Leading Safety Management Systems Consultant Gives Briefing at Greater St. Louis Business Aviation Association Luncheon

By Carmelo Turdo

The Greater St. Louis Business Aviation Association (GSLBAA) held their quarterly luncheon Friday at Spirit of St. Louis Airport. This last event of the year was a great opportunity to gather before the holiday season gets into full swing. Along with an essential professional development message and delicious food, local aviation businesses provided informative exhibits on their newest products and services. 

GSLBAA President, Tom Buffington, welcomed the attendees to the luncheon. He invited everyone to load up their plates at the buffet and check out the industry exhibitors before settling in for the guest speaker's presentation. 

Aerospace Services And Products (ASAP)

Travers & Associates Aviation Insurance Agency

Ideal Aviation Flight Training, KCPS

Garmin St. Louis Data Team

Wings of Hope Humanitarian Aviation Nonprofit

Plane Clean Aviation Detailing Services

The guest speaker for this quarterly luncheon was Rick Malczynski, Founder and President of Business Aviation Safety Consortium (BASC) based in Fort Worth, TX. For the past eight years, BASC has provided consulting services assisting corporate flight departments in developing and maintaining safety management systems (SMS) exceeding the industry standard. He brings a wealth of experience to his profession, having been ranked as the top International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) Auditor for three consecutive years. While he sees the value of the IS-BAO auditing process, which does not provide for specific feedback from each audit discrepancy, he began independent consulting as a more comprehensive way of promoting a corporate aviation safety culture. 

One-hundred and fifty BASC corporate clients receive counseling services for developing and improving their SMS, adding value to their own flight department safety program. 

Malczynski and his staff promote a collaborative environment of open communication and progressive evaluation of the SMS, revisiting the process over a one-to-three-year period if necessary to accomplish the incomplete portions of the program.

"We call our Auditors, Facilitator-Auditors," Malczynski said during his presentation, "with the thought being you and your department know way more if something would be better for you than we would know just having read your books and come in and spend a day and a half with you. What a good Facilitator-Auditor does is facilitate discussion among that group to figure out what's the best way to do something...What could we do that we're already doing, and what can we do that brings more value to our organization."

The BASC style includes flexibility and collaboration throughout the process, while still meeting the high standards and operational requirements of the flight department. Reasonableness and commonsense are guiding factors in providing excellent customer service and desired product outcomes for each client. 

More information on their services and other resources can be found on the BASC website, and a free demo of services is also available. The Aero Experience thanks GSLBAA, BASC, the industry exhibitors and all who attended the quarterly luncheon for making it both enjoyable and educational. Check the GSLBAA website for upcoming events.