Safety Issue
CASA's guidance material provided to operators about the structure and content of an operations manual was not as comprehensive as that provided by ICAO in areas such as multi-crew procedures and stabilised approach criteria.
Safety Recommendation
The ATSB recommends that the Civil Aviation Safety Authority address this safety issue.
Guidance material in the form of an advisory circular on
multi-crew operations, which includes such contemporary safety
issues as threat and error management and stabilised approaches, is
in its final stages of development.
Australia remains active on the ICAO Operations Control Panel
with regards to global standards and recommended procedures
including those that apply to subjects such as operations manuals,
multi-crew procedures and stabilised approaches.
While the ATSB acknowledges CASA's intention to issue an
advisory circular on multi-crew operations, the safety issue
relates more broadly to the structure and content of operations
manuals.
CASA's guidance and procedures for evaluating operations manuals
are being revised as part of the surveillance project referred to
above [see CASA response to R20070004]. In addition, the Safety
Systems Specialists will review complex operator manuals to ensure
optimum useability.
Additionally, as part of this project, all auditors and
inspectors will receive additional training as part of the
impementation of the new surveillance system.
The ATSB notes the action being taken by CASA to address this
safety issue. The ATSB would appreciate clarification that the
guidance and procedures for evaluating operations manuals that are
being revised as part of the project mentioned in response to
R20070004 includes provision of more detailed guidance to operators
on the structure and contents of operations manuals. The ATSB has
amended the status of this recommendation to 'Monitor'.
Entry Control manuals are currently being rewritten to provide
more current guidance. The first phase of the development of a
Manual authorising an assessment tool has now been completed. This
tool is designed to be used to provide specific guidance for all
Inspector activity associated with assessment of system validity
and verification. The Industry Oversight Project will employ the
Manual authorising an assessment tool to produce clear guidance for
the new assessment methods to be used in the Industry Oversight
Project. Each Air Transport field office now has a dedicated Safety
Systems Specialist to assist with analysis of complex manuals. The
Specialists are continually trained in hazard assessment methods.
While CASA has a responsibility to ensure Operator's manuals meet
the required standards - which should be evident in the Exposition,
the intention is that the Operator's own Safety Management System
will be assessed for its effectiveness in identifying weaknesses in
their Manual suite before they come to CASA's attention
The 8 October 2008 response from CASA does not appear to address
the intent of safety issue. The ATSB would like to receive advise
from CASA on how it intends to provide guidance material on the
structure and content of operations manuals that is as
comprehensive as that provided by ICAO.
CASA announced on 15 March 2011, Project OS 11/05: Revision of
CAAP 215 - Modernisation of CASA guidance on preparation of an
Operations Manual.
The objectives of the proposed project are the development of an
updated version of CAAP 215 to more effectively explain to
operators what CASA requires of an Operations Manual and the format
that an Operations Manual should take.
It is the goal of this project that someone tasked by an
operator to produce or update an Operations Manual could generate a
manual that is formatted more logically than is now the case and
contains all required information for use by the operator.
This project aims to produce a document that contains a format
that is sufficiently flexible to cover all air transport
operators.
The ATSB will monitor the development of the CAAP.
CASA advised that work is progressing on CAAP 215 but that the
schedule is undefined as it is subject to regulatory changes.
In August 2012, CASA released the second issue of Civil Aviation Advisory Publication 215, along with 4 appendices, to supersede the 1997 version.
The August 2012 issue of CAAP 215 addresses the issues of guidance to operators for the contents of operation manuals concerning multi-crew procedures and stabilised approach criteria. The ATSB is considers that issue 2 of CAAP 215 satisfies the intent of this recommendation and has now closed this recommendation.
