“WE HAVE TO HAVE THE SAFETY TRAINING AVAILABLE FOR THESE EMPLOYEES IN THE LANGUAGE THEY SPEAK AND FULLY UNDERSTAND BECAUSE THIS IS SAFETY WE’RE TALKING ABOUT, THE ABSOLUTE MOST IMPORTANT THING.” Vic Gregg, You have to deal with them a lot more, in a regulatory sense, than you ever do in the U.S. It’s really a different world out there.” Seeing the Safety 1st program translated into other languages by experts in the field is one of Gregg’s top priorities. “I desperately need it, in at least three or four languages for starters, and it’s going to be the first thing any potential international customer is going to ask,” Gregg explained. “For one thing, to be completely honest, I can’t afford to have bilingual ramp people at our international loca- tions. If you’re bilingual, we’ve got other jobs for you, but you’re not working on the ramp. So we have to have the safety training available for these employees in the language they speak and fully understand because this is safety we’re talking about, the absolute most important thing. And for another thing, in most of these countries we’re in, it is required by law. France is a good Aviation Business Journal | 1st Quarter 2017 example: if you’re going to give your employees in France safety training, they expect it to be in French. It has to be in French. NATA did a first-round French translation of the program, and I think they learned a lot from it. Let’s just say we’ve learned that there can be a lot lost in translation! If you’re going to have a technical program translated, you’re going to have to have a technical person from the field translate it appropriately. And then, of course, having the training available in other languages opens up new hiring opportunities domestically, as well.” In 2016, NATA celebrated its 75th anniversary as the Voice of Aviation Business, providing ample opportunity to reflect on both the history and future of the general aviation industry. Michael France said the discussions around that legacy have informed some of the direction of where the Safety 1st program is headed. Director of Safety Standards & Audit, Universal Weather & Aviation, Inc. “We have around 2,300 members now, our association is stronger than it’s ever been, and the level and quality of safety and service across our industry is as high as it’s ever been,” France said. “Some of those achievements are really a testament to the work of our board and the NATA Safety Committee, and to the commitment of our members to get it right in an industry where getting it wrong can be absolutely catastrophic. Safety 1st areas where we know we’ve really been getting it right. It’s also one of those areas, as we look to the future, we also know that there is always going to be room for great improve- ment. So we’re always striving, always asking, ‘How can we make this even better?’ The future of our industry truly depends on it.” is one of those 29
