Controlled safety

Quality creates the foundation for safety

Quality assurance work started over ten years ago in the Civil Aviation Administration. The first measure undertaken was the design of the internal deviation and observation reporting system that provided information on the organisation’s development needs, dis-crepancies and possible risk factors.

“Our message right from the beginning has been that our own reporting system is not used as a means of finding culprits, but for finding reasons,” says manager Janne Enarvi from Finavia’s safety and quality unit.

Long-term work to improve the system has produced results. Mr. Enarvi believes this can be seen in the confidence staff have towards the reporting system and the increase in reporting. The unit, which operates under the Director General, is also responsible for ensuring that Finavia’s safety management system complies with various official requirements. These are set by the EU, ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) and Eurocontrol (the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation) as well as Finland’s aviation authority, the Finnish Civil Aviation Authority.

“During 2006, we have created an organisation and brought together the functions that had already been implemented for the most part by Finavia into a system that responds to all these requirements. The work has been challenging because the solution is not at all an ordinary one. Instead of several different systems, we want to create a common tool for all the personnel groups, which can be expanded flexibly to meet our needs – just as we have common values for everyone,” explains Mr. Enarvi.

During the year, the critical safety functions have been described in the different units. The requirements for the safety management system have been fulfilled, and in 2007 work will continue with the quality work.

The aim of the safety management system is not only to be able to demonstrate the operational aspects to parties
supervising Finavia but also to increase the ability to make forecasts in a methodical way and thus improve the safety of aviation to an even greater extent.

“We have traditionally had a high level of safety culture. We know how to take responsibility for safety. The biggest challenge for the safety management system is to maintain the aforementioned without creating the illusion on paper of the omnipotence of the system that has been created. The system should, instead, complement and support people’s natural desire and ability to work safely. We must not rely solely on the system,” says Mr. Enarvi philosophically.