Fact Sheet
For Immediate Release
April 2, 2008
Contact: Les Dorr or Alison Duquette
Phone: (202) 267-3883
FAA Aviation Safety Hiring Aimed at Industry Change and Growth
The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) aviation safety organization has developed a workforce plan designed to make sure the agency has the right number of people with the right skills to keep aviation at its highest safety level in history.
The plan is designed to meet the challenges posed by new aircraft types, changing business models and the increasing globalization of the aviation industry in the coming decade. It calls for 1 to 2 percent growth between 2010 and 2017 to address increasing industry and customer demands. According to the plan, the aviation safety staff would number approximately 7,900 by 2017, up from 6,700 today. Included in that number are 4,586 safety inspectors, up from around 4,000 in FY 2007. Since fiscal year 2005 the Aviation Safety organization has increased its work force by 745, of which 456 were inspectors.
The new workforce plan is based on an evolving philosophy emphasizing continual improvement in operations and processes. It foresees increased use of the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) system, which lets users benefit from an extensive warehouse of safety data. The plan also is keyed to adoption of a Safety Management System to move the FAA from an after-the-fact-investigative method of improving safety to a preventive approach using risk-based identification of possible hazards.
Among the “work smarter” initiatives being implemented are the integration of sources of safety data, risk-based decision making through safety management systems, prioritizing resources, better aligning the workforce, and working more efficiently through the use of mechanisms such as designees and organizational delegation authority.
