The International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) recently acknowledged the Coulson Group for its accomplishment of Stage 1 registration with the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO™), the industry standard for best safety practices.
“Coulson’s achievement once again demonstrates that our program is scalable and applicable to a variety of businesses and not dependent on the size or mission of the operation,” commented Bennet Walsh, IS-BAO Program Director. “We congratulate them on this accomplishment and are excited about their safety system being teamed with the IS-BAO. We are looking forward to the evolution of their safety culture.”
The Coulson Aviation Group’s IS-BAO achievement includes its international fleet operations of C-130 Hercules, Boing 737 Fireliner, and Sikorsky S-61 aircraft based in Australia, Canada, and the United States. The key values for the family business that began in 1960 as a small logging company include safety, sustainability, and environmental friendliness.
“Our team has been working hard for the past few years to get to this point and the IS-BAO achievement means a lot to everyone here at Coulson” said Britton Coulson, Vice President of Aviation. “Emergency response and aerial firefighting are high-risk operations and anything we can do to reduce these risks is beneficial to our business, and that is what IS-BAO is all about.”
Launched in 2002, the IS-BAO is a voluntary, global code of best safety practices for the business aviation industry designed by the business aviation industry. IS-BAO is built upon and consistent with the standards and recommended practices of the International Civil Aviation Organization and has the Safety Management System (SMS) concept at its core. IS-BAO registered business aviation operators are located in 50 different countries and the Standard is recognized by several national regulatory authorities.
The Coulson Group utilizes tools such as its SMS to empower employees to focus on a safety-oriented culture. Becoming IS-BAO-registered takes the SMS to a new level by using industry-proven best practices to help Coulson achieve the highest level of safety, professionalism, and customer service.
“We hear other operators in our industry refer to IS-BAO as only being beneficial for business aircraft operators, but we can say, with absolute certainty, that going through this process has not only helped us identify our risks, but it has made us better at what we do,” added Britton Coulson.
The Coulson’s family roots go back to the forestry industry and evolved into a conglomerate of companies across a variety of industries, including aviation. Today, Coulson is a leader in aerial firefighting with its unique tanker fleet used to battle wildfires for various entities, including the US Forest Service.
“IS-BAO standards represent best business practices that have been vetted world-wide,” stated John Kent Hamilton, Aviation Safety Manager for the US Forest Service (USFS), Rocky Mountain region. “The USFS has committed to these standards and knowing that Coulson has achieved Stage 1 IS-BAO builds on the confidence and trust that facilitate the continual improvement of the USFS Aviation Safety Management System. Congratulations!” added Hamilton.
