RAA Safety-Training-Compliance Coordinator appointed

[fly_tornado]

As you are now aware, Myles Breitkreutz has resigned his seat as South Queensland Board Member after many years of loyal service to AUF / RA-Aus. He has accepted a paid position as Safety / Training / Compliance Co-ordinator. This is a position created by myself and i take full and absolute responsibility for the appointment. The fact that i am only telling you now is simply because i have been in catch up mode in for my real job and it is essential that i explain my actions in reasonable detail.

 

You need to be aware that i had been considering the ramifications from the creation of this position for some time. We at RA-Aus are guilty of conducting almost ZERO essential safety training apart from the obvious FTF functions. I was more interested in the ramifications of not making the appointment. I am in an Industry that without Safety and Compliance training we would not exist so i understand how important this role is to our future in aviation.

 

Many of you and the Membership will be challenging me with why Myles? Firstly given the experience of the recent employment of our G.M. and Tech Managers in relation to the timeframes we MUST act now. It took months for both those appointments while we dug a deeper hole for ourselves.

 

This appointment creates the position immediately which is critical. Myles has the experience to do the job and like myself he will be judged in September on his performance. The Authority will not wait for us to sit on our hands and think about it any longer. It is the only way forward for RA-Aus and CASA have expressed strong approval for our positive action.

 

Myles Breitkreutz is qualified in many areas that fit with the role. He understands the organisation and has an engineering background with great knowledge of Training Requirements with Cert 1V in Workplace Training, Workplace Health & Safety, ICAM Lead Investigator, RA-Aus L4, and a lot more. He is committed for up to 30 hours per week with a performance based contract until the September Board meeting.

 

 

Ed Herring

 

President

 

RA-Aus

 

0408 787 018

 

 

[nomadpete]

The way I see it, Given that action was urgent, the options were:

 

1. Engage the services of professional recruitment agency and in maybe a couple of months get someone to fill this role.

 

2. Act now and work with personnel known to have skills adaptable to the role. There is always the option to cast the net properly later.

 

I feel that the wording suggesting that RAAus is "guilty of conducting almost ZERO essential safety training" is a bit offensive to all our CFI's who (in my opinion) are already conducting essential safety training on behalf of RAAus, and being audited by RAAus. If that were not so, I would probably not be alive to write this. However, CASA need to be reassured that it is being taken seriously and action has been taken to keep us looking clean. In the company I work for, we have a person filling a similar role, and they are only a tenth the size of our membership.

 

Just my take on it,

 

Peter T

 

 

[dodo]

This looks terrible! Surely as a board member he could have achieved something in the safety area - or made it clear we needed such a position?

 

Instead, we suddenly need such a position...and he is the man for it.

 

And the job is more important than having a Treasurer?

 

This just looks wrong. Maybe it is OK, but it doesn't look right!

 

dodo

 

 

[turboplanner]

There's a trail of dead bodies, no oversight of CFI's causes which point to bad training and the potential for big lawsuits. It had to be done now.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

Tell me again, how many audits did CASA let the RAA fail before pulling the plug?

 

 

[dodo]

There's a trail of dead bodies, no oversight of CFI's causes which point to bad training and the potential for big lawsuits. It had to be done now.

It had to be done now? Why not last week? Last month, Last year?

So why has it never been raised before, especially by Mr Herring or Mr Breitkreuz?

 

No prior discussion, but now it is so urgent that the Prez just appoints someone, before notifying the board, let alone the membership that the position is required?

 

And then we hire a board member?

 

It looks like the current government. I can hear the quotes already: "I had to make a hard decision"

 

(it just happened to be decision no one knew had to be made, and one that financially benefited someone I knew well)

 

So what are the duties, responsibilities, (and importantly) the powers of this new position? Or are those still to be worked out? In which case, what will it achieve?

 

dodo

 

 

[TK58]

It had to be done now? Why not last week? Last month, Last year?So why has it never been raised before, especially by Mr Herring or Mr Breitkreuz?

No prior discussion, but now it is so urgent that the Prez just appoints someone, before notifying the board, let alone the membership that the position is required?

 

And then we hire a board member?

 

It looks like the current government. I can hear the quotes already: "I had to make a hard decision"

 

(it just happened to be decision no one knew had to be made, and one that financially benefited someone I knew well)

 

So what are the duties, responsibilities, (and importantly) the powers of this new position? Or are those still to be worked out? In which case, what will it achieve?

 

dodo

I have written to Ed this evening asking those very questions, among others. Has anyone else contacted a Board member about it?

 

 

[fly_tornado]

Tony can you ask Ed if CASA are going to be doing an audit of the pilot register.

 

 

[XP503]

Good to see him taking action and doing something proactive, don't be so quick to shoot him down.

 

 

[M61A1]

In this country, most management seem to have the term "proactive", mixed up with "knee jerk". I guess we'll find out in time which one we'll be getting.

 

 

[TK58]

Good to see him taking action and doing something proactive, don't be so quick to shoot him down.

Yes, we need a President who can make things happen. But not at the expense of sound governance. For example, it doesn't seem the Board was involved in this decision, yet only the Board can authorise expenditure of this magnitude (likely $20K plus).

 

 

[winsor68]

I have a bad feeling about this appointment.

 

 

[dodo]

Good to see him taking action and doing something proactive, don't be so quick to shoot him down.

The new President has been on the board for some years. I have never heard him suggest a need for a position or some action like this.

 

He has had a lot of time to be proactive about this and other issues, which are now biting us.

 

And we have a history of non-open recruitment which have been unsuccessful. Maybe getting it right takes time and foresight, but lack of action - or action in haste - can get very expensive. For example the last CEO was neither cheap nor effective - and was hired by ignoring an open recruitment process.

 

dodo

 

 

[AlfaRomeo]

If Ed had put to the full Board his proposal to recruit Myles into a new job and the Board had had a robust discussion on the proposal over two or three days, would we have missed the boat for the delay? NO!

 

What catastrophic ill effect would a delay of a couple of days have caused? After all, this Board has failed to act decisively on these issues for the last 12 months or more?

 

It could be reasonably argued then that Ed's decision was rushed, inappropriate, looks awful, destroys confidence in our new President, is beyond his authority to act, and the claim of excuse due to emergency just does not hold a single drop of water.

 

Ed has acted as if he is the only one on the Board who has the answer and as if he has unlimited authority to do anything that he thinks is a good idea. How do you spell dictator?

 

 

[Riley]

This looks terrible! Surely as a board member he could have achieved something in the safety area - or made it clear we needed such a position?Instead, we suddenly need such a position...and he is the man for it.

And the job is more important than having a Treasurer?

 

This just looks wrong. Maybe it is OK, but it doesn't look right!

 

dodo

This most recent RAA appointment brings 'Alice in Wonderland' to mind, (viz. to quote Alice: "it gets curiouser and curiouser!") In fact, Board activity over the past couple of years could well be likened to Lewis Carrol's works. In company with Dodo, methinks at the moment, there are much bigger fish to fry rather than the appointment of a temporary bean-counter recycled into a safety guru. I will accept that most Board members had/have the best of intentions but I'm damned angry that the Old Boys Club's clandestine efforts have taken us to this parlous situation. In absolute disgust I've resigned from my L-2 endorsement (that'll really get their attention and make them change their ways - not!) and can honestly say that my ex-wife's high rating on my disdain meter has been well and truly overtaken by RAA. This recent appointment only adds to the fire. Somebody show me that I'm being unfair.

 

 

[old man emu]

Somebody had to draw a line in the sand, and say, "Enough is enough!"

 

OK. It has taken up to now to draw that line, but at least Mr Herring has had the balls to do it. Isn't this what you have all been crying out for? You want a Board that will make the decisions that will lead to improvements in the RAA. One step at a time. But push has come to shove, and Mr Herring has shoved. I can't see why you are bickering over a money decision when this appointment could go towards the long term viability of the RAA.

 

OME

 

 

[AlfaRomeo]

No question this is a ballsy decision. Trouble is that Ed crossed too many lines to push HIS view of what RA-Aus needs and did not do the right thing and bring the Board along for the ride. Ed is not the Chief Executive, he is, effectively, the Chairman of the Board. It is not up to him to take executive action. It is for him to bring the Board together to make a decision and have the employed General Manager execute the will of the Board.

 

Not that hard really if you have any respect for due process and understand your role.

 

Surely OME, you would have to agree that this job-for-the-boys is not a good look?

 

Why have a Board if we only need an Ed?

 

 

[nong]

Ed has appointed some bloke he knows, to a non-defined task, at our expense and over the top of a supine board.

 

And.....Guess what, Myles? Ops are doing their job. CFIs are getting on with it. We don't need you to tell us how to suck eggs.

 

Here is a fact. The people we train are a broad cross section of the population. The students who walk in the door are not pre-selected as the brightest, fittest, totally committed and most academic twenty year olds. We work with the students we get.

 

Therefore, we will always have accidents caused by incompetance and lousy decision making, despite our efforts.

 

There is a limit on what can be achieved in training.

 

To be clear. I would have 'scrubbed' about half my students if this was the military. It is not.

 

You can not change our demographic, Myles. Resign now!!!

 

 

[Guest john]

According to the Presidents memo regarding this new appointment on his own decision , then it is apparent that he is going to be a committee of ONE, which is definitely the wrong way to administer a democratically elected committee.

 

If due process is not followed in this type of decision making, within the Committee & Executive staff, well then the remaining committee members & staff are surplus to requirements, as the President then thinks he is all powerful , which eventually a dictatorial regime eventually fails.

 

The President has an administrative duty of care to listen to the will of the committee & act on the majority decisions of the committee, otherwise it won't be long before he will become the EX PRESIDENT .

 

 

[Bandit12]

I see much more grief over:

 

1. The person chosen for the job

 

2. The way the person was chosen for the job

 

than I see about the need for a more formalised structure to ensure quality safety standards. It seems few people are unhappy about the concept, but the way it has come around looks like just another underhanded betrayal (it may not be but doesn't feel right). At least the position is under review in September, but I would think they would do themselves a favour if they changed that to a temporary position that ends in September, and have a more formal and transparent recruitment process in the mean time.

 

 

[flyerme]

Good on ya ED,Take the bull by the horns and tame that beast.. Right now we NEED someone with balls to act.By the time the board get together and bicker about this NEW position, an oppertunity may be lost? I for one am happy he is acting on OUR behalf

 

(I can say with the highest confidence that He is in the position for us-the members...).

 

And I think it should be duly noted,its great to see Ed spared the time (which he has little of right now) to post an update of HIS descission on the site in good time...ANY WAY as Ed stated its only to SEP then we can all opinionate and vote on the out comes of His Executive descission/s...

 

So Don,t jump ship just yet ..After all ,We need a captain not a co-pilot.....

 

P.S my own personal opinion no preeching intended....

 

 

[pmccarthy]

If Ed can maintain the momentum I would like to see regional reps abolished in favour of a board elected according to their ability as Directors. This will only happen if we have an empowered President in the early stages of his term who appoints an enquiry into effective board composition.

 

 

[TK58]

If Ed can maintain the momentum I would like to see regional reps abolished in favour of a board elected according to their ability as Directors. This will only happen if we have an empowered President in the early stages of his term who appoints an enquiry into effective board composition.

A board elected for their ability would be nice but it ain't going to happen. Board elections (all elections?) are popularity contests with, in the case of RAAus, far too few participants. How can you expect quality when so many are elected (and re-elected) unopposed?

 

An "enquiry into effective board composition" has been under way for some time. It's called the Restructure Sub-committee and its primary objective is to examine options to give us a leadership team that can take us forward. Ed would do better to get something concrete happening there rather than taking unilateral action that makes it look like he thinks he owns RAAus and is above the Constitution. He's supposed to be the leader of the Board, not a substitute for it.

 

 

[facthunter]

If it has been done without board approval then it is an unwise move, otherwise, if it needs that position to be created and functioning quickly by CASA direction, then it must be done with some urgency. We should easily be able to determine whether the board approve, shouldn't we? ( Come in board members) Nev

 

 

[dazza 38]

Before everybody gets too upset. AFAIK Myles is in this position on a temporary basis from now until September.At the end of the day whether right or wrong, Ed has decided that something had to be done right now and waiting for the normal recruitment process to take place would have taken a couple of months. Ed has said that if it was done that way, it would have been to late. I think that it is a positive to have a person in the president position making a quick decision in this case. If it was a full time gig, (as in past Sept) then I would not have been too happy, purely because the normal recruiting procedures would have been by passed. RAA is in a bit of a crisis at the moment, hence Ed's snap decision.