Airport Wildlife Risk Management: Framework and Consultation
7 Steps to Airport Wildlife Risk Management
It can be easy for an airport operator to brush off the impact of a bird strike. The majority of the cost, estimated to be between $700 million BSC USA and $1 billion EASA per year, is borne by airlines. But aviation is a team-sport and, as an airport manager, when I get a call notifying me of a bird strike, I run through my management choices again, each and every time.
Those choices and business decisions can be tough. The effect of various wildlife management techniques can be hard to measure as there is no silver bullet.
Risk management is, of course, the method du jour for making decisions and it is making real inroads into the wildlife hazard management area. By now airports are exercising their risk management muscles through their Safety Management System and other business systems.
However, as a generic philosophy, risk management can sometimes be hard to apply in specific situations without a good understanding of the overall framework, tools, techniques, etc. In this series, we’ll look at the specifics as they relate to the important issue of wildlife hazard management.
Frameworks
Although the ICAO Safety Management System (SMS) has its own risk management framework, it’s also a good idea to consider the almost universally accepted international standard - ISO 31000. The benefit of using the ISO standard is that it is rather agnostic about the level the process is being used.
The SMS framework is rather strategic and may not suit, without manipulation, the more operational level of a wildlife hazard management plan.
Wildlife hazard management is a process within the overall airport’s safety management system. However, when you are close to the frontline, it requires a different set of tools and approaches.
This article is the first in a series which looks at risk management in the context of wildlife hazard management in the development of a wildlife hazard management plan.
We can start the process as follows:
Consulting with Stakeholders
Actually, consultation is not the first step in the risk management process; rather, it is something you do throughout the process, in many forms. And it does not need to be a committee.
Identify
ISO 31000 sums up a stakeholders a a “person or organisation that can affect, be affected by, or perceive themselves to be affected by a decision or activity”. So you need to start with a list; possibly, a long list.
Airports need to think about internal stakeholders, on-airport, off-airport, direct relationships, indirect relationships, upstream suppliers, downstream beneficiaries, the list goes on and will vary between airports. Some airport stakeholder categories are:
Airlines and Aircraft Operators
On-airport businesses who are likely to contribute to the presence of wildlife attractants
Neighbouring businesses or properties who are also likely to contribute to the environment’s attractiveness to wildlife
Local government planning authorities and operators of essential infrastructure (think waste dump and sewage plant operators)
Wildlife specialists such as biologists, ornithologists, both academic and professional
Senior management - especially when it comes to risk attitude, tolerance and criteria
Communicate
The form of communication will vary. Sometimes, committees will be needed. Brainstorming activities to define the context and strategize treatments will work better in a group environment. Other activities like setting risk attitude might be better worked out in private.
Whichever form is chosen, it must be recordable, cooperative and two-way. Communication needs to be part of the process with its output becoming inputs in the other steps and vice versa.
Process Outcomes
ISO 31000 tells us what we want out of this process. It says that a consultative approach is designed to:
Help establish context;
Ensure the risk identification process achieves an appropriate level of completeness;
Provide different perspectives on risk analysis;
Achieve buy-in on the treatment plan
Set up to Succeed
From the above list, it is clear why consultation is critical. As we go through the remainder of the risk management process, we will, time and time again, reach back to our stakeholders to ensure that the end result is the best we can achieve. In part 2, we will dive into setting the context for the risk assessment and treatment further down the line. But in the meantime, why not consult with us on the process so far by leaving a comment below?
This article is part 1 in a series of 7 exploring the use of the ISO31000 risk management framework in wildlife management.
Additional Resources: More information on wildlife hazard management and bird strikes
About The Author: Dan manages a growing regional airport in Australia. He has also worked in the airport industry as a consultant, surveyor and inspector, including 4 years with the Civil Aviation Authority. He has a special internet in pragmatic risk management for manager in the complex and dynamic aviation environment. You can find him on Twitter.
Image credit: Vitor Azevedo
