RAAus Fails CASA Audit Again

[drifterdriver]

Not bad boys, but when was it held and what wines were served at the dinner on the first night?

 

 

[Gentreau]

Not bad boys, but when was it held and what wines were served at the dinner on the first night?

 

 

[Pete Greed]

Is it still true that the general Manager's PD has not yet been drafted with the applications for the position closing on the 6th of Jan 2013?

 

Has integrated data recording software for CASA audits been developed? - (we know the information collecting form sent out by RAAus for the past ten years is not up to scratch)

 

Has the board governance training and induction programs suggested by CASA, been completed?

 

Does anyone know?

 

Pete

 

 

[drifterdriver]

Ask your local board rep or better still ask the entire board.

 

 

[icebob]

Hi all,

 

Please see my post above.

 

Why did RAA fail the first audit - reason - no one know how to conduct a quality audit, what the relevent standard/s was/were, no one with internal audit qualifications and experiance except from a "borrowed" book just days before the actual audit.

 

Now CASA had informed RAA of the audit some time before it was to happen and what was to be looked at, how the audit was to be conducted and by whom.

 

RAA had the list but it appears they "did little" except to sit on thier hands, not transperent enough perhaps.

 

Question :- a)how many audits(not financial) has RAA had?

 

b) how many audits has RAA conpleted that CASA was happy about?

 

c) What areas did the audit/s look at and how many non-conformances were there and why?

 

d) What rectification work was done and what time frame and who signed the non-conformances off?

 

If RAA has not done any quality audits from the start(cannot remember the date) then there is grave areas of doubt about the whole management of RAA and the boards lack of accountability to members.

 

Ok just so we are all on the same page, I have a degree in Quality Management/audit Systems, I have been a quality manager for 10 years + I am internatonally registered and qualified and I had a team of twenty quality auditors for which half are also internationally registered and qualified, we audited mainly airlines and military aviation world wide, until my semi retirement two years ago, now I just fly charter work part time.

 

Bob.

 

 

[turboplanner]

It's clear from the AGM Minutes that the board members were aware of the seriousness of the situation, and had the opportunity to come clean then.

 

 

[SOS]

I think the proof is in the pudding .... with regards to Board Communication ... there are over 1100 posts and over 40,000 views on this part of the forum ... mostly asking the question ... "what is going on?"

 

What well run Organisation, in this day and age, would allow that much bad publicity to continue ... without doing something about it, or, at the very least, clearing the air with an explanation?

 

 

[winsor68]

I have posted a thread that purports to contain an e-mail from the president to the Board that DOES NOT align at all with the claims made in the minutes by the Exec regarding Board Insurance...

 

IMO they as good as outright lied to the membership.

 

http://www.recreationalflying.com/threads/ra-aus-board-insurance-the-truth.52896/

 

 

[Captain]

Hi all,Please see my post above.

Why did RAA fail the first audit - reason - no one know how to conduct a quality audit, what the relevent standard/s was/were, no one with internal audit qualifications and experiance except from a "borrowed" book just days before the actual audit.

 

Now CASA had informed RAA of the audit some time before it was to happen and what was to be looked at, how the audit was to be conducted and by whom.

 

RAA had the list but it appears they "did little" except to sit on thier hands, not transperent enough perhaps.

 

Question :- a)how many audits(not financial) has RAA had?

 

b) how many audits has RAA conpleted that CASA was happy about?

 

c) What areas did the audit/s look at and how many non-conformances were there and why?

 

d) What rectification work was done and what time frame and who signed the non-conformances off?

 

If RAA has not done any quality audits from the start(cannot remember the date) then there is grave areas of doubt about the whole management of RAA and the boards lack of accountability to members.

 

Ok just so we are all on the same page, I have a degree in Quality Management/audit Systems, I have been a quality manager for 10 years + I am internatonally registered and qualified and I had a team of twenty quality auditors for which half are also internationally registered and qualified, we audited mainly airlines and military aviation world wide, until my semi retirement two years ago, now I just fly charter work part time.

 

Bob.

Bob,

 

Thanks for your input to this thread. It surely demonstrates that internal governance & management has been terrible.

 

Even without a warning from CASA, surely someone in an organisation that has delegated authority from CASA, which is the RAA's only purpose for being in existance, would say "WOW, we have to expect a CASA audit and we must be certain that we don't fail that?"

 

But RAA failed 4 that we know of.

 

And I find the AGM Minutes interesting that in response to David Skinner's question, the Minutes tip a bucket right on the head of the previous Technical Manager when the Minutes read: "It was explained that the previous technical manager was trusted, in that he performs the tasks he was employed to do, unfortunately in this instance that didn’t happen.".

 

Now the previous technical manager either reported directly to the CEO or through somebody else, and the CEO reports to the Executive who are supposed to report to the Board.

 

So why should the previous Technical Manager be singled out as being untrustworthy and why did the CEO, Exec & Board manage purely on trust? (No competent manager manages on "trust" ...... so do these people know what they are doing and can they be trusted to continue to do it?).

 

I suspect that the Audit failures occurred because the RAA "Management" weren't actually "managing" at all, and internal governance was virtually non existant. And I would contend that Bob's post demonstrates considerable background to that.

 

If the previous technical manager is to blame, then by logical extension the CEO & Executive are also to blame and must take responsibility. The fact that some are now working hard to dig themselves out of this muck-hole, or to disguise the depth of the muck, matters not a jot.

 

Regards Geoff

 

 

[winsor68]

I find it appalling... We have only scratched the surface of the BS that has occurred. I can't see how it isn't going to end up in the hands of lawyers. People who seem to truly know what has gone on are literally crxxxing themselves about the future prospects of the organization....

 

I believe there is a pretty good record of many of the events.... if any of the rumours are true I think the Executive and pretty much most of the Board (sorry I don't want to single any one out- you good one should truly know who you are) are in way over their heads and may be digging themselves a serious legal pile of trouble...

 

 

[Captain]

And have you ever seen a more lame or naive excuse that "It was all the Tech Manager's fault because we trusted him to do his job", on a management failure about an issue that goes to the crux of why the RAA is in existance, and which still has a chance of being the nub of what might finish the oganisation off?

 

Via the AGM Minutes they are trying to chuck the previous Tech Manager under a bus and then wash their hands of the problem. That is pathetic, unconscionable .............. and won't work. The buck must stop at the top (CEO, Executive and President), not at a manager down in the system, no matter what were his responsibilities.

 

This episode is incredibly bad, in my experience & judgement, and the explanation in the AGM Minutes is even worse.

 

 

[slartibartfast]

I just got a call from a volunteer who is looking at my rego. I'm missing the MTOW placard and they need another photo of the "if you fly in this thing you'll die" placard and then I should be right.

 

Woohoo.

 

However, the volunteer turned out to be dodo from this forum.

 

I just want to thank him for giving his time to help out like this. As he said, he had his whinge here and decided he had better do something constructive.

 

It's all about balance.

 

Thanks mate.

 

 

[David Isaac]

Good on you Dodo, your efforts are sterling.

 

Well then Mr. Slartingfartingbastard ... damn I still get that wrong ... Congratulations, your little orange ... oops ... Sierra will finally be legal ...

 

 

[facthunter]

You won't be right if the placard "if you fly in this thing you'll die" is right. But we know your sense of humour. Carry on, I always do.. Nev

 

 

[turboplanner]

Not the orange, not the ORANGE!!!

 

 

[Captain]

It's all about balance.

G'day Ross,

 

So do you have a W & B issue too?

 

Regards Geoff

 

 

[damkia]

Hi all,Please see my post above.

Why did RAA fail the first audit - reason - no one know how to conduct a quality audit, what the relevent standard/s was/were, no one with internal audit qualifications and experiance except from a "borrowed" book just days before the actual audit.

 

Now CASA had informed RAA of the audit some time before it was to happen and what was to be looked at, how the audit was to be conducted and by whom.

 

RAA had the list but it appears they "did little" except to sit on thier hands, not transperent enough perhaps.

 

Question :- a)how many audits(not financial) has RAA had?

 

b) how many audits has RAA conpleted that CASA was happy about?

 

c) What areas did the audit/s look at and how many non-conformances were there and why?

 

d) What rectification work was done and what time frame and who signed the non-conformances off?

 

If RAA has not done any quality audits from the start(cannot remember the date) then there is grave areas of doubt about the whole management of RAA and the boards lack of accountability to members.

 

Ok just so we are all on the same page, I have a degree in Quality Management/audit Systems, I have been a quality manager for 10 years + I am internatonally registered and qualified and I had a team of twenty quality auditors for which half are also internationally registered and qualified, we audited mainly airlines and military aviation world wide, until my semi retirement two years ago, now I just fly charter work part time.

 

Bob.

Make sure you are at the general meeting asking ALL the questions that SHOULD be asked. Clearly you have a far greater understanding of the requirements than the rest of us combined.

 

Do we have anyone here from the media (Journalist) who would like to cover the general meeting as a story? The only way this is satisfactorily going to be solved is by public (and I mean "general public") awareness of the management of the body that controls some of what is actually flying over their heads. This would push the incumbents to the fore to answer the hard questions. Could a FOI request be made, or a legal "discovery" process be initiated of the background information?

 

 

[Bandit12]

G'day Ross,So do you have a W & B issue too?

 

Regards Geoff

Balance will be ear infection - antibiotics should fix that.

 

Weight? Maybe try an AbKINGQUEENJACKPro in conjunction with a very low calorie diet.

 

Problems solved! (Invoice is in the mail)

 

 

[turboplanner]

Make sure you are at the general meeting asking ALL the questions that SHOULD be asked. Clearly you have a far greater understanding of the requirements than the rest of us combined.Do we have anyone here from the media (Journalist) who would like to cover the general meeting as a story? The only way this is satisfactorily going to be solved is by public (and I mean "general public") awareness of the management of the body that controls some of what is actually flying over their heads. Could a FOI request be made, or a legal "discovery" process be initiated?

I've made an FoI request and CASA are investigating. There are some interesting issues with this which could see things accelerate quite fast.

 

 

[facthunter]

We have had enough stories. Journalists write opinions and views. We need the FACTS ( pure and simple), and a genuine desire to get things right once and for all.. We can write the definitive history one day, but making sure we are not history comes first. Nev

 

 

[slartibartfast]

G'day Ross,So do you have a W & B issue too?

 

Regards Geoff

Sure do. Haven't been able to play basketball for 6 weeks due to running out of cartilage in my knee. So my front is getting bigger than my back.

 

Plane's right though.

 

Or did you mean Wankers and Bastards? I have an issue with those.

 

 

[icebob]

Geoff,

 

You may well be correct but let us not point at the staff at RAA to harshly as I and a couple of RAA members could find no documented evidance of current quality training and audit training for staff or board members. The Tech managers role documentation is so wide open as to be unworkable and if you do not have the people who can re-write the functional guidelines when "wandering" happens and by the look of documented evidance that has been happening for more than 10 years. So at the heart of it who is responcible - at the end of the day the members are.

 

Bob.

 

 

[Captain]

Geoff,You may well be correct but let us not point at the staff at RAA to harshly as I and a couple of RAA members could find no documented evidance of current quality training and audit training for staff or board members. The Tech managers role documentation is so wide open as to be unworkable and if you do not have the people who can re-write the functional guidelines when "wandering" happens and by the look of documented evidance that has been happening for more than 10 years. So at the heart of it who is responcible - at the end of the day the members are.

Bob.

I agree Bob, and I am really not aiming at "staff", but I am sheeting this & the day-to-day running of the RAA home to the CEO and the Executive, no matter who they are or have been.

 

It is the responsibility of a "CEO" to get all this in place, and with our Executive structure, they have chosen to place themselves in a position to also carry responsibility for that.

 

I & others here have been critical for years at the lack of systems & governance in RAA, but if you are now saying that basic role docs & training policy etc aren't even in place, then how thick must a CEO be not to address such a thing the day after he arrived in the seat. And how dysfunctional (or out of their depth) must the Exec be to continue like this for years.

 

So let's go back even further. Do they have an effective Org Chart?

 

Regards & thanks again for your input (and will you be around to help with your expertise after Feb 9th if the membership as a whole come to grips with the issues?).

 

Geoff

 

 

[icebob]

Hi Geoff,

 

Well if you go to the RAA "bible" you will notice position descriptions that are so loose fitting as to be no good to give direction. The Manual is well written as a perface or overview but no way acceptable to any sort of auditor for the directions and responcibilities of office holders. Has the members been given a snow job, well all i say is read the book and think how you would do the job EXACTLY to the word in the book, you would may not be able to.

 

As I see it the problems start with the very basics, all of RAA's publications need re-writting to the relevent quality/CASA standard for starters, then a lot of issues would go away because it's in the book and we all do it this way, end of story.

 

CASA has some wonderful booklets, videos and aids to help a GA flight school to start up but 90% of that information could be used for RAA, there is also the staff from CASA if brought onboard could point the current board and HQ staff in the right direction, less duplications, less stress, less waistage and less staff turn over.

 

On a rainy day get out all the old RAA magazines and read the "managers" pages carefully you will see by the wording everything that has transpired now was in thier thoughts years ago. You can not grow an organisation using crisis management. I was told long ago a crisis manager is that person inpailed on the rotisserie of your BBQ.

 

Yes Geoff I will be sticking around, except for the odd times I am away with work. I believe in the principles of RAA and its members not the methods of running it currently.

 

Please note I let my membership go last year and went back to GA out of frustration.

 

 

[damkia]

Has anyone asked for the assistance of the responsible Federal Minister, Anthony Albanese?