasoline emits approximately 19.4 pounds of CO2 per gallon burned and Jet A releases 21.1 pounds. The entire U. S. aviation community combined only contributes three percent of the country's greenhouse gas emissions. One provision of the legislation gives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authority to regulate stationary sources and new mobile sources that emit 20 percent of the CO2 in the range of 10,000 to 25,000 tons produced a year. Even larger operations that might use 200,000 gallons of Jet A fuel per year would only generate 2200 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. On the other hand, Congressional staffs have said that existing Clean Air Act regulations will remain in effect, and may have an effect on Avgas and Jet A users. President Obama has the option to bypass the legislative process and use his executive authority to work directly with the EPA to craft greenhouse gas regulations and a cap and trade system. President Obama has said he would rather see this policy develop through the legislature. Either way, it is almost certain that new climate change rules will go into effect in the near future. New FAA MMEL Assessment Procedures Navigating the FAA Determination of No Hazard Process Ask any builder, developer or company that erected a new office complex, cell phone tower or wind turbine what was required to obtain a favorable no-hazard determination from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and they will probably roll their eyes and regale you with tales of frustration and bureaucratic processes and delays. All developers in the United States that are planning on building any structure taller than 200 feet or within 20,000 feet of a public use airport are obligated to submit their project for federal review. The FAA, which is tasked with protecting navigable airspace and efficiencies of the National Airspace System, conducts aeronautical studies under the purview of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The outcome of this review can result in the lowering of building heights, much to the detriment of years of planning and extensive capital investment. The challenge for most builders is to know when to notify the FAA in the development process and what to do if they receive an unfavorable determination. An unfavorable determination, in many cases, can result in the loss of structure height. For a building, this means a loss of revenue, for broadcasters and turbine developers it may mean the end of the project. What many developers don't know is that a determination of hazard may not be the end of the project. In many cases, the FAA has the ability to mitigate the impact of a structure on air traffic operations without negatively impacting the development process. Unfortunately, the FAA is not staffed or equipped to develop mitigation solutions for every structure that is deemed a hazard. The onus is on the developer to propose mitigation solutions that will enable the FAA to approve the project. In every case that JDA has proposed a mitigation solution for its clients, the FAA has ultimately issued favorable determinations of "no hazard" for the structure. For firms considering construction of any structure that is taller than 200 feet or within 20,000 feet of a public use airport, it is recommended that they include the FAA Determination of No Hazard process early in its planning cycle to avoid costly delays. Introducing a Risk-Free Way to Reduce No-Fault-Found Costs Commercial and Military aviation needs a solution for reducing the negative impacts associated with the phenomenon known as 'No Fault Found.' When a Line Replaceable Unit (LRU) is removed from an aircraft, it is estimated that on the average 50% of the LRUs cannot be confirmed as a failure in the test bench environment. For these cases, the LRU is shipped from the repair cycle back to the aircraft operator with the classification as a No Fault Found. This affliction costs commercial airline operators a great deal of money every year. The costs associated with No Fault Founds are not just the administrative repair order costs (shipping/handling) and charges paid to the repair vendor for the repair orders. No Fault Founds also create the need to stock a large spare inventory of LRUs to account for those LRUs that are in the repair cycle that have nothing wrong with them. To help airlines reduce the costs associated with No Fault Founds, JDA has formed a strategic partnership with AeroTech Business Consultants. AeroTech manages LRU quarantine programs for aircraft operators commonly known as "Save on Shelf" or "Ship or Shelve" programs. Variations of these types of programs have been around for years, but through the innovative efficiency and streamlining of AeroTech's custom "Continue Service" software and LRU disposition management capabilities, repair order costs are greatly reduced. In fact, the consultants at AeroTech are currently helping a top-tier operator save over $2 million a year through the use of the Continue Service Program. Implementation of the Continue Service Program is risk free. For each successful continue service LRU, the cost avoidance associated with not having to pay a No Fault Found service order charge is calculated. Our fee is directly related to monthly metrics reports that document the savings. No savings, no cost to you, no fee to us; simple as that! If you would like more details on how the Continue Service Program can benefit your operation, contact JDA for a personalized consultation and an estimate of how much this program could save your operation. In today's ultra competitive environment, your operation cannot afford to miss out on the opportunity to implement this innovative program. |
Current JDA Projects: Airspace and obstruction evaluation services for 18 building and tower development firms. Airspace and surveillance impact analysis for Reagan National Airport (DCA) in support of the Arlington County redevelopment plan. Developing airport obstacle clearance standards in accordance with AC 150/5300-13 Airport Design Standards for two firms proposing development projects adjacent to airports. New Part 121 Operating Certificate and associated operating manuals New Part 145 Operating Certificate and associated manuals for Obstacle evaluation (Part 77 and TERPS) surface development for Jack Edwards Airport, Gulf Shores, Alabama. Operations, Safety, Maintenance and Culture Assessment and Survey RNAV procedure design and validation in support of airspace mitigation efforts in Tampa, Florida. Site planning and airspace analysis for a major wind turbine development firm. Supporting three law firms in aviation litigation management. |
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