Goal: Create Safer AOA

Members of the National Air Transportation Association's (NATA) Airline Services Council (ASC) met in Washington (DC) last week with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs to develop and implement an alliance that would address the health and safety needs of those working on the Airport Operating Area (AOA).

The initial focus of the OSHA NATA-ASC alliance will be to develop training and education programs on inclement/severe weather issues experienced on the AOA.  The NATA-ASC team presented an example of the training material that addressed plans for operations in high wind conditions.

Based on the discussions with the OSHA, NATA-ASC OSHA alliance chairman John Hatten (DAL Global Services) and NATA staff liaison Stan Mackiewicz will revise the draft document with the goal of beginning the OSHA clearance process by the end of February and formal execution of the alliance targeted at the May NATA Annual Convention in Las Vegas.

In addition to addressing inclement and severe weather hazards, the OSHA NATA-ASC alliance is evaluating other health and safety issues on the AOA such as vehicular traffic and congestion.

FMI: www.nata-online.org