Story ID: 
Constant Aviation Bolsters SMS Credentials
By: Jerry Siebenmark
Caption: The Cleveland, Ohio-based MRO has been certified as an active participant in the FAA Part 5 Voluntary Safety Management System Program.
Word Count: 226
Cleveland, Ohio-based MRO provider Constant Aviation said it will be at the forefront of business aviation maintenance safety and risk mitigation following its certification as an active participant in the FAA Part 5 Voluntary Safety Management System (SMS) Program. The FAA program, launched in 2015, aims to offer aviation companies with systematic procedures, practices, and policies to manage safety risk.

Those FAA guidelines have been used by Constant to enhance its existing SMS program that addresses four elements: safety policy, risk management, safety assurance, and safety promotion. “We have operated with an internal safety management system for quite some time now, and obtaining FAA certification reinforces our program,” said Constant environmental health and safety manager Timothy Wade. “Maintaining an FAA-validated SMS strengthens our organization and the safety of our employees, which ultimately gives our customers a better-quality product.”

MROs are not currently required by the FAA to implement SMS, but Constant said customers and foreign certificate holders are increasingly demanding it. “For too long, aviation maintenance organizations have been viewed as simply the support system for aviation operations,” explained Constant v-p of quality, safety, and training Kent Stauffer. “Subsequently, maintenance rules and programs have lagged behind their operational counterparts in their requirements. SMS implementation is an aggressive approach to prevention that brings maintenance safety to the leading edge of the aviation community.”