What can BARS do that my existing compliance can’t?

In short BARS is becoming the defacto standard for all drone operations in high risk industries across all jurisdictions. Here is why:

The Basic Aviation Risk Standard (BARS) for RPAS is a comprehensive set of risk management standards that goes beyond standard RPAS regulatory requirements. A sweeping change born out of the copious numbers of deaths and costs seen in these high risk industries. 

BARS was developed in recognition that risks present in industries such as the Mining, Electrical and Oil & Gas are higher than those in other industries. That is, the loss of control of an RPAS, can lead to infrastructure damage, production interruption or loss of life at a scale not contemplated by standard RPAS regulations.

The standard is applicable for both asset owners operating RPAS along with any contractors working on these sites.

What are the benefits of BARS accreditation?

The main benefits of BARS accreditation are three fold:

1. The first is the reduced frequency of loss of controls events and re-work events. The comprehensive training and maintenance regimes required by BARS improves the reliability of the fleet and quality of data capture. This has the effect of reducing operational costs and capability downtime.
   
   
2. The second major benefit is a reduced frequency of non-conformance events that could result in non-compliance with either company policies or regulations. While the benefit of avoiding non-compliance is difficult to quantify it provides confidence to management that critical business risks are controlled
   
   
3. Finally, the comprehensive processes and procedures required by BARS similar to those required by regulators for more complex operations such as Beyond-line-of-sight (BVLOS), operations over people or operation of large RPA. Hence, obtaining BARS accreditation positions an organisation to quickly graduate to more complex operations with ease.

What is the process of obtaining BARS accreditation?

The first step in obtaining BARS accreditation is to develop processes and procedures which address all the requirements of the standard. The list of requirements can be found on the Flight Safety Foundation website.

Once this is completed the operator will need to undergo an audit by an approved BARS auditor. This process is very thorough and typically takes 3-5 days to complete. The operator will be provided with an audit report listing any non-conformances or deficiencies. Any major deviations from the standard will need to be rectified before the organisation can be BARS accredited.

The BARS accreditation process provides a high level of assurance that all operators are operating at the same level which ensures that BARS is highly robust.

How compatible are BARS procedures with standard regulator procedures?

As mentioned, BARS goes above and beyond the typical procedures required by the regulator for normal operations.

If you are an asset owner it is recommended BARS procedures are integrated into your Operations Manuals which would be submitted to the regulator for approval.

If you are a contractor working between different industries which do not have the same risk levels as mining, electrical, oil & gas etc. it is recommended that BARS procedures are kept separate from regulator required procedures or structured in a way that the BARS requirements are not activated for lower risk operations.

Conclusion

BARS is setting the standard for RPAS operations in the mining, electrical and gas industries globally. For organisations wishing to operate in these sectors BARS is quickly becoming the de-facto standard which all RPAS operations must follow.

BARS has the effect of increasing levels of safety which ultimately result in fewer accidents and incidents which in turn reduces overall operating costs and business risks. It also has the additional benefit of providing the systems and processes which would be required for more complex operations such as beyond-visual-line-of-sight.

If you think BARS might be relevant to you, register your interest on our BARS waitlist where we will be sharing more BARs related info and BARS product releases in FlyFreely - click here to register your interest!