The company Helisul Aviação, headquartered in Curitiba and with bases in several Brazilian states, has just won the IS-BAO certification, which establishes excellence requirements for the operation of executive aircraft. The company is the first in southern Brazil to receive this recognition.
The Certificate was issued on November 30, 2021 by the renowned international non-governmental organization IBAC – translated into Portuguese, the English acronym means International Board of Executive Aviation. Until then, Helisul had the regulatory certification of the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), which is mandatory for the operation of aircraft in Brazil.
The seal arrives on the eve of Helisul completing 50 years of foundation, which will be celebrated in October 2022. The IS-BAO certification establishes a severe international standard for executive aircraft operations, not being regulatory, that is, it is not mandatory compliance by law. However it is highly desirable by the most demanding users and mandatory to allow chartering of aircraft for the employees of many large multinational companies.
This certification determines standards of excellence, with operational, maintenance and safety requirements that go far beyond the regulatory minimums provided by ANAC – the competent civil aviation authority in Brazil. The certification process at Helisul was conducted by the Operational Safety manager, Salvador Coutinho Rodrigues, and by the company’s Certification and Quality Assurance manager, Mauro Gageiro Pinto.
According to Gageiro Pinto, Helisul sought IS-BAO certification not only to meet its demanding customers, but also because of the relevance and recognition of IBAC as an international entity in executive aviation.
“On the demand side, there is a select group of customers of executive aircraft operators who seek a higher level of quality. On the supply side, it is a certification through which Helisul can be recognizably distinguished from aviation companies that adhere only to the regulatory requirements of ANAC”, he says.
With the IS-BAO seal, Helisul, which is a reference in the executive civil aviation market in Brazil, gains even more prominence in the segment. “It will be a notable business card for other demanding potential customers looking for professionalism, quality and safety in aircraft chartering. In addition, winning the IS-BAO certification is a milestone to further brighten our company’s now approaching 50th anniversary”, celebrates the manager.
Legacy of transformation
IS-BAO certification takes place in three stages. The first, initial and provisional, is valid for a maximum of 24 months; the second, intermediate, can be maintained indefinitely; and the third, more advanced, is optional. Right now, Helisul is celebrating the recent achievement of the IS-BAO certification in stage 1, explains Gageiro Pinto.
“Stage 2 is already on our radar. More than that, we have planned a good part of the actions aimed at its implementation, having already started several of them. We are very excited about the satisfaction, positive energy and motivation brought to our employees by achieving certification”.
IS-BAO is built around an Operational Safety Management System (SMS), which helps to assess and mitigate risks and continually improve practices and procedures. The IS-BAO audit is performed by independent third-party auditors. In the systematic and objective review process, several criteria within civil aviation operations are examined.
These include organization and personnel, standard operating procedures, training programs, domestic and international flight operations, aircraft equipment and maintenance, company operations manual, emergency response plan, environmental management, occupational health and safety, transportation of dangerous goods and safety.
Therefore, the validation process, as highlighted by Gageiro Pinto, involved the entire company. At Helisul, winning the IS-BAO certification affected the routine and culture of all the company’s approximately 500 employees. The process, reveals the certification manager, leaves a legacy for the entire team.
“From a greater integration of the different areas of the organization and the elevation, in each employee, of the feeling of belonging, the company’s functioning is better and this brings fantastic results”, he evaluates.
For Gageiro Pinto, this was not a trivial process. It was highly challenging, but happy, both for the development within Helisul itself and for the individual career of each employee. “It was a great exercise in implementing and complying with new, additional requirements, but, more than that, in implanting a new way of thinking, overcoming resistance and insecurities in the face of changes and, in the end, assimilating them with peace of mind and spontaneity. ”