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A slew of organisations that make use of aircraft in regular operations have announced they are joining the Flight Safety Foundations Basic Aviation Risk Standard (BARS) program.
The BARS program was created by the Flight Safety Foundation to set a standard for aviation risk in the mining and resources sector.
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“BARS is a high-value, focused solution for resource companies with operations across many different countries,” says BARS program director David Anderson.
Essential Energy, an NSW government-owned electricity network company, is one of the first power distributors in the world to join the program.
Between 2010 and 2021, 48 lives have been lost in 93 accidents that have occurred in the electricity industry.
While originally for the resources sector, the incidents sparked an expansion of the BARS program to include the utility and electricity sectors.
“The launch of the BAR Standard for the Utility and Energy sector is a big step forward in the collaborative approach of improving the safety of aviation assets involved with the power industry — and Essential Energy has been amongst the most forward-looking and active companies in the world,” said Anderson.
“We are very excited to have the knowledge, skills and support of Essential Energy as part of this new initiative for the BARS program.”
Essential Energy’s COO, Luke Jenner, says that the organisation recognises the importance of aviation safety in its industry due to the crucial role aircraft play in its operations.
“Our network is dispersed over more than 737,000 square km, with geographies ranging from snowfields to rainforests and deserts.
“During the recent devastating bushfires and floods, aircraft helped us get the lights back on for our customers in a timely and safe manner.
“Safety is our number one priority at Essential Energy, and we’re proud to be Australia’s first distribution network provider to adopt BARS to help strengthen aerial safety for our employees and contractors.
“We want a robust safety standard applying for all our aircraft activities.”
Alongside Essential Energy, Australian-Canadian-run Evolution Mining along with 22 other global resource companies have joined the program, dedicating themselves to safer aviation operations.
Evolution Mining, an Australian gold mining company with operations in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and Red Lake (Onatario, Canada), joined the program as a further pledge to a high safety standard.
“Evolution Mining remained focused on safety, especially in regards to global aviation, and the BARS Program will deliver broad benefits across a range of partners,” said Anderson.
Canadian company Teck Resources, which specialises in natural resources, mining and mineral development, has also signed up to the program.
“It is wonderful to have Teck Resources joining the BARS program as one of the largest onshore resource sector companies with a global exposure to aviation,” said Anderson.
Andersson says that the large group of companies joining will gain the “ability to actively collaborate with their peers and share knowledge and experiences in aviation safety.”
