Mountain West Helicopters and Baldwin Aviation Collaborate to Qualify for HAI Safety Accreditation Program

Baldwin was among the featured speakers at this year’s Heli-Expo Operator Management Course. He discussed Safety Management Systems in a presentation on Thursday entitled “Taking the Mystery Out of SMS.” A former chairman of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and manager of both Texaco’s and Coca Cola’s flight departments, he established Baldwin Aviation in 2004. It has consistently worked with small and start-up flight operations on the development and implementation of SMS programs. “We know that there are a lot of small helicopter operations that have no SMS or may have taken the first steps towards establishing a safety management program, but they aren’t fully equipped or staffed to stay current with all the safety-related information and regulations,” Baldwin pointed out. “To help them, we’ve created what we call SMSplus®. It’s an on-line, turnkey, flexible and affordable program that will help them fill in the gaps.”

SMSplus® includes a Safety Management System (SMS) manual, safety risk profiles, risk assessments, operational alerts, communication and document bulletin boards and access to Baldwin’s Safety Barometer® and electronic library. Fees for the SMSplus® package are based on the number of aircraft and participants.

“HAI and IBAC indicated that they are willing to ‘tie in’ their accreditation program with existing audit programs, “ Baldwin noted. “That means that HAI safety accreditation will conform to the ICAO framework and future Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations. Obviously, obtaining HAI registration will be a benefit. There are also other practical benefits of proactive safety management -- and they can be measured in time savings, increased operational efficiency — and dollars. Insurance companies often acknowledge the benefits of a well-defined program by reducing their rates for operators. Consistent monitoring of procedures and overall management of operations usually translate into competitive advantages, too,” he stated.

About Baldwin Aviation

Baldwin Aviation’s staff combines more than a century of business aviation experience to offer valuable safety programs, mentoring, and support to rotary and fixed wing flight organizations, regardless of size. Its products also include BSC, RotorSMS®, SafetyGauge® programs for flight department startups and its safetysherpa® mentoring program designed for evolving flight organizations. Visit www.BaldwinAviation.com for more information.

About Mountain West Helicopters

Mountain West Helicopters, LLC is a Utah company organized in 1995. It owns and operates a Kaman K-1200 KMAX helicopter and a Bell UH-1H. Mountain West averages more than 1800 hours of operation on it each year. Both helicopters are under contract to the U.S. Forest Service. Bryan Burr has been involved in the helicopter industry for over 30 years. Mountain West’s highly experienced pilots have worked for the company since its inception, providing exceptional expertise in high altitude, heavy lifting operations. For more information, visit Mountain West’s website at www.mwheli.com.