FBO Employees Are the Center of Properly Managing Change

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“Without change, there is no innovation, creativity or incentive for improvement. Those who create change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable.” – William Pollard, English Clergyman

Managing change within the FBO environment is creating awareness around the realities that employees are the center of all change. Don’t ignore change. Instead, embrace it.

This mindset allows you to balance both the art and the science involved in managing change.

On one hand, you must deal with the science involved in change, which is the introduction of new equipment, technology, procedures or processes. On the other hand, you must embrace the art of change, which involves understanding how change affects your employees.

The art of managing people in the wake of change requires a sensitivity for the human predisposition to resist change and maintain the status quo. 

Change within the FBO environment is fairly predictable and tactile. Examples of potential change include:

  • Introduction of a new software program
  • New ramp procedures
  • Purchase of new equipment, such as a refueler that might require Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF), a new chemical that must be purchased and stored
  • Revamping the organizational structure
  • Different hiring or scheduling practices

Before instituting any change, it is important to implement a change management process to include how the change might affect employee job routines.

For instance, if the FBO has purchased a refueler that requires DEF, performing a Baseline Risk Assessment would be in order because there is an industry incident history involving Jet A fuel contamination caused by the introduction of DEF into the fuel supply.

A Baseline Risk Assessment follows this thought process:

  1. What is the issue?
  2. What could happen as a result?
  3. What is the severity of the risk?
  4. How likely is it to occur?
  5. Determine a risk rating
  6. What actions need to be taken to mitigate the risk?

Because DEF potentially poses a safety risk, gather key stakeholders in the organization, such as the Safety Officer, Line Service Supervisor, Customer Service Supervisor and General Manager, and implement a change management plan. This would include an assessment of changes affecting:

  • Operating procedures and processes
  • Personnel training and competency certification
  • The company’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) manual
  • The Emergency Response Plan (ERP)

The next step is to summarize the technical basis for the proposed change and any potential impact on the health and safety of stakeholders, including employees and customers. If the change is temporary, indicate proposed change start and end dates.

In implementing the change, training and communications are key. The General Manger or Safety Officer should address these questions:

  1. Have affected personnel (i.e. operations, maintenance anc contract) been informed of the change?
  2. Are operating procedures, SOPs or maintenance procedures required to be updated because of this change?
  3. Have affected personnel been trained in the updated procedures?
  4. Has a hazard assessment update been performed (if needed), and has a root cause analysis been completed?
  5. Is process safety information (i.e. safety data sheet [SDS] documents; Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure [SPCC] plan; Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan [SWPPP]) required to be updated?

The final step is to ask for bottom-to-top feedback from your affected employees. This process gives everyone a voice in the process and creates an environment where open and candid feedback are embraced, not feared.

For those FBOs that want to take their internal safety culture to a new level, we recommend instituting a Safety Management System (SMS). It addresses change management in more detail. Also, many FBOs can benefit from becoming an IS-BAH registered facility. At the heart of the IS-BAH program is an active SMS. More and more aircraft operators are choosing IS-BAH registered FBOs as their service providers for having an SMS in place and to alleviate safety concerns. 

Please leave any comments you have about this blog post below. If you have any questions, please give us a call or send us an email: jenticknap@bellsouth.net, 404-867-5518; ronjacksongroup@gmail.com, 972-979-6566.

ABOUT THE BLOGGERS:

John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience and is an IS-BAH Accredited auditor. Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. Visit the biography page or absggroup.com for more background.

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