HEMS STARS – We currently operate with seven BK117s and are
proceeding with bringing an additional BK117 into our fleet. We also have one AW139 currently located at our Edmonton base. It is in the final stages of certification with Transport Cana- da, but is already flying as part of aviation and medical training. A second AW139 is anticipated to arrive later in 2013. Helicopter Maintenance – What special EMS equip- ment do you carry and how does that impact your mainte- nance procedures? STARS – The helicopter medical interiors include many pieces of equipment found in a typical hospital intensive care unit, including medication pumps, monitors, ventilators, ultrasound machines and more. We follow instructions for continued airworthiness, associated with the medical interior approval.
humble beginning, more than 28 years of history is captured in the stories of the people, places and teamwork that have contributed to more than 22,000 missions flown to date. Helicopter Maintenance – How would you describe the vision and mission of STARS? STARS – Our vision is best stated as “Saving lives through
innovation, partnership and leadership.” Our mission is best stated as “Dedicated to providing a safe, rapid, highly-special- ized emergency medical transport system for the critically ill and injured.” Our core values are safety, teamwork, account- ability, respect and spirit. The STARS vision and mission are supported by four pil-
lars of activity:
Emergency medical communications – finding the patient Patient care and transport – transporting the patient to the medical facility Education and research – educating the providers Fundraising and community partnerships – raising funds
and working with the community Helicopter Maintenance – With STARS being a
charitable, non-profit organization, how are you funded? STARS – The STARS Foundation is the fundraising arm of the organization. Funding is met through donations re- ceived from individuals, service groups, business and corpora- tions, municipalities, and through collaborative agreements with provincial governments. The incredible ongoing support of the community helps us continually enhance our innova- tive and leading-edge air medical programs and service. Helicopter Maintenance – Are patients billed for transport by STARS? STARS – No matter where STARS provides service in Canada, patients are not billed for repayment of the costs for their transport by STARS. Helicopter Maintenance – What communities do you
currently serve? STARS – We currently operate from bases in Calgary, Ed- monton, Grande Prairie, Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg. Helicopter Maintenance – How many helicopters do you operate and what type are they?
Helicopter Maintenance – From a flying perspective, under what part Canadian Aviation Regulations (CAR) do you operate? STARS – Under CAR 702 and 703. Helicopter Maintenance – From a maintenance
perspective, are you certified under a particular Part XXX as a repair station? STARS – Yes, that is under CAR 573, Approved Mainte- nance Organization.
Helicopter Maintenance – How many people are in
your maintenance department by job description? STARS – We have 18 aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs) that also do the avionics work. There are two full- time QA persons, three parts persons, one supervisor and three managers.
Helicopter Maintenance – How many maintenance shifts do you operate? STARS – We operate one day shift and are available on call,
as STARS is a 24/7 operation. Helicopter Maintenance – In a typical 30-day period,
how many and what type of inspections do you normally perform? STARS – We do inspections every 100 flying hours and
average 50 flying hours a month. Helicopter Maintenance – What maintenance tasks are
outsourced to an MRO or back to the OEM and why? STARS – We outsource dynamic component overhauls as
STARS does not have the infrastructure to support them, nor would it be cost effective for us to do so. Helicopter Maintenance – From start to finish, what is
your procedure for doing a maintenance repair or inspection? STARS – It begins with work orders and a chief engineer
coordinating all aspects of initial maintenance activity with maintenance personnel at each base. Helicopter Maintenance – Of all the maintenance tasks that you perform, which have you found to be the most labor intensive and time consuming? STARS – The A9 check on the BK117 is most labor inten-
sive and time consuming, as we need to completely disas- semble the helicopter to perform this inspection. Helicopter Maintenance – Who assigns the mainte- nance tasks to be done each day?
October | November 2013
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