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Old 07-22-2018, 06:51 PM   #173
woofa.express
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Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Tocumwal, NSW, Australia
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Default Re: tell a Model A related story

Operational Audit in Borneo.
I worked inEast Malaysia for 5 years as an itinerant. Malaysia has two states on the island of Kalimantan or Borneo. The British fought off the Indonesians years ago and set up the Malaysians. Following the Chinese infiltration and jungle war the poms set up the Malaysians up with government, the military and the police. The locals or so called “true bloods” are called Booma Putrie.
My job, and that of two other pilots was to spread fertilizer on oil palms. The Malaysians had raped almost the entire jungle to plant oil palms. In one location known as Kalabatan the palm plantations required electric fencing because the elephants, in protest, would pull out the young trees.
We had several crashes. Not me thankfully. All write offs. Mostly because we were paid, and generously too, by production. Pilots can be a greedy lot and when some aspect of the operation degenerates they don’t know when to stop. I won’t go into each individual crash because the two previous sentences sums it upwell.
One day, travelling back to the job I was waiting in the airport terminal lounge at K.K.which is Kota Kinabalu. Also in the lounge was a orang puti otherwise known as a white man. I made my self known to the bloke and he too was headed for the same destination. He was operational auditor sent by the insurer of the operator. I assumed he was, or had been, an operator or at least an ag pilot. Yes he said and I enquired where. He said inVictoria and he operated helicopters. I asked if he had ag experience and he said it was not necessary. He went on to tell me he audited many operation sincluding BHP.
We travelled together. A pleasant and personable sort of a bloke. He asked many questions, mostly pertinent. One day he was viewing our operation and when the day finished I intentionally offered him a ride back to base. He accepted knowing full well he had to crunch up next to me without seat and seat belt. That proved he was not a perfect law abiding inspector.
Following the investigation I read the written report. The auditor had failed to figure the reason for these crashes. It was pilots working off difficult airstrips, to short and too narrow. Not mentioned.
This story would not have been written except for one event. Auditor told my friend, also a pilot, that the audit was easy, ‘Gary just spilt his guts’. Well yes, I did answer fully everything the fellow asked. Mostly pertinent questions, as Isaid. But he never asked ‘why we were having these crashes’.
As I was not the auditor and was not going to tell things he did not ask. Blind Freddy could plainly see the reasons.
The operator addressed the fatigue matter. It became compulsory to have a day off each weekor 2 half days. Gary elected the latter.
And unless the auditor reads this he will probably never know the reasons for all those crashes.
Audits and safety courses are common today. Mostly by CASA and other government agencies, big miners and other big organisations. They mostly cannot see past paper work.
Don’t you love it when those who audit, or pass judgement, or reprimand or tell you how to conduct operations (EPA includedhere)or instruct or tutor have no skill in the matter at hand. That would go for many industries betcha. I thinkI will continue later this week with another stupid situation. Infact 2. Cheers, gary
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