Nick is on the job and I get the feeling he is going to kick some 'crat' butt next week at the Supplementary Estimates...
Estimates daily programs – Parliament of Australia
Here's an excerpt from the last round of the Senate Estimates:
Question no.: 101
Program: n/a
Division/Agency: (CASA) Civil Aviation Safety Authority
Topic: Air Traffic Control
Proof Hansard Page/s: Written
Senator Xenophon asked:
I have been developing a growing disquiet about the state of Air Traffic Control (ATC) in Australia. Not only does it seem that there is a significant increase in the number of Breakdown of Separation (BoS) and Loss of Separation (LoS) events, but I am now hearing a lot about lack of resources, compromised training, fatigue issues and a repressive management culture. The message from the coalface is that things are getting worse, not better.
While I note the CASA evidence that a holistic examination of Airservices is underway, I can’t help wondering how effective the regulatory oversight of Airservices has been up until now, should these things prove to be true.
1. Have any Safety Cases been prepared in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 6 of the Manual of Standards Part 172 – Air Traffic Services?
(a) If so, how many?
(b) If so, what do they relate to?
(c) Have they been assessed by CASA as competent examinations of the issues?
2. Does CASA consider the Airservices’ Safety Management System (SMS) to be a mature system?
3. Does CASA consider the Airservices’ Safety Management System (SMS) to be an effective system?
4. Is CASA satisfied that the operational risks related to changes in the training systems and manpower planning have been adequately assessed and appropriately mitigated?
5. Mr McCormick stated that the individuals responsible for the oversight of Airservices Australia are all previous employees of that organisation. How does CASA ensure independence in the conduct of audits of Airservices?
6. It has been suggested to me that the Training and Checking system required by CASR Part 172 and by the Manual of Standards (MOS) has been severely compromised by underresourcing, particularly in terms of operational staff. Is CASA satisfied that Airservices have the required management and resources in place to ensure that all elements of the training and checking requirements (‘from cradle to grave’) are being consistently met?
7. Mr McCormick stated that “…If there is a large turnover then we would look to see if there was any generic issue; whether there is the same issue coming up, or why people have left…”
Given its monopoly Government Business Enterprise (GBE ) type status, how do you act on any management concerns you may have – particularly since it would be virtually impossible to “ground” them?
8. We are aware from our airline standards activities that there is a substantial amount of recent material on Safety Management Systems (SMS). The Advisory Circulars (ACs) for CASR Part 172 relating to SMS and Safety Cases date back to 2005. I am advised that those ACs are particularly lacking in substance compared to similar documents in other jurisdictions. Is there any plan to modernise those ACs?
9. Are ATS SMS audits conducted against the recent ICAO Safety Management Manual framework or against the very “lite” material in the CASR Part 172 ACs?
10. Are ATS Safety Cases assessed and audited against the recent material published by the UK CAA and EuroControl or against the older material in the CASR Part 172 ACs?
11. From a safety management and organisational perspective, ATS seems very similar to an airline. While I note your rejection of my proposed amendments to the Civil Aviation Act to mandate FRMS across the broad spectrum of “safety sensitive” occupations, I am quite surprised that there is apparently no regulatory requirement for Airservices to manage operational fatigue among its controllers. Is CASA considering a regulatory change to ensure that fatigue among controllers does not become an issue?
12. Although Airservices has adopted an FRMS, is it included as part of the CASA audit schedule, given that it is not legally required?
13. If you do audit the Airservices FRMS, now or at some future time, what benchmark will you adopt?
14. Given the monopoly position of Airservices, the safety of aircraft operated in controlled airspace has a very high dependency on the safe performance of ATS. I have some questions in relation to the safety and compliance audit program for Airservices.
(a) When was the most recent audit undertaken?
(b) What were the findings in terms of the number of observations and Request for Corrective Action (RCAs)/Non-compliance Notices (NCNs)?
(c) Where there any repetitive or recurring findings?
(d) Have all relevant areas of Airservices been audited over the last 3 years?
(e) If not, over what time period?
(f) How many audits have been conducted over the last 3 years?
(g) How many observations have been issued over the last 3 years?
(h) How many RCAs/NCNs have been issued over the last 3 years?
15. What has been the strongest enforcement action taken by CASA against Airservices over the last 5 years?
16. It is a key element of CASR Part 143 “Air Traffic Services Training Providers” that the organisation must be Registered Training Organisation (RTO) within the Australian Quality Training Framework. The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) is the national regulator of the vocational education and training (VET) sector.
(a) Is CASA delegated authority from ASQA to conduct RTO audits on Airservices to ensure continuing compliance with CASR Part 143?
(b) if not, has CASA requested the ASQA to conduct an RTO audit as part of CASA’s holistic examination of Airservices?
(c) if not, why not?
(d) when was the last RTO audit conducted on Airservices by ASQA or its predecessor body?
(e) how many RTO audits have been conducted by ASQA or its predecessor body on Airservices?
Answer:
1. Yes. CASA requires all Airservices Australia (Airservices) Civil Aviation Safety Regulation (CASR) Part 172 safety cases to be prepared in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 6 of the Manual of Standards Part 172.
(a) Since 2009 CASA has reviewed 11 Safety Cases.
(b) The reviewed safety cases related to the proposed implementation of Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control Systems, Required Navigation Performance, changes to the Australian Advanced Air Traffic System, air traffic control tower developments, and Wide Area Multilateration.
(c) Yes.
2. Yes.
3. Yes.
4. Yes.
5. The substantive Executive Manager of the Airspace and Aerodromes Division that oversights Airservices was not a previous employee of Airservices.
The independence and objectivity of surveillance activities is also assured by:
• employment of experienced and suitably qualified air traffic control specialists and auditors;
• establishing controls for objectivity and independence of audits;
• audit activities generally being conducted by teams of at least 2 auditors;
• internal procedural measures are established to ensure that an exclusionary period of time, usually 2 years, is applied to any auditor who may be called upon to audit a specialist area where they were employed; and
• employment of a number of staff who have gained broad and diverse industry
experience through previous employment in other State regulators, the Australian
Defence Force Air Traffic Services and other industry organisations.
6. CASA is satisfied that Airservices has a suitably documented process covering training and checking.
7. CASA regulates Airservices’ certificates by taking appropriate regulatory action as it does with other certificate holders. The responsive options available to CASA include the imposition of conditions and issuing directions to Airservices.
8. CASA considers CASR Part 172, the associated Manual of Standards (MOS), coupled with Airservices’ approved SMS, provides sufficient substance for surveillance of Airservices’ SMS performance.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is developing a new Annex that will consolidate all SMS aspects currently contained in various annexes. Similarly, CASA is currently exploring the possibility of developing a new CASR part which would deal with SMS applicable to all aviation organisations, including airlines and air traffic service providers. This part would bring together the requirements for SMS for all aviation organisations and would involve a review of SMS requirements, including guidance material, for each sector of the aviation industry.
9&10. Airservices has a SMS which must comply with the MOS for CASR Part 172 and forms part of its Operations Manual. It is appropriate that Airservices’ SMS performance is audited against its SMS rather than the ICAO Safety Management Manual or against UK or European SMS guidance material.
11. CASA considers fatigue risk management integral to the operation of Airservices’ SMS and has conducted recent surveillance of the improvements to Airservices initial ATS fatigue management system and no safety issues were identified during that surveillance.
Airservices’ fatigue risk management system reflects good practice and is consistent with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices for ATC’s.
12. CASA audits Airservices FRMS as a component of its SMS.
13. CASA adopts benchmarks that reflect improvements in global practice and which conform to the Australian aviation regulatory standard in force at that time.
14. (a) The most recent Part 172 audit was conducted at between 7-11 May 2012.
(b) CASA issued 3 Noncompliance Notices and 9 Observations.
(c) A recurring finding from this audit was that some refresher training modules did not include a suitable means and criteria of assessing satisfactory completion of the training (as required by the Airservices Operations Manual). A Non-Compliance Notice was raised in this regard.
(d) Yes.
(e) Not applicable.
(f) CASA has conducted 64 Air Traffic Services-related audits.
(g) CASA has made 104 Air Traffic Services related Observations.
(h) CASA has issued 66 Air Traffic Services-related Request for Corrective Action
(RCAs)/Non-compliance Notices (NCNs).
15. CASA has undertaken no enforcement action against Airservices in the last five years.
16. (a) CASA is not delegated authority from ASQA to conduct RTO audits on Airservices.
CASA audits Airservices compliance with the requirements of CASR Part 143. CASA has conducted significant surveillance of the Training Academy in the last three years.
(b) No.
(c) CASA has not identified a need for a special ASQA audit of Airservices.
(d) CASA understands that the last RTO audit conducted on Airservices took place in 2008; the current registration being valid until 31 May 2013.
(e) CASA understands that, since 2003, the year CASR Part 143 came into effect, there has been one RTO audit of Airservices as referred to in (d) above.