Safety Monitoring
Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme Continuous Monitoring Approach (USOAP CMA)
The activities within the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme Continuous Monitoring Approach
(USOAP CMA) continued in 2016, pursuant to Assembly Resolution A37-5.
Work continued on improving the user experience and functionality of the
USOAP CMA Online Framework (OLF). The State Aviation Activity Questionnaire (SAAQ) was given new functionalities and design. In addition, a new mandatory information request (MIR) module was launched. The 2016 edition of “Protocol Questions” (PQs) was published. A new data exchange module was also released, which will allow States to interact between their systems and the OLF.
In 2016, twelve CMA audits were conducted to determine the capability of States for safety oversight. In addition, 17 ICAO Coordinated Validation Missions (ICVMs) and 17 off-site validation activities were performed to determine whether Member States had satisfactorily resolved previously identified safety findings. In total, six additional activities were conducted compared to the original target identified in the operating plan for the Air Navigation Bureau, thanks to the maturity and efficiencies gained in USOAP CMA implementation. Furthermore, three MIRs were sent to readily obtain information from States on specific issues and re-assess the status of applicable PQs as needed. States’ average level of effective implementation (EI) of the eight Critical Elements (CE), as of end December 2016, is shown in the figure below:
The increasing efforts of States in resolving their safety deficiencies and improving their EI rates has created a demand for ICAO to conduct more off-site validation activities to validate the progress reported by States.
To perform a higher number of validation activities, ICAO introduced a USOAP CMA designee system in September 2016. The key feature of this system is for ICAO to retain specialized expertise gained through investments in training, conduct of missions and overall USOAP CMA corporate knowledge, under a system that designates functions to highly qualified and experienced USOAP CMA experts. Designees support the performance of off-site validation activities, assessments of Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) and CAP updates.
In 2016, ICAO rolled out a new initiative to support continuous monitoring in general and off-site validation activities, in particular, through more active participation of ICAO technical officers from both Headquarters (HQ) and Regional Offices (ROs), as well as technical experts from safety partners (specifically from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for activities in States receiving EASA standardization inspections).
Two USOAP CMA standardization training sessions were held in 2016, for experts from ICAO HQ and ROs, thereby ensuring that USOAP CMA activities are conducted in a uniform and efficient manner.
Work continued in the preparation to audit States on their implementation of the State Safety Programme (SSP), and one additional voluntary and confidential SSP assessment was performed at a State’s request.
ICAO issued a safety report on the USOAP CMA activities conducted over a three-year period starting from the launch of the CMA on 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2015. This report not only provided statistical data, but also highlighted a number of challenges which States continue to face. The report is available on the ICAO public website and on the OLF.
The USOAP CMA quality management system (QMS) successfully completed its annual surveillance audit in October 2016, ensuring its ongoing compliance with the ISO 9001:2008 Standard.
ICAO conducted nine seminar/workshops to assist Member States in their participation in USOAP CMA and, particularly, in their preparation for upcoming USOAP CMA activities. A total of 335 participants from 48 States and two international/regional organizations attended these seminar/workshops.
Additional experts from States and Regional Organizations took the USOAP CMA computer-based training (CBT), either with the objective of becoming qualified team members for USOAP CMA activities or as familiarization training.
