FerroNATS is the only Spanish company among just 11 European operators to have attained level D. The air navigation service provider has attained the safety objectives established for 2019 two years prior to the expected date.
FerroNATS, Spain’s leading commercial air traffic control operator, is the only Spanish air navigation service provider to have attained level D on the European safety performance indicator EoSM (Effectiveness of Safety Management), an indicator that reflects the level of maturity of the Safety Management System (SMS) of an organisation through the evaluation of key safety management elements.
Just 11 of the 31 companies operating throughout Europe have attained this classification, which was established as part of the framework of the community-wide Single European Sky initiative. One of these companies is the leading UK air navigation services provider, NATS, from which FerroNATS emerged in 2011 following an alliance with Ferrovial Services.
Since its creation the company has demonstrated firm commitment to the implementation of best practises in safety management and has fulfilled the safety objectives set out by the European Commission two years in advance of the established date, the end of 2019. These objectives cover aspects relating to five key areas: safety policy and objectives, safety risk management, safety assurance, safety promotion and safety culture.
This performance indicator reflects the level of maturity of the operator in terms of the safety objectives established for these five areas and is obtained on the basis of points obtained from responses provided on the EoSM questionnaire, which is filled out by air navigation service providers and other competent authorities and validated by national supervisory agencies.
The questionnaire consists of 26 questions, each with five possible answers, ranging from the lowest level, level A (initiation), to the highest, level E (ongoing improvement). The maximum level of maturity has not yet been attained in all areas by any European air navigation service provider.
FerroNATS is the first Spanish air navigation service provider to attain level D maturity, a level that recognises the establishment of safety process management objectives, thereby placing the operator among the best in Europe.
The priority for FerroNATS is not so much the attainment of a particular level, but rather the definition and implementation of an efficient strategy for ongoing improvement in safety practises within the company.
