The FAA understands that Safety Management Systems work best with priorities, resources, and interaction fully aligned to maximize their effectiveness.
Constant Aviation has achieved an important milestone of becoming the second independent MRO in the U.S. to be recognized as having a single, integrated corporatewide Safety Management System (SMS) by the FAA. Achieving FAA-Accepted Corporate SMS status means that Constant is operating under a single safety system companywide, which generally reduces safety risk and ranks it as a leader in business aviation maintenance safety.
Constant Aviation Chief Executive Officer David H. Davies said, “The improvements throughout our organization because of SMS implementation are clear, as evidenced by this latest recognition by the FAA. This honor underscores that we are a leader in moving from a reactive safety culture to one that is highly proactive, continuously improving and dynamically driving safety organization-wide.”
SMS is the standard for safety programs in aviation worldwide. Although SMS processes are optional for MROs such as Constant, they are seen as highly beneficial and frequently are requested by both domestic customers and foreign certificate holders. Although the FAA only recently recognized Constant’s Corporate SMS program, the company has been operating with SMS processes since August 2018.
“Having two or more systems generally means maintaining multiple manuals, operating multiple databases and operating with less communication and coordination. The FAA understands that Safety Management Systems work best with priorities, resources, and interaction fully aligned to maximize their effectiveness. We have worked to integrate our SMS across our entire company, and FAA acceptance of our Corporate SMS program is recognition of this at the highest level,” Davies further added.
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During an FAA audit in December 2021, Constant Aviation demonstrated that its SMS system runs parallel between the Cleveland and Sanford facilities, thereby meeting the standard of a Corporate SMS Program. It met such criteria as having a single accountable executive; maintaining a common database; having data reviewed and analyzed at the corporate level; having the capacity to identify and communicate hazards across all affected organizations, and having a common manual and documentation.
