SDC2026: How Bizav Scheduler/Dispatchers Can Contribute to SMS

Business aircraft operators that limit their use of professional scheduler/dispatchers to scheduling are not taking advantage of the hugely positive impact their insights can have on the success of a safety management system (SMS).

“When a scheduler is dedicated to that role, and not as a part-time assignment, they should be licensed and trained so they can perform risk mitigation planning for a trip long before a pilot looks at it,” explained James Lara, principal with Gray Stone Advisors. “Using the company’s FRAT [flight risk assessment tool], the scheduler can look into all the details of the trip, including whether the destination airport is suitable for the aircraft’s weight and runway requirements.”

Schedulers can look for ways to mitigate possible risks – runway and ramp considerations, altering departure times for temperature/density altitude issues and the like. “The idea is to find ways to work around any potential issues, so they don’t become problems at the last minute,” Lara said.

While detailed trip planning is always an excellent idea, it’s not always possible. One example is when flight operations include transporting donor organs. With lives on the line, things happen quickly, but always with safety in mind.

Briefing Crews and Maintainers

“Our schedulers do a very detailed briefing with our flight crews and maintainers, and we clearly outline in what order the crews will be called in at each base,” said Megan Knox, CAM, a senior operations manager at M&N Aviation. “We let everyone know who is working in the scheduling department, so they know who the go-to is for every flight. We try to stay ahead of all the pieces as much as possible to eliminate last-minute problems.”

Trained schedulers can ensure that the right technicians are available for maintenance tasks, Lara noted. For example, if a fuel sender needs to be changed overnight, the scheduler can work with the director of maintenance (DOM) to ensure there’s a second qualified maintenance tech on hand.

“You can’t have one technician alone doing that kind of work,” Lara said. “Certainly, the DOM will know that, but with the scheduler knowing it as well, you have two sets of eyes on the issue.”

Operators Should Commit to Making S&Ds Part of SMS

Proactively including schedulers and dispatchers in SMS is critical. “Unfortunately, their input can be overlooked because they’re not in the field with the aircraft and flight crews,” Knox said. “Because of that, it can be perceived that the schedulers don’t have anything to add.”

However, it’s increasingly valuable to get input from everyone involved in the flight, she added. “In fact, sometimes the S&Ds can have a slightly more objective view of what took place and the timeline around the situation than those on-site, so we encourage our S&Ds to file SMS tickets when needed. It’s valuable to get different perspectives to understand the whole story.”

Of course, SMS are sophisticated tools and both Knox and Lara stressed the need for management to provide initial and ongoing training to ensure that schedulers and dispatchers can provide all the essential help possible.

“The schedulers need to be fully trained on how to interface with the particular SMS the flight operation subscribes to,” said Lara. “They also need to be very, very cognizant of every aspect of the operation, including duty and rest time requirements set by the flight operation and the Federal Aviation Regulations.”

“Using scheduling as a proactive part of an SMS cannot be looked at as an ancillary activity,” Lara said. “The schedulers and dispatchers can’t be doing their job from the outside looking in. They must be considered an essential part of the flight operation’s safety culture.”

At M&N Aviation, every employee has an individual login for their SMS, Knox said, and the company includes recurrent training in the system’s operation as part of its yearly Emergency Response Plan drill.

“We also hold SMS roundtables throughout the year where everyone can share their opinions and observations about how the organization as a whole is doing,” said Knox. “We encourage anyone who sees anything to write up an SMS ticket.”

NBAA S&D Conference Offers Resources

Lara suggested that flight departments invest in sending their professional schedulers and dispatchers to the annual NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference, which takes place next year Feb. 22-24 in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

“This is a fabulous event, and I consider it recurrent training for schedulers and dispatchers,” Lara said. “There is so much great information, training, skill improvement sessions – there’s just so much information focused on learning the fundamentals of their role in an SMS.”