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58 Interviews were conducted with one representative from each industry group either in person or by phone. A summary of ans- wers are provided here. David Crowner, Manager, Airfield Operations SeattleâTacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) 1. What impact do you see the new proposed SMS Rule (NPRM) on the management of the ramp? With the change in Part 139 to include SMS, the airportâs role will be improved in its ability to provide ramp man- agement oversight. To date, the lack of regulatory admin- istration regarding the non-movement area has resulted in an area that is not well controlled. SMS will create greater awareness, accountability, focus, budget, license, and importance of the ramp area. The airportâs role in man- aging the ramp will change the dynamics of ramp safety and discussions regarding accidents, incidents, and hazard identification and mitigation. 2. Should the airport take on the role of safety oversight of the ramp? If not, who is best suited? These are actually two questions that should be answered independently. With the introduction of SMS and inclu- sion of the non-movement area, airports may not be ade- quately prepared today to provide the necessary oversight, but with time and training airports will have the staff and capabilities to manage this area effectively. Authority over the ramp needs to be officially designated to airports to evolve and create a program that takes into consideration tenants, staff, and operations. The most effective way to reach this goal is to work with tenants in a collaborative and productive way. The collective goal needs to be safety while keeping in mind the costs of doing business. 3. How would airports and tenants work to improve safety on the ramp? Today the ramp is not under positive control (ATO), which makes operations on the ramp advisory. With a more rigorous management program such as SMS the air- port and tenants will have the opportunity to create a new team of accountabilities at all levels. Today, Sea-Tac meets with tenants on a monthly basis to discuss ramp safety issues, concerns, and hazards. The meeting is voluntary. In the future, participation in such meetings would be man- datory where the team would communicate, coordinate, cooperate, and collaborate to discuss issues, determine how to resolve problems, mitigate hazards, and develop solu- tions that are cost-effective and that most importantly improve safety. 4. Explain your thoughts on additional safety training? What types of training would be most effective? One of the keys to understanding accidents and incidents is root cause analysis. I think everyone can benefit from various levels of training in this area. Also, hazard aware- ness training is important for all staff and tenants who work on the ramp and in the baggage area. The ability to identify a hazard or hazardous behavior to either self cor- rect or report through management will increase the level of safety on the ramp. Sea-Tac is currently developing a safety orientation training that will be incorporated into our SITA training program. The orientation will provide basic safety tips, situational awareness, and how to report a concern without fear of retribution. This program will be operational by the end of 2011. 5. Would standards on the ramp (markings, operations, etc.) increase situational awareness? Yes, if markings are consistent across airports, staff, pilots, ramp workers, reduce the likelihood of errors. AC 5300-13 is a great example of standards for the movement area. An AC on non-movement area markings would benefit every- one. For example if taxi lanes and taxiing routes are con- sistent and take into account wingtip clearance and object free areas, the risk of ramp area accidents is reduced. 6. What top three programs or activities would you recom- mend to improve ramp safety? 1) Training at all levels. 2) Placing ramp safety in a realistic and relevant context through a change in culture and situational awareness as a safeguard. 3) Data sharing with tenants and the airport to more accu- rately trend issues and to resolve hazards before they lead to accidents and incidents. Robert Royal, DirectorâSafety & Regulatory Compliance Delta Airlines Global Services 1. What impact do you see the new proposed SMS Rule (NPRM) on the management of the ramp? SMS has a potential of creating problems if each airport designs and develops different programs. Unless there are consistent guidelines or standards to create consistencies, the SMS programs could lead to failures that would be unfair to airports and carriers. 2. Should the airport take on the role of safety oversight of the ramp? If not, who is best suited? The airport can play a role in ramp safety oversight, but it canât be without involvement from airline and ground service providers. Each would have certain areas of respon- sibilities that would be developed collaboratively. This would lead to a safer environment. 3. How would airports and tenants work to improve safety on the ramp? Airport and tenants would first need to define their mission or vision so collectively everyone would be able to work toward a common goal and be accountable for individual efforts. A set of standards and measurable objectives will determine that improvements are actually occurring. 4. Explain your thoughts on additional safety training? What types of training would be most effective? At DGS we are implementing OSHA courses (10-hour and 40-hour depending on the staff). We believe that these courses increase safety awareness and understanding of hazard recognition. Typically staff doesnât know how to recognize and report hazards in the workplace; hazards like electrical problems or pot holes. Training staff how to become familiar with hazard identification leads to a safer work place so hazards can be mitigated before they lead to potential accidents or incidents. 5. Would standards on the ramp (markings, operations, etc.) increase situational awareness? Standards would improve situational awareness if carri- ers would agree to a standard. Every carrier has a partic- ular way of managing their ramp and their operations. It APPENDIX C Interview Summaries
59 is unlikely all carriers will agree to a single way of oper- ations. Regarding markings, if each airport designs mark- ings at their individual airport, then pilots and ramp crews will have to become familiar with each airport. Airports would benefit from a single standard for markings that would be developed and managed by the FAA. 6. What top three programs or activities would you recom- mend to improve ramp safety? Only two were provided: 1) Improving driver training programs; at some airports non-movement area driving is really brief and could be improved to include situational awareness and hazard identification. 2) Hazard identification (see response to question #4) Roy TschumiâField Director, Seattle Delta Airlines 1. What impact do you see the new proposed SMS Rule (NPRM) on the management of the ramp? Generally there are potential issues with airports owning safety training when each airline is responsible for their own training and especially at Delta where we go beyond the requirements. What if safety training is not what air- lines want or require? Will the airport be able to capture all the various equipment types and carrier operations? Airports should be responsible for basic safety training and focus on the broad spectrum issues such as speeding, how to conform to drive lanes, and focus on airport rules and regulations instead of carrier operations. 2. Should the airport take on the role of safety oversight of the ramp? If not, who is best suited? If airports use a program like ISAGO to establish minimum standards and then require ramp operations to comply, that will ensure a consistent oversight. Delta goes above and beyond what is required. One of the questions to ask is how does an airport that has minimum experience in ramp oper- ations take on the role as safety oversight? The safety over- sight needs to be a partnership between airports and airlines. Airlines are already being audited by the FAA through Part 121. The best approach would be something similar to the Air Transportation Oversight System (ATOS program); for an audit program to function. 3. How would airports and tenants work to improve safety on the ramp? Airports need to support the airlines and vice versa; air- ports and tenants need to work together to resolve safety issues as a team. For example, the drive lanes installed at SEA took more time to get implemented than necessary. Instead of just safety meetings, there needs to be a work- ing group with goals and objectives and identified proj- ects to improve safety that includes tenants and airport representatives. For a successful safety program, there needs to be accountability and it will require everyoneâs buy-in including employees, janitors, maintenance, etc. The program canât be from the top down only, there needs to be community buy-in, where everyone has say and ownership. 4. Explain your thoughts on additional safety training? What types of training would be most effective? Additional safety training (as mentioned in question 1) should include basic ramp operations such as driving, speed limits, reporting, and personal accountabilities and responsibilities for safety. 5. Would standards on the ramp (markings, operations, etc.) increase situational awareness? Standards are an excellent tool for improving safety. When markings and signage are consistent it can increase awareness. But for example at Sea-Tac drive lanes are indicated on one area of the ramp but not consistently on the other side of the ramp so drivers are not sure what is the requirement and the lack of standards actually creates hazards for the staff. So the recommendation would be to make sure standards are applied throughout the ramp area consistently. 6. What top three programs or activities would you recom- mend to improve ramp safety? 1. Driverâs safety training for all airside operations (move- ment and non-movement). 2. Some type of program where when offenders are being ticketed the information needs to be shared with the tenant right away to collectively work on preventative measures to stop the behavior. 3. Ramp tower involvement as a safety control to assess taxiing issues that often result (to staff and equipment) in jet blast exposure from aircraft.
