How can you manage risks from third-party contractors in aviation fleet operations?

The services that may be provided by third party contractors can be quite diverse and can involve varying degrees of technological complexity, for example: re-fueling; catering and other aircraft ground services; runway and taxiway construction and repair; aircraft maintenance and overhaul; crew training; and flight planning, flight dispatch. SMS must ensure the level of safety is not eroded by the inputs and supplies provided by contractors. You should assess where your organization interacts with a contractor so that internal and external procedures can be coordinated. Contracting authority holds overall responsibility for managing the safety risks.

Pay the contractors what they are worth. Stop trying to squeeze every last cent out of labor costs. Contractors can often get better pay and working conditions elsewhere. They talk about your companies as well. Most of the comments that I have seen indicate total cluelessness on the part of management. Give the contractors everything they need to perform their tasks. Pay them well and treat them well.

ICAO Safety Management System in civil aviation is the framework of the identify the risks. In addition that you can monitor third party contractors performance analysis, international relations and global news in aviation data suppliers.

There are different risks inclding but not limitted to : safety and relaibaily finance reputation regulatory and compliance So we shall monitor and evalutae by on site auditting ,serach the reputation via other customers and share holders . even with high qulaity we have still big issues with our contractors (third parties while we are working with middle companies )to receive on time peroformance .

This is really a messy problem, it depends a lot on the quality of the service provider. Here you will face a real challenge to identify the risks in a proper way.

Ensure compliance to flow down requirements because these things are a real pain when things go bad. Make sure to cover all the system requirements so as to make the audit of suppliers easier.

In my experience, most ground handling service providers are not mandated by regulations to have safety management systems. Therefore contracts must explicitly state that GHSPs must have an SMS in place. As there might not be any regulatory requirements, the gold standard would be to follow ICAO SMS guidelines. The GHSPs might comply with some OSH regulations and that may be sufficient, but still will need to be documented in the contract.

I agree, complex collaborations demand meticulous planning and risk mitigation. Clear contracts are pivotal, ensuring transparency, accountability, and a foundation for success. These agreements define scope, terms, and conditions, acting as a roadmap for mutual understanding. Specifying roles and communication protocols fosters accountability and collaboration. Clear financial procedures prevent disputes, while dispute resolution and legal provisions safeguard both parties. The comprehensive contractual foundation extends to compliance and audit obligations, ensuring standards adherence. This strategic approach transcends formality, becoming the cornerstone of resilient business relationships.

El objetivo es que el contratista cumpla con la Seguridad Operacional con un nivel aceptable para nuestro propio sistema. El responsable por el Programa SMS, debe asegurar que esos contratistas cumplan con los mismo niveles de Seguridad Operacional… Las continuas auditorías serán fundamentales…

O jarg?o “o combinado n?o sai caro” representa a premissa em quest?o. Quando há formaliza??o do negócio jurídico celebrado entre duas ou mais partes, se garante a seguran?a jurídica da opera??o em si e a observa??o da regulamenta??o aplicável.

I would start by having the FAA or the ASA doing more than the audits and be more involved in the processes and documentation and asking for trace on samples from every contractor

When it comes to continuous monitoring of contractors, you need to be aware of their business without being “in” their business. Regular audits are critical in ensuring compliance but when an incident occurs, you need to leave it to the contractor’s SMS to investigate and determine corrective actions. The internal investigation should concentrate on the contract process and how the contractor was allowed to win the contract in the first place. Look inwards into aspects of organizational deficiencies rather than the actual incident itself. This is why it is key for any contractor have a robust SMS in place before the contract is signed. Don’t go down the rabbit hole where you start investigating the internal workings of another company.

Even though the Contract is a Third party, they become the Team of the Company. They should be trained the same way as any company employee will be. Never treat them as a Contractor. Motivate and support them to build a strong and efficient team.

It is important to evaluate the history of the contractor. Previous work done and whether they delivered on the need. Looking at their history you are able to identify the risk associated with them or areas to focus while getting into agreement. Moreover, continuous audits and surveys are important to find inherent risks and find a way to mitigate them.

O monitoramento do cumprimento da regulamenta??o aplicável às opera??es é imprescindível, inclusive para evitar eventual atribui??o de responsabilidade objetiva ao contratante por ato do contratado.

Establishing clear expectations, detailed contracts, and robust communication channels are key. Regular meetings, ongoing dialogue, and comprehensive training on safety protocols help align everyone involved. Additionally, conducting audits, sharing best practices, and fostering a culture of transparency can enhance collaboration, ensuring that all parties prioritize safety and adhere to industry regulations, ultimately reducing risks in aviation fleet operations.

La continua evaluación de riesgos de los contratistas permitirá la revisión permanente de sus Políticas de Seguridad, cómo sus intenciones de llevar la seguridad al nivel aceptable por la organización permitiéndole además cumplir con las exigencias de la autoridad aeronáutica competente…

We have seen that lately, several major airlines with global networks, provide training to all of their staff at station level. They educate the Station Managers how to understand the contracts and SLA, contribute and use them as tools to establish and improve their relationship with providers and most of call, improve and maintain CONSISTENT level of service.

A avia??o é o segundo ramo de atividade humana que mais tem normas, regras e procedimentos, só perde para a energia nuclear. Sendo assim, é fundamental que as equipes sejam constantemente treinadas e que possuam conhecimento robusto dos procedimentos envolvidos com a Seguran?a Operacional.

Los metodos de desplazamiento, escoltas, peligros, riesgos operacionales, planes de emergencias y medidas de mitigación debe ser temas de actualización e instrucción continua a los contratistas. Ya que se desarrollan de forma muy dinamica y tienden a graduarse a niveles de mayor envergadura. Por tal razon, es necesario que nuestro personal reconozca con mucha facilidad las debilidades en cuanto a familiarización con las operaciones. Aquelloa llamados a vigilar su desempe?o deben conocer a profundidad los limites de acción a los que los contratistas pueden llegar y que implicaciones les corresponde una vez que cometen actos no tolerados. También se debe desarollar con los inspectores canales de comunicación directa con el contratista.

Training, Training & more Training. This cannot be over emphasised. The more frequent training & refreshing that is incorporated in an organisation, the better your staff can identify, deal with and avoid any potential incidents/accidents.

One thing i have found helpful is to have a robust crosschecking system, where the aviation professionals have an expected outcome/ result from the contractors and anything that differs from the expectation should be thoroughly reviewed and reasons as to the variations clarified. Hence a good mitigation process put in place.

That is the main reason that in Ground Handling, the SGHA Agreement and respective SLA is a separate document. SLAs should be flexible to review, moderate and change if needed, without the need of restarting a full procurement process.

By experience, reviewing contract is not the easiest way to do, unless you have add provisions to do so in the original contract. Conflicts and divergence will happen and therefore, contract shall have space to renegotiation over the life of the agreement.

Reviewing and analyzing past scores related to safety of the aviation is the thing required to be done with utmost precision so that there could be no chances of error. However while reviewing and updating contracts in case of small mishap could be brought to notice and reviewed accordingly. This helps in eliminating errors and also takes care of future occurrences.

Make sure you hire someone that has a sound reputation in the market, try to get feedback from other customers, do a Google search about him, why not? Remember: once you hire someone, it automatically becomes your responsibility. You will be directly responsible for any problems that may happen, and believe me, problems will happen. So, be prepared to act fast and minimize any issue that comes along the way during the duration of the contract. In the end, if everything goes fine, you did your job properly.

Contractors and in particular training domain are poping up like popcorn at the moment, and they all know best when it comes to bu,z words as AI, AR, VR, and all those kinds. Make sure you have (or hire) someone who know these technologies and can guide you in these complicated processes, tells you about the benefits, but more importantly, the drawbacks and what to keep in mind. It's not a one stop solution, there are a lot of things to organise on the backend even before you have your first training up and running in vr. Use the knowlage, it will save you a lot of trouble in the end..

Good afternoon, this subject is very important but the main thing to do is training, lectures are always accompanied by an experienced professional.

A very solid and up to standards QMS in both parties to identify, isolate potential errors with a continuous audit plan besides clear communication.

Open reporting systems with a view to learning that fosters a non punitive approach to lapses can help develop a more robust and less error prone approach to different procedures. Knowing that someone else can benefit from a mistake you made can save thousands of man hours in research and millions in disaster management.