Day-to-day performance management in a small regional airport and management of change for safer operations

The paper presents a change initiative run in a small regional airport urged to face the challenges of the current competitive environment in commercial aviation. The initiative was directed toward providing a more systematic framework for performance management with a specific focus on safety in day-to-day operations. The initiative also leads to the development of a new IT system configured as a database to support, monitor and analyze day-to-day performance of the key activities of the airport (such as the turnaround process). The tool, still partially under development, also supports the management of the safety assessment of existing and planned operations, according to the aspects specified by the ICAO Safety Management System Manual (2009) [i.e., (a) the need for proactive actions and safety assurances, (b) performance evaluations, review of safety assurance documents, audit reports and compliance with instructions, specifications and regulations]. Finally, the tool was also directed toward supporting the establishment of a new integrated SMS within the small regional airport that supports performance and tackles all the areas needed such as performance monitoring, reporting, task support, procedure documentation and proactive risk assessment. The tool has been built using a participatory approach around a shared and documented understanding of the key activities the organization needs to be able to perform safely and efficiently.