Edition 48, August 2007

Insurance database helps improve aviation safety

A database that uses insurance data to look at a wide range of aviation accidents is expected to help safety researchers identify problems and develop more effective safety programs.

Three years in the making, the AVSAFE database was developed at the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC), where it is based.

The centre is involved in transport safety research,the key to whichis looking at the steps that are required as part of injury prevention research. Having a sound data source by which to describe a particular problem is a key component of the injury research prevention process.

The database was developed for the Aviation Safety Foundation Australasia with sponsorship from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Airservices Australia and BHP Billiton.

The centre looked at how information on general aviation accidents and incidents was collected nationally and internationally, as well as how they were reported publicly.

This was used to assess what sort of information insurance companies needed to collect to contribute to a safety-based data analysis. The centre then worked with insurance companies to develop standard forms that could be used across the industry.

The result was an agreed list of variables that not only met the need of insurers, but was the foundation for creating a database that could contribute to safety-based analysis of Australasian general aviation data.

The insurance data primarily covers incidents of lower severity. A much larger number of lower severity incidents occur each year compared to serious and fatal accidents. The rationale is that the insurance data will complement, rather than duplicate, the data collected by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is understandably more focused on fatalities and serious injuries.

The new database will be supported by a template that will be used by insurance assessors as a guide for collecting information and sending it electronically to their companies.

The centre has also developed a data management tool that allows the insurance companies to send information to the database. Information gathered so far has already highlighted problem areas such as damage arising from terrain conditions and incidents that occur during taxiing.

The centre expects to produce an annual report and quarterly bulletins that will serve as triggers for more in-depth investigation of aviation safety issues.

For more information visit www.monash.edu.au/muarc

 

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