ESARR Implementation Monitoring and Support (ESIMS)
ESARR Implementation Monitoring and Support (ESIMS)
Description
In November 2002, the EUROCONTROL Permanent Commission approved the establishment of the ESARR Implementation Monitoring and Support (ESIMS) Programme. ESIMS audits were conducted till 2012 when the Programme came to an end being succeeded by the EASA standardisation inspections.
General Approach
The ESIMS Programme relies on the conduct of safety oversight audits to individual States. The conduct of the safety oversight audits is organised around two phases:
- In the first, the State’s organisation and establishment of safety oversight mechanisms and the implementation of ESARRs, is determined through the review of the duly completed Compliance Checklists for all relevant ESARRs, and through the review of other documents and information relevant to the scope of the ESIMS audits.
- In the second phase, the State being audited is visited by a EUROCONTROL audit team, who will validate the information provided by the State and conduct an on-site audit of the State’s overall safety oversight capability, focusing on the areas covered by relevant ESARRs, and tailored to the size and level of complexity of aviation activities in the State audited.
States are asked to develop a corrective action plan, within an agreed period, to resolve any unfavourable findings.
The implementation of the action plan is monitored by EUROCONTROL through follow-up activities.
The States that participated in the ESIMS Programme are the EUROCONTROL Member States and the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) Member States who are not members of EUROCONTROL and who have agreed to participate in the ESIMS Programme.
ESIMS Audit Objectives
The ESIMS audits are focused on the States’ overall safety oversight capabilities and address the following areas:
- Legislative and institutional arrangements in place to discharge States’ international commitments with respect to EUROCONTROL (and ICAO);
- Safety regulatory framework for air traffic management, related arrangements and capacity (policy and principles, procedures for rulemaking and safety oversight, resources and, staff competency);
- ATM safety regulations in existence and the level of compliance with international and European safety standards, in particular ESARRs.
They are conducted in order to:
- assess the States’ compliance with the EUROCONTROL policy dealing with ATM safety regulation and with ESARRs;
- assess the timely implementation of ESARRs into the national safety regulatory framework;
- assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the States’ safety oversight system;
- provide advice to the States to improve the implementation of ESARRs and especially their safety oversight capability, in a manner consistent with agreed European principles and best practices.
See the article on ESIMS Results
Annual Audit and Audit Follow-up Schedule
On an annual basis, the ESIMS Manager (SRU) will prepare an audit and audit follow-up schedule.
This schedule consists of a fixed programme of audits and audit follow-ups for a minimum period of twelve months.
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