Fighting for Your Safety!
- Details
- Published: April 09, 2015
By Richard Riggs, PASS National T-SAP Representative
The Technical Operations Safety Action Program (T-SAP) is now a national program. If the fundamental concepts of a voluntary, cooperative, non-punitive environment for the open reporting of safety concerns are adhered to, PASS is absolutely convinced T-SAP has significantly improved National Airspace System (NAS) safety for the employees we represent, and will continue to do so.
Once a NAS safety concern, which is defined as operations, equipment or personnel, is reported through T-SAP, PASS-designated team members are involved in every aspect of the program. T-SAP allows eligible submitters to promptly identify and correct potential safety hazards. The primary purpose of T-SAP is to identify safety events, and to implement corrective measures that reduce or eliminate the opportunity for safety to be compromised. Through this process, T-SAP is intended to improve safety through personnel self-reporting, cooperative follow-up and appropriate corrective action. The PASS-designated team members understand this concept very well, and are fighting for the integrity of that concept and for your safety.
When a T-SAP eligible submitter observes a safety problem or experiences a safety-related event, he or she should note the problem or event and describe it through a T-SAP report in enough detail so that it can be evaluated. Once submitted, that “report” is prepared for the next phase of the program, which is a thorough analysis of the reported safety concern by the Event Review Committee (ERC). The ERC is comprised of one representative from the Air Traffic Organization (ATO), one representative from PASS, and one representative from the Air Traffic Safety Oversight Service (AOV) along with designated alternates for each position.
The ERC will review and analyze reports submitted by eligible submitters, identify actual or potential safety problems from the information contained in the reports, and propose solutions for those problems. The T-SAP ERC will make its decisions involving T-SAP issues based on consensus.
In order for this concept to work effectively, each ERC representative shall be empowered to make decisions within the context of the ERC discussions on a given report. The ERC representatives utilize consensus on every aspect of the process including appropriateness of any corrective action. The corrective action process includes working the safety issue(s) with the appropriate stakeholders who have the expertise and responsibility for the safety area of concern.
To defend the integrity of the process, PASS recently took the unilateral action to “hold” or not provide consensus on ERC report processing activities. This action is mostly transparent to eligible submitters and at no time was reporting or appropriate corrective actions of safety concerns through T-SAP affected. The goal of this action was to prevent any activities that could possibly have a negative effect on previously validated safety concerns while simultaneously elevating our concern about the need for T-SAP process to work the right way, for the right reasons! T-SAP Team members designated by PASS are involved in every aspect of the program, and one of our major responsibilities is to ensure T-SAP stays within its operating parameters so that safety improvements are actually recognized. Frankly, that responsibility includes making sure the agency adheres to its agreement to fully support the program and its processes. The FAA and PASS have previously agreed that safety would be enhanced if there were a systematic approach for eligible submitters to promptly identify and correct potential safety hazards, and T-SAP is that approach!
The PASS-designated ERC members recently traveled to D.C. to meet with upper-level management officials in an effort to resolve concerns over misunderstandings related to T-SAP and the more fundamental details of the program. The trip appears to have been successful and PASS has lifted our hold on consensus. Of course, we will have to wait and see if the agency adheres to its agreement in the coming weeks. But, rest assured that the PASS-designated team members are committed to ensuring T-SAP is conducted in a responsible and effective manner. We will not compromise in our fight to ensure all parties adhere to the fundamental concepts of a voluntary, cooperative, non-punitive environment for the open reporting of safety concerns.