Is it working?
There have been comments in the press, and always will be after an incident, about the lack of oversight from Transport Canada (TC) on the airlines. I work in the industry and have seen the transition from the traditional TC inspections to the self regulating model that has been developed and introduced in the airlines.
A few years ago the TC inspector responsible for the company would arrange an inspection that took several weeks and delved into all aspects of the organization. This would then result in some findings which would be corrected by the company and all would be well. All it really meant is that the company was off the hook for a few years before they had another inspection.
The new approach in self regulation, is for the company to carry out continual process auditing which is reviewed by TC when they come calling. This puts the onus on the company to audit, record, correct and follow up to check for effectivity of the corrective actions. TC only have to monitor the results which are presented to them.
I believe, if done correctly, the airline is safer and processes are inspected more often than the TC inspectors could manage and in greater detail. This should make for a safer environment for the traveler.
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