Story ID: 313
Audit Protocol Software Adds EASA Regulations
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: The iIS-BAO software by Fountain and Associates makes complying with audit requirements much simpler. 
Word Count: 611
The iIS-BAO Audit Protocol software developed by Fountain and Associates has been upgraded to include EASA Organisation Requirements for Air Operations (ORO) and Non-commercial Operations with Complex Motor Aircraft (NCC) regulations. The addition of the EASA material is designed to assist companies that regularly operate in European airspace to address those requirements in their IS-BAO compliance process.

Fountain and Associates (Booth 862) released the iIS-BAO software in 2015, and it is updated each February to reflect changes in the more than 400 International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) requirements, FAA regulations, NASA guidance documents and the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) generic company operations manual (GCOM). The 2017 cycle will include the EASA ORO and NCC regulations. “Adding the EASA regulations to the iIS-BAO software allows flight department personnel and safety auditors to reference pertinent European and American regulations for any given IBAC requirement with just a few mouse clicks,” said Fountain and Associates and iIS-BAO creator Phil Fountain, a former corporate pilot with more than 30 years and 16,000 hours of flying as well as 10 years as an IS-BAO auditor.

Subscribers to the iIS-BAO software can use it not only to manage IS-BAO and SMS programs but also to prepare for safety audits by checking that all requirements are complied with before the audit takes place.

A new iISBAO feature is safety performance indicators (SPIs), which allow the operator to add information related to a specific requirement. The operator can use the SPIs to measure the effectiveness of processes and procedures, although they don’t replace direct observance of safety issues.

The iIS-BAO program is sold to auditors or service providers by the seat, but aircraft operators can purchase a subscription, which includes five seats and two devices per seat, and use it to “create as many audit records as they want,” said Fountain. Auditors also pay an additional per-audit fee on top of their iIS-BAO subscription.

“Each customer will have a copy of the entire application,” he said. “This allows them to have total access to their information, and it’s safe and secure. The most important part of the process is that it gives them speed. This is a system that requires participation from people in the flight department. If they have an accountable executive, director of operations, director of maintenance, chief pilot and safety officer, there’s five seats right there. People can put one in the pilot crew room, one in the maintenance shop: and lock it up to be read-only so people don’t get into the auditing process.”

When it comes time to prepare for an audit, an operator using iIS-BAO can create an internal audit record, which is watermarked with the word “internal” to ensure it isn’t used as a formal audit compliance document. Each requirement must receive a “yes,” “no” or “not applicable” selection, and this can help operators quickly assess their level of compliance. “It streamlines the process and cuts down on number of errors that might be in the final report,” Fountain said.

For the actual audit, if there is a disagreement on whether or not a requirement is in compliance, the auditor and operator can quickly find the applicable documentation in iIS-BAO to support the requirement. “Here is what it says, and it points to the supporting documents, and they can resolve disputes,” he explained. “This is a real dynamic way of doing audits. Otherwise, I would spend hours tracking documents in hard copy.

The iIS-BAO program is available for Windows 10 and Apple Macintosh and iOS platforms. Data is stored on a secure Cloud-based server.