FSF BARS Program Goes Virtual

Flight Safety Foundation’s (FSF) Basic Aviation Risk Standard (BARS) has gone virtual during the Covid-19 pandemic through the use of remote monitoring and video conferencing for safety audits. Launched in its current form 10 years ago in collaboration with resource and mining support companies, BARS establishes a consensus-based industry standard and provides for auditing, risk assessment, data collection, and information sharing among participants.

“BARS is a collaborative industry initiative that amalgamates and shares safety audit information between members to promote safety among companies globally,” BARS program managing director David Anderson said, adding that the ability to continue this effort is as pertinent now as ever before. “In a global crisis situation like Covid-19, we are continuing to ensure standards are met for businesses and governments contracting aircraft and [that] support aircraft operators meet compliance obligations remotely.”

FSF is subsidizing remote monitoring fees, the organization said. BARS participants typically share the cost of auditing with $50,000 subscriptions, which FSF said compares favorably with costs of independent audits, which could exceed $3 million annually.

“Without the BARS program, and now our remote monitoring and virtual safety audit solutions, companies in a range of different sectors would need to wait months in the current climate for an auditor to be able to physically travel to conduct an assessment of an aircraft operator,” Anderson added.