40 RAMP SAFETY AWARDS 2013
GROUND HANDLING INTERNATIONAL JUNE 2013 Ramp Safety Awards 2013
elcome to this year’s Ramp Safety Awards page. As in past years, the nominations that
are presented here are just a few of those we collect over the course of the year. We are always looking out for examples of good practice on the ramp; attention to detail in a process or procedure; any example of GSE that has been modified to make it safer to use; or any initiative that has made working on the ramp a safer experience. We would like to hear from you on any (or indeed all) of the above topics. In the first instance please get in touch with the Editor: alwyn@ groundhandling. com Good luck!
Aviance Ghana Ghana
The handler had been asked to position a British Airways B777 from Bay 5 to Bay 1. On arrival at Bay 1, the tug driver requested that the engineer contact the Captain on the headset to apply the brake before disconnecting the nose wheel. After being given the go ahead, the driver lowered the nose wheel and disconnected. The tug driver realised immediately, however, that the aircraft was beginning to move backwards. Fearing a catastrophe and fearing damage to both the aircraft and the tug, the driver managed to control the vehicle and alerted the engineer to contact the Captain. The quick thinking and highly qualified tug driver managed to prevent any ground damage and he was subsequently thanked by the ground engineer and the flight deck.
Swissport Manchester
Whilst performing a pre-departure walkaround on a Thomas Cook flight, Ben Wild, the Ramp Team Leader, noticed something strange about the fan blades on one engine. On closer inspection he thought he could see some bending and damage, although the blades bore no signs of any engineering or repair work. He immediately requested the Captain’s
presence and phoned the engineers to attend. When they did they found that three fan blades were damaged. This,
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despite the fact that they had been previously inspected by engineers when the aircraft arrived at night; again in the morning; and once more in the morning by the operating Captain. None of them had detected the damage.
The captain was very grateful and stated that the engine would not have survived the take-off: Ben Wild had effectively prevented an airborne incident. The above example goes to show the importance of a thorough pre-departure walkaround inspection and the necessity for reporting any concerns. Ben received a UK VIP Award for his
action. TGS
Ataturk
During the handler’s day shift, the cleaning equipment hi-lift vehicle was moving towards the parked aircraft. As it approached the waiting aircraft to serve it, the hi-lift’s left rear wheel became detached; this then dropped off the hub and began to roll freely across the ramp. It subsequently approached an aircraft on the taxi-way that was making ready for take-off. At the end of the pushback process, a staff member who was waiting for the removal of the towbar caught sight of the wheel and, taking the chock from the cab, he threw the chock quickly in front of the spinning wheel, preventing it from crashing into the aircraft.
BA Boston
To his Boston colleagues, Alfred Doracaj is known as Freddy and he started with British Airways in 2012 as a part-time customer service agent. He was hired because of his pleasant customer service frame of mind and his linguistic abilities (Albanian). His training included First Aid and emergency response. British Airways Boston handles check-in and customer service functions for Japan Airlines. On the day in question, Freddy was near
a boarding gate. “I randomly turned toward passengers heading on to the boarding gate escalator and noticed a child of about 3 years old being put on an escalator in front of a woman. I was concerned, as the
woman was holding her carry-on bag and looked excited about her flight home to Japan. I knew the child would be unsafe, so I instinctively began to walk towards them. At that moment the child started tumbling down the escalator. I was able to get to the child after the first roll. My training and a bad memory of an escalator incident years ago that involved a person falling down an escalator kicked in.”
In summary, the Japanese family left unharmed on the flight and Boston Customer Services now has a new Safety Hero.
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