The Heliwest Group was established in 1992. A wholly owned and operated Australian business, Heliwest combines expertise and resources to provide premier aviation and engineering services. Heliwest has grown into one of Australasia’s leading helicopter companies and is now the largest onshore helicopter operator in Western Australia.

Heliwest operates an internal Safety Management System which incorporates OHS, Environmental as well as Flight Operations and Maintenance activities for the company, which was developed by us in July 2009 and is now certified by Bureau Veritas, ISN, Achilles, and the Flight Safety Foundation BARS Program.

The Heliwest safety team has a dedicated quality and safety manager as well as departmental and site representation to ensure that all policies and systems developed, were applied, revised, and adhered to across all Heliwest sites.

Being the largest flight school and one of the largest helicopter operators in Australasia, developing the Safety Management System was a multi-faceted task. One that also required significant review and understanding of the general aviation safety regulations and standards, a truly mammoth task.

However, by 2010 we delivered a complete Safety Management System that not only complied with regulations but was structured and designed in a way that accommodated the rapid growth of the business as well as the increased safety expectations, of their client base.

Working within the aviation sector was a new venture for us at the time, but one that certainly broadened our knowledge and appreciation for the importance of systems that are intuitive, communicate well and are easily understood by the operational personnel.