“Regulators must provide quality services, efficiently and in a timely manner.”  This has been my mantra for at least 12 years.  It’s very well documented and I’m occasionally reminded of it from my industry friends.

The system of civil aviation safety is poorly understood and very complex.  There are many components which rely upon each other to ensure efficient and safe aviation services to consumers.  Aviation regulators are a key component, if for no other reason than that of their statutory functions; Make and maintain rules and standards, control entry, conduct comprehensive and hopefully scientific industry surveillance, provide safety promotion and education, and last but not least, conduct enforcement activities.
Poor service (whether a function of quality or time), can have a subtle or significant impact on the system of aviation safety.  It also has a big impact on the industry’s ability to avail themselves of commercial opportunities. 

The service equation is muddied by the ability of the regulator to charge a fee for the service.  In Australia, the fee must be a fee based upon recovering costs; in other words the model is not profit based.  Other regional regulators do not have this restriction and can set their fees at will.

A cost recovery model is not easy to administer, because regular reviews of costs must be conducted to a standard which will withstand external scrutiny.  The regulators resource effort to review all costs is significant but not a wasted exercise.  It provides a useful snapshot for politicians, industry leaders and the regulator’s management of the regulator’s efficiency.

When service fees were increased in 2004, CASA was required to review all costs, and a number of minor and major changes resulted from identifying non-safety related or low risk activities which could be modified or culled.  This also resulted in service efficiency and effectiveness changes which reduced time taken and in some cases costs to industry.  Most industry people canvassed then and now emphatically state that the cost is important but is secondary to time taken to have the service completed.

Providing effective and efficient service is a bit like a marriage; you have to keep working on it!  People are funny cattle and management of aviation regulators must take control to prevent inventions of process which add no value or do not address a safety risk.