airports, air carriers, and Nunavut Airports Di-
vision.
Asked if tangible progress is being made on
that front, Speer answers, “In a word, yes. Avi-
ation safety and SMS is most effective where
there is collaboration between air carriers and
the airports. The whole point is to identify
safety deficiencies with respect to the opera-
tion, be it airport or air carrier, and to make a
collaborate effort to solve safety hazards”.
The long-term focus of SMS for WASCO is
identifying the safety benefits to airport in-
frastructure investments and modernization
programs. Not surprising, infrastructure in-
vestments in Canada’s north is quite expen-
sive and often requires years of lead time for
funding, mobilization and finally construction.
“Through analysis of data captured in the SMS
program, we are able to help the Government
of Nunavut quantify the safety benefits of in-
vesting in airport operating equipment and in-
frastructure such as lighting system upgrades
and runway overlays. And with today’s capital
funding challenges, this is not just something
that we want to do but is something that we
need to do,” says Lindsey.
JULY 2018 | BUSINESS ELITE CANADA 13
