The 5th Safety Management Tools User Group saw users from Europe, Asia, Africa and North America come to EUROCONTROL HQ to discuss the global adoption of TOKAI (Tool-kit for ATM occurrence investigations) and RAT, TOKAI’s Risk Analysis Tool. These essential safety tools enable users to report, investigate and take corrective actions following incidents and accidents, known as ‘occurrences’.
Occurrence reporting and investigation are vital elements in ATM safety. Once a safety occurrence has happened, a notification report must be filled in. This report triggers the investigation process (gathering of facts, analysis, conclusions and recommendations).
Via TOKAI, users – in particular ANSPs – can collect, investigate, store and analyse occurrences. The tool allows its users to replace many legacy systems, starting with good-old paper forms, and adopt modern electronic tools. It is ideal for use in operational, engineering and support environments.
The advantage of TOKAI is that it is a one-stop-shop, meeting legal obligations to report and investigate occurrences, and providing a number of statistical functions ideal for reporting, thus making it the central tool within any ANSP Safety Management System (SMS). To date, over 60 ANSPs around the world have adopted the tool, which pays tribute to the quality of the tool and the work behind.
The RAT is TOKAI’s Risk Analysis Tool. It implements a methodology which has since been adopted into the EU legal order and by EASA. It allows an occurrence to be rated based on a predefined set of facts, allowing users to assess the degree of risk, and put in place corrective actions with the appropriate level of priority. The RAT too has been a global success story, with CANSO Global deciding in 2016 that all its member ANSPs should adopt the RAT methodology for risk classification, and pointing to this EUROCONTROL-developed tool.
Key users of these tools cover the user spectrum, from large ANSPs such as DFS and ENAV (with DSNA and NATS currently setting it up), to medium-sized users such as Austro Control, NAVIAIR or Belgocontrol, or smaller users such as Malta ATS, FerroNATS or Bournemouth TWR.
Safety Management Tools User Group participants discussed global adoption, with a number of new users about to put TOKAI/RAT into operation, or initiating discussions with EUROCONTROL in order to acquire the tool from the Agency. The meeting emphasised the value that users place on these tools, and the appreciation of EUROCONTROL’s contribution to operational aviation safety.
