October might be National Safe Work Month, but ensuring the safety of flying operations is the primary focus of many RAAF personnel on a daily basis.
RAAF Base Amberley is the busiest air base in the country, being home to a number of aircraft types from heavy cargo to fast jets, as well as hosting a wide range of visiting aircraft from partners and allies, including most recently the US Air Force B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber.
With such a range of aircraft, no day is the same, providing base operations staff many opportunities to demonstrate their proactive approach to safety.
For RAAF Base Amberley aviation safety officer Flight Lieutenant Peter Simms, the best way to ensure both base units and external services can deal with emergencies is through the conduct of crash exercises.
“We run exercises with the units on base to test out the airfield emergency procedures in the event of an incident occurring,” Flight Lieutenant Simms said.
“We have to be prepared and plan for emergencies to ensure that everyone does the right things if the time ever does come.”
The most recent crash exercise for RAAF Base Amberley personnel was the first time the activity had been conducted off base.
Planned months in advance and with participants only learning of the scenario the day of the exercise, base units alongside Air Force and civilian firefighters responded to a simulated crash near RAAF Base Amberley.
This allowed all involved to test their people and identify areas for continuous improvement.
“These exercises take up to seven months to plan, but it worked out really well and both our Defence and external providers achieved really good training outcomes,” Flight Lieutenant Simms said.
National Safe Work Month runs until the end of October. This year’s theme is ‘Safety is Everyone’s Business’.
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