29 June 2004 - Safety Step Change Sought from the Civil Air Transport Industry
The Airport Operators' Association (AOA) is the trade association that represents the interests of British airports and is being encouraged by the Health and Safety Executive (HSC) to continue to work alongside the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and trade unions to drive down the costs of accidents and ill health.
Speaking at the Airport Operators' Association Operations and Safety Conference, Bill Callaghan, Chair of HSC commented:
"We want to work in partnership with employers, trade unions and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to make a step change in performance. We see 'step change' as imperative."
He then went on to comment on the industry's performance:
"I won't pretend to you that there is not considerable scope for improvement. The trend in incidents reported by the industry to HSE is adverse. It does not matter what you compare the figures against - aircraft movements, passenger numbers or cargo tonnage - the direction is up."
However, Mr Callaghan said the industry was taking positive steps to tackle these issues:
"I'm pleased to report movement on key issues. An Industry Strategy Group (ISG) has made progress on working out what the industry needs to do and how it can do it. For example, it has agreed tough provisional targets in the areas of musculoskeletal disorders, workplace transport and falls from height and begun to develop strategies to achieve them."
He also said that "work on benchmarking and mapping health and safety competencies are of great importance."
Mr Callaghan commented on what the HSC expects from the air transport industry:
"We want you to sign up to the targets and strategies developed by your colleagues on the ISG, and to deliver those targets and strategies with our help. We also want you to bring the same diligence to health and safety that you bring to aircraft safety."
