FAA Safety Organization Takes Off With ISO 9001

Largest federal business to achieve world-class registration

On October 16, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Aviation Safety organization was recognized as the first federal agency to achieve certification to the prestigious International Organization for Standardization “ISO 9001:2000” quality management standard of a single corporate management system that covers multiple services, including national and international sites encompassing 6,462 employees.

The Aviation Safety organization began working toward ISO 9001:2000 registration in 2001 and now operates under a Quality Management System (QMS) that provides consistent, standardized processes that assure continual improvement, value employee contributions, and respond to changes in the industry.

As a global leader in aviation safety, the FAA is operating like an integrated business to ensure that each FAA safety office around the world provides consistent service and products to customers. It is vital that the government’s aviation safety business is held to the same high standards as those it regulates.

While many individual government offices have achieved registration, the FAA’s Aviation Safety employees have accomplished this across a complex and diverse line of business worldwide. They have raised the agency’s standards and are now pacesetters in government. 

Under the leadership of Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Nicholas A. Sabatini, the organization promotes aviation safety and oversees compliance with Federal regulations as applied to airmen, manufacturers, repair and maintenance facilities, aviation schools, operators, aviation agencies, individuals and organizations. It is comprised of the Flight Standards Service, Aircraft Certification Service, Office of Aerospace Medicine, Office of Rulemaking, Office of Accident Investigation, Air Traffic Safety Oversight Service, Suspected Unapproved Parts Program, and the Office of Quality, Integration, and Executive Services. With a budget of $948 million, the organization employs 6,400 people in the FAA’s Washington Headquarters, nine regional offices, and more than 125 field offices throughout the world.

ISO is the world’s largest developer of voluntary international standards with a current portfolio of more than 16,200. The ISO 9000 family of standards makes a positive difference, not just to engineers and manufacturers, but to regulators, consumers and end users, by targeting quality management. For more information on ISO, go to www.iso.org.