ISAGO Way to Go

ISAGO is an acronym many of you may be familiar with — IATA’s Safety Audit program for Ground Operations. While I think the audit portions offer a lot of promise for standardization — which is a boon to safety, efficiency and cost-savings — I am most excited by the prospect of a standardized Ground Operations Manual (GOM) for use by airlines and ground service providers.   Standardization in the cockpit has proven to result in safer and more efficient operations. There is no question in my mind that safety and efficiency could be improved on the ground by similar standardization of ground handling procedures. Certainly when it comes to a standardized GOM, I am all for it.   I know from my experience running an FBO at Logan International Airport years ago how difficult it was to keep up with all the different airlines’ ground handling procedures. It would have saved me many a headache — not to mention time and money — if we had had one standardized manual. As an accident investigator, I frequently observed problems that occurred because procedures differed not only from airline to airline but frequently from station to station within an airline.    I have been keenly watching IATA’s work on a standardized manual because I believe that it will have a positive safety impact, as well as offer the potential for increased efficiencies and cost-savings. Given the current economic situation, it sounds like a positive way to go.