Ground Operations Safety

When it comes down to the bottom line, the ground operations at an airport are the #1 cause of damages to aircraft. They are also the #1 cause of injury or death to the work on or around aircraft. Many companies have tried to come up with ways to make ground operations safer and more efficient. However there is a cost to speed and efficiency.

One technique that is used to control the amount of damages to aircraft while at the gate is the use of a simple break check. Let’s face it, ground vehicles don’t get serviced like our cars. These vehicles are used day after day in some of the most mechanically stressful environments, not to mention breaks do have a habit of failing. By performing a break check before approaching an aircraft, the risk of hitting an aircraft with equipment because of a break failure is greatly minimized.

Perhaps one of the most effective ways of mitigating ground operations risks is proper and consistent training. If an employee is properly trained the risk of them causing an incident is greatly minimized. Also, it is important for companies to provide recurrent training to keep employees proficient on existing procedures and new procedures.

One of the biggest issues on the ground is runway incursions. The best way to limit the number of incursions is again proper and constant training and review.