Keeping Up – Part 2: IS-BAO Revisions

Here is AAA’s thinking on just this one revision item:

Fatigue Risk Management Program

Affected Sections: 4 – Organization and Personnel Requirements, 6 – Flight Operations, Appendix B – Implementation Guidance.

Section 4.8 has been added to the Standard and to the Protocols, and Recommended Practices have been added to Standard and Protocol Sections 6.13. Implementation Guidance (IG) is provided in IG 6.13 and referred to in the Recommended Practices in both the Standard and Protocols Sections 6.13.

Explanation: Adding Standard and Protocol Section 4.8 is an administrative action to support the idea that the standard is more widely applicable than just to Flight Operations. No real change has resulted just from this addition and no action is required on the basis of this change alone.

What is the substantive change for 2014? This one is tricky because when reading the Section 4.8 language in the Standard and in the Protocol, it implies that the entire Fatigue Risk Management Program is a Recommended Practice. Reading Standard and Protocol 6.13 further adds to the confusion because the Standard refers to ‘operations and maintenance’ personnel, whereas the Protocol cites ‘all personnel’. So which is it?

In addition, the Standard 6.13 cites 2 Recommended Practices, whereas the Protocol 6.13 cites only one.

The official answer is that the Standard is the Standard, not the protocol, although normally they are essentially the same. These glitches reflect the reality that the IS-BAO in all its manifestations is complex, is supported by a relatively small staff, and exists in a rapidly changing environment.