On Aug. 9 and 10, CHC Brazil held its fourth CHC Safety & Quality Summit in Rio de Janeiro. This year’s event was attended by more than 150 attendees and featured nine presentations around the theme, “Consistent Level of Safety: Continuous Monitoring of Systems and Human Performance.”
The event began with opening remarks from CHC’s vice president of safety and quality, Duncan Trapp, followed by Marcelo Soares, CHC’s regional director of Latin America, who emphasized the importance of safety for the company.
“CHC Brazil is made up of 450 professionals and we have operated in Brazil for 30 years, with safety as our top priority,” said Soares. “Each of us know it is our duty to take care of each other and do every part of our jobs as safely as possible. Our dedication to safety is in our DNA, which is why we wanted to take two days to talk about the most important safety issues facing our industry and region.”
Soares also thanked presenters, including representatives from Azul Airlines, BainesSimmons, SKYTRAC, Leonardo, Sikorsky and HFACS, Inc., and emphasized the relevance of this cooperation. “When you talk about safety there is no competition, we work together to improve the safety of the operation.”
He also recognized the team of local employees who worked hard to host the event, including Ana Claudia Malagrino Galvao, regional manager of safety and quality for Latin America.
Karl Fessenden, president and CEO of CHC Helicopter, reaffirmed the need for safety not only for the company but for aviation in general.
“One of the greatest benefits of participating in such an important exercise is the opportunity to collaborate and learn from each other. Many times our own internal business priorities prevent us from working together on a regular basis, which makes events such as this one such an excellent forum for collaboration.”
Among the speakers, Scott Shappell, professor and chair of the human factors and systems department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, spoke about human factor errors and how to optimize work. Through examples carried out in common routines, he demonstrated the importance of attention to the small details and how they can make a difference in daily operations.
“When a driver takes a wrong turn, his GPS recalculates his route and he is able to move forward with his trip taking a slightly different route,” Shappell explained. “If this occurs with a pilot during an operation, the consequences can be serious.”
After holding a successful event, the team in Brazil is already planning the fifth regional conference for 2019. CHC is also preparing to host its 14th annual global Safety and Quality Summit Oct. 2 to 4 in Dallas, Texas, and will host hundreds of delegates from around the world.
