19 May, 2008 - Safe Air has recently added ‘Approved Maintenance Organisation’ (AMO) status for the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) to its list of credentials.
The AMO status is new to both Safe Air and the RNZAF and is the result of a close working partnership between the two to gain certification. Safe Air’s Airframes Business Manager, Clive Harragan says, “The result is a significant achievement that both Safe Air and the RNZAF have been working hard together on.”
“Gaining AMO status was a deliverable under the RNZAF contract renewal. And was the result of them looking to manage their maintenance suppliers in a more effective manner,” says Mr Harragan.
As its own airworthiness authority, the RNZAF needs to ensure that aircraft maintenance standards meet stringent requirements.
The award of an AMO certificate is formal recognition of our confidence in Safe Air, to ensure aircraft maintenance is performed to a world class standard,” explains RNZAF Wing Commander, Steve Wright.
AMO certification requires that commercial organisations undertaking maintenance and repair overhaul (MRO) activities on RNZAF equipment have stringent policies and procedures in place. This is to ensure technical airworthiness is maintained to required contractor standards.
Safe Air focused on two key aspects to gain the credential - implementing best practice operations and “wanting to satisfy our customer,” says Mr Harragan. This builds on Safe Air’s commitment to relationship management and aligns with their value statement ‘Focused on Customers.’
“The document also marks an important milestone in the enduring relationship between the RNZAF and Safe Air,” says Wing Commander Wright.
Over a period of 18 months Safe Air fine tuned work standards to meet RNZAF regulations. “By becoming an AMO, Safe Air is effectively benchmarking for best practice in New Zealand and elsewhere in the world,” says Mr Harragan.
Improvement of training standards and compliance requirements through the process is benefiting other areas of the business. “Having a more formalised induction contract review process will provide more definitive results for new work scopes. We can provide a concrete assurance to customers of our capabilities.”
Safe Air has been the RNZAF’s preferred MRO since 1998. In addition to a wide range of civil approvals Safe Air is also certified with Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) AMO status and qualifies as Australian industry capability.
SAFE AIR LTD.
Safe Air is a wholly owned subsidiary of Air New Zealand with its own management and board of directors. The company was formed in 1950 as an air freight company. Safe Air ceased flying in 1990 to concentrate on aviation maintenance repair and overhaul.
Safe Air is an approved maintenance organisation for the both the New Zealand and Australian Air Forces and qualifies as Australian Industry Capability.
Safe Air also operates a propeller overhaul facility in Victoria, Australia.
For more information on Safe Air visit www.safeair.co.nz.
