Current Airport Inspection Practices Regarding FOD (Foreign Object Debris/Damage) (2011)

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76 AIRPORT OPERATIONS FOD Program and Inspection Guidance Document Purpose: The FOD Prevention Program is part of the SAT Safety Man- agement System (SMS) Program. The program is focused on developing a proactive approach to FOD prevention and reduction at SAT. SAT FOD Committee: The SAT FOD Committee is comprised of stakeholders from the Aviation Department, airlines, cargo carriers, and FBOs. FOD reduction is the primary objective of the group and is accomplished during monthly meetings focused on plan- ning activities to rid the AOA of FOD. Quarterly FOD walks, bi-weekly FOD inspections, as well as bi-annual and annual award ceremonies are the crux of the committees’ efforts. Inspection Frequency: Inspections should be conducted once every two weeks. A full inspection of all the airline, cargo, and FBO leasehold areas usually takes approximately 5–6 hours when conducted by a single inspector. Using two inspectors will increase efficiency and typically decrease the total inspection time to between 4 and 5 hours. Equipment Needed for Inspection: – Clipboard with FOD Program Scoring Form (found on database) – Camera – Dry Erase Board and Pen – Hearing Protection – Reflective Safety Vest – Golf Cart (optional) Conducting the Inspection and Use of Inspection Form: Approximately 24 hours or more before the inspection, send the FOD Inspection Notification Form, which is part of the FOD Prevention Program Database (located on the OPS 204 flash drive), to all of the individuals listed on the FOD Pre- vention Program e-mail distribution list. Print the notification form, scan the form on the OPAG multifunction device and e-mail it to yourself in PDF format. Then forward that e-mail to the FOD e-mail distribution contact list. This step should be omitted when performing an unannounced FOD inspec- tion. One unannounced inspection should occur quarterly as part of each new FOD Campaign. Inspections should be conducted of all of the FBO aircraft ramp areas, airline gate areas, and air cargo aircraft parking areas. Do not focus on areas where aircraft do not normally park or traverse. Remind the tenant to keep those areas outside of where aircraft typically operate clean and free of FOD, but do not count items found in these areas against them for their inspection score. During the inspection, primarily look for items that could be potentially hazardous to aircraft. These items include metal, hard plastic, plastic binding straps, and large items (gloves, hats, etc.). Do not count small pieces of paper, stickers, and any FOD blowing across the ramp against the tenant on their score. Pay particular attention to pavement joints as small pieces of metal/plastic will fall into these cracks. Take a blank “FOD Inspection Form” (attached as Appen- dix A) with you to record the scores that each tenant receives. The Excel file of this form is saved on the OPS 204 flash drive. Each passenger airline gets a score for each gate and each cargo airline and FBO gets a single score for their entire leasehold area. These scores assigned are determined based on the number of pieces of FOD found in each gate (for pas- senger airlines) and ramp (for FBOs and cargo airlines). The scoring rubric is on the reverse: Prior to starting your inspection of the leasehold, try to con- tact the management or ground crew of the tenant to let them know you are going to be conducting the inspection and ask if any tenant representatives would like to accompany you. The tenant representatives can pick up FOD during your inspection APPENDIX E Sample FOD Program and Inspection Guidance (Courtesy of San Antonio Airport System)

77 and any FOD they find and remove before you do does not count against their score (see Table E1). No notification is needed on an unannounced inspection. After inspecting an airline gate or leasehold, take a picture of all of the FOD that was found at that location by placing the FOD on the dry erase board and annotating the applica- ble gate or leasehold at the bottom of the board. These pic- tures can be used if any airline requests to know exactly what was found at their location. After Inspection Procedure: Once the inspection is complete, enter all of the recorded scores into the FOD Prevention Program database. When all the scores have been entered, send out the new “Leader Board” by selecting “Ranking Reports,” then “Rankings All” in the FOD database located on the 204 flash drive. Print the “Rank- ings All” page, scan that page on the OPAG multifunction device and e-mail it to yourself in PDF format. Also, transfer all of the pictures from the camera onto the OPS 204 flash drive. Save these pictures in a new folder that is titled with the date of the inspection. E-mail a copy of each picture along with the updated “Leader Board” to the respective airline, cargo carrier, or FBO. Overall FOD Program Scoring Process: There are currently three separate areas from which the Leader Board scores are derived: 1. The scores from the FOD Inspections, as seen above. These scores are annotated in the FOD database located on the 204 flash drive under “Add a FOD Inspection,” and by selecting “Regular Inspection” in the “Type of Inspection” drop-down menu. 2. The second area covers attendance points for partici- pation in scheduled FOD walks. The Scoring System for FOD squad walks is: Every airline, cargo carrier, or FBO that sends at least one participant receives a score of 100%. For every additional person that par- ticipates from the airline, cargo carrier, or FBO, one additional percentage point is added to their score of 100%. Consequently, a tenant that sends two people will receive a score of 101%, a tenant that sends three people will receive a score of 102%, and so on. Other participating tenants can designate their points to an airline, cargo carrier, or FBO. These scores are anno- tated in the FOD database located on the 204 flash drive under, “Add a FOD Inspection,” and by select- ing “FOD Walk Credits” in the “Type of Inspection” drop-down menu. 3. The third area covers attendance points for monthly FOD meetings. The scoring system for FOD meetings is: One percentage bonus point to the final score for a representative from an airline, cargo carrier, or FBO. No additional points are awarded for more than one representative attending the meeting. These scores are annotated in the FOD Database located on the 204 flash drive under “The Attendance Bonus Form” tab. Number of Pieces of FOD Discovered Score 0 100% 1–2 90% 3–4 75% +5 50% TABLE E1 SCORING RUBRIC