Objective evidence is obtained through photographs, screenshots, extracts from manuals and videos, which cannot easily be tampered with and we require that photographs are date-stamped to add to their credibility.

Not true. There is a place for on-site audits (such as for a start-up Company), but in most cases, an online audit is as good, if not better. An online audit is more forensic, so more time can be spent analysing the data, as photographs and videos are relied on as evidence. Anomalies are noticed in an online audit that are not always noticed in an on-site audit. An online audit frees up the Company Management Team without them having to give up a large amount of time to sit in on the audit itself, as there are in-depth checklists sent to the Company being audited in advance. A Briefing Meeting is held beforehand to explain exactly how the audit will work. This is followed by an Opening Meeting when the audit starts, then an Interim Meeting to check on the progress that has been made at the halfway mark and a Closing Meeting. During these meetings, relevant members can ask and respond to questions. These meetings normally take between 30 minutes to an hour to complete.

Compliance and conformance are audited with regard to safety and quality. This includes Flight Operations, Ground Operations, Training and Aircraft Maintenance within the Company being audited. We exclude the Financial Department, but financial resources are considered since safety and quality cannot operate if there is not a sufficient budget allocated to allow for efficient application.

Standards audited are those of the various Aviation Regulators (who are guided by ICAO) as well as the industry standards the Company is working for (such as clients in the tourism, oil and gas, mining, etc.).

Added to this are the Company’s own standards to which it must conform.

Unless the operations of the Company change, an external audit should be valid for a year. However, should the Company change its operations, e.g. to start flying on a new route to new destinations, a new audit should be done to ensure that compliance and conformance are maintained, or at least carry out a Management of Change risk analysis.

The various manuals contain standards and regulations which must be maintained in order to operate safely. This includes policies and procedures for every part of the operation, in order to conform with the Regulatory Authorities as well as manuals for Training, Maintenance, Safety Quality and Security.

To produce a good manual takes a lot of time and the effectiveness of the manual relies a lot on the experience and knowledge of the author of the manual, so it is better to have a set of manuals compiled by a professional Company who have the relevant background and experience. This may cost money, but in the long run, it is worth it.

It goes without saying that the implementation of what is written in any manual is gauged by the content of the manual itself and this is where the audit/GAP-analysis is applied.

Yes, in a small Company this can be the same person. However, a process needs to be in place for cross-checking between these two functions in order to ensure that both departments conform to the safety and quality requirements of the Regulator and the Company. This is becoming more popular, as it saves on overheads, however, the use of an external/ad-hoc auditor is required to ensure that both functions are performed optimally. One proviso is that the Safety/QA Manager may not also hold the post of Flight Operations Manager. The Safety/QA Manager must have unobstructed, direct access to the Accountable Manager of the Company to ensure effective reporting.

For an on-site audit, this can vary and will depend on a number of factors, including how many auditors are involved in the audit, the length of time needed to be on-site and then there are the travel costs and accommodation, which the Client will foot the bill for. Generally, an online audit is less expensive, depending on how forensic it is.

An online audit takes longer (up to 10 working days), as evidence has to be gathered by the various postholders in the Company, and sent to the auditor, who then has to work through the information. Although it takes longer, more discrepancies can often be picked up in this way, as there is no huge rush to get through the audit due to time constraints of the auditor having to meet homeward travel times, limited time allocated by the Company for the various postholders/managers to be available, etc.

We use photographs, video footage, email and video conferencing to do an online audit. This is available even from remote places (providing good internet coverage exists) and it works very effectively.

Online audits will never fully replace on-site audits, especially when it comes to start-up companies. A disadvantage can be any inability to use digital technology effectively, lack of trust by the Company being audited and inadequate checklists provided by the auditor. We are able to provide both types of audits (or a hybrid of the two) and have highly skilled auditors in place who have a wealth of auditing and aviation experience at all levels so that we can circumvent the most foreseeable problems. Any breakdown in internet services can lead to delays.

Normally, there is no ongoing after-sales service included in the manuals for various reasons. Producing manuals is time-consuming and to do updates (particularly when a Company expands to include larger aircraft, etc.) will require a lot of time and effort. Therefore, we are only able to offer after-sales service on a consultancy basis in order to keep manuals current. After the manuals have been issued, a QA process will be undertaken and once queries have been ironed-out and the manuals have been accepted, additional changes will only be done at hourly consultancy rates.

At present, we do not, however, as a consultancy, we can offer advice in these fields.