The European Helicopter Safety Team (EHEST) today released a comprehensive Safety Management Toolkit developed with consideration to EU rules on Air Operations (Annex III, Part ORO Subpart GEN Section II Management System) which are expected be finalised later this year. The Toolkit was designed for Complex Operators and is particularly useful for those with limited experience of Safety Management Systems (SMS). It consists of a Safety Management Manual (SMM), an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) and a Safety Management Database User Guide.
The SMM is a sample manual designed to assist operators in creating their own manuals, which must be adapted to reflect individual needs, nature of operations and procedures. Since having a ERP will be required under future rules, the EHEST response plan in this Toolkit aims to help organisation to respond in the case of accidents, serious incidents or any event triggering a crisis. Finally, the Safety Management Database User Guide provides example registers of typical helicopter hazards and risks in Commercial Air Transport (CAT) operations, a unique feature provided by the EHEST for safety management purposes.
Further information on the toolkit can be found here.
The EHEST is the European branch of the International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST) and the helicopter component of the European Strategic Safety Initiative (ESSI). The EHEST is a voluntary safety partnership co-chaired by EASA, Eurocopter and the European Helicopter Operators Committee (EHOC).
