Offshore energy and helicopter EMS operators are leading the way in the implementation of best safety practices, according to the third annual global safety survey from the International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST). In addition, overall use of IHST key safety recommendations increased to 59 percent from 42 percent among respondents year-over-year.

U.S. operators provided 69 percent of the survey responses, and their overall use of the key recommendations improved from 39 percent to 61 percent. Australia showed even better improvement, to 62 percent last year from 36 percent in 2016. Helicopter operators across a broad spectrum of applications showed significantly more use of the key safety recommendations. Personal/private operators still report the lowest use of the IHST’s key safety recommendations, and they remain the focus of the IHST’s ongoing safety promotion efforts.

The IHST found that the offshore oil-and-gas industry is using automated and manual health usage and monitoring systems (HUMS) at a rate of nearly 100 percent, including key parameters such as engine start data—especially hot starts—power check data, oil sampling, and overall trend monitoring. The manual monitoring techniques were used in older/smaller models without automated systems to identify equipment problems before failures.

Offshore operators also lead in the implementation of flight data management (FDM) usage, with the helicopter EMS industry showing a “promising” increase in utilization. IHST reported that “globally, 56 percent of the 105 EMS operators who responded to the survey said they now use FDM. In 2016, that percentage was 33 percent. In the U.S., use of FDM by EMS operators increased from 40 percent to 62 percent.” However, the IHST reported that overall usage of FDM programs was relatively low.

“It is particularly disappointing to see that of the 83 operators using helicopters for instruction and training, only 24 percent are using FDM. FDM can be particularly valuable in the training environment by enabling students to review their flights. Perhaps many operators are unaware of the low-cost technologies available for FDM,” the IHST reported.

Helicopter EMS operators were also noted for their widespread implementation of night vision goggles (NVGs); 100 percent of U.S. EMS survey respondents said they are NVG users.

The IHST noted that the use of structured programs to comply with manufacturers’ recommended maintenance practices is more widespread than the use of HUMS or FDM, but “not as universal as it should be,” and that the trend of private operators' safety practices to lag behind those of institutional, commercial, and corporate operators continues. “Private operators using helicopters for personal use have adopted relatively few of the IHST’s recommendations. This result correlates with the IHST’s analysis showing that the personal/private operators have high accident counts. Hence, these operators have the most to gain from adopting the IHST’s key recommendations.”

The IHST concluded that the latest survey results show that adoption of its key recommendations is highest in the groups with the lowest accident rates, particularly the offshore helicopter operators, and are effective tools in preventing helicopter accidents. The IHST also equally weighs “customer awareness of and insistence on the use of best practices for safety” with regulatory imperative. IHST best practices include: safety management systems (SMS); structured programs for initial and recurrent training; mission-specific systems and equipment including HUMS, FDM programs, night vision goggles, and wire strike protection; and structured programs to comply with manufacturers’ recommended maintenance.