Neaco Repair · Part 145 repair station
Strong in practice, invisible on paper
A repair station with a strong safety culture and almost no record of it, three weeks from decision to everybody reporting.
“We didn’t have an SMS program at all. If something happened, we’d take care of it, but nothing was formalized into one system.”
What started it
Neaco ran a solid Part 145 maintenance operation for years with safety managed informally. A deadline arriving in their European oversight gave them a reason to formalize it, and they treated that as an opening rather than a box to check: one place for the program, consistency in how things were recorded, and a way to keep people engaged in it.
“MAG-10 set the requirement, but RISE SMS gave us the opportunity to structure everything in one place. Now compliance is easier, and our team is more engaged in safety every day.”
Strong in practice, invisible on paper
The culture was already there. When something happened, supervisors dealt with it quickly. What was missing was any consistency in how it was then recorded, tracked or looked at afterwards, so the record of it ended up in an HR folder, a scattered email, or a hallway conversation.
That left nothing to show when an auditor asked how a process worked, and nothing to look across when the same thing happened twice.
What they were looking for
The leadership team wanted something centralized and web based that would not overwhelm technicians or drain the budget. Most of what they found was built for airlines: heavy with features a repair station does not need, priced to match, and a poor fit for the way the work actually runs.
“Other programs had functionality we didn’t need and a cost we weren’t willing to pay. RISE was the right fit because it let us customize the system and its forms the way we wanted.”
Built around the facility
Neaco built their own hazard reports, risk assessments and job safety analyses around their facility rather than adapting to somebody else's. Confidential reporting gave people the confidence to raise things, and QR codes made reporting workable on the shop floor.
Policies, manuals and their emergency response plan went into the same system, so there was one place to look rather than a shared drive to search.
“It’s definitely helpful to have everything in one place for FAA or EASA oversight instead of trying to track down folders on a shared drive.”
Three weeks to everybody reporting
Rolling it out took little from the team. Setup was straightforward and the system was configured the way they wanted it inside a few weeks.
“It was pretty simple to set up and customize. Within three weeks, everyone was trained and already reporting incidents.”
What made it stick
People worked out quickly that this was not another place to log something and forget it. Reports were acted on, and being seen to act on them is what brought the next one in.
“We showed right away that this wasn’t just another process. Things were actually getting fixed.”
One channel instead of five conversations
Hazards now move from the report straight into mitigation, and oversight bodies can be shown structured records rather than a reconstruction. Culturally the change is that people trust a thing they raise will be tracked and closed rather than lost between three people who each heard about it.
“People are actually reporting things now instead of just telling five different people. Issues are getting taken care of quicker because they’re brought to our attention faster.”
A partner, not just a vendor
Neaco credit the support behind the software as much as the software, and that responsiveness is what convinced them the system will keep up with them rather than harden around the shape it had on the day they bought it.
“Working with RISE has been great. The team updates me quickly, never drags their feet, and they’ve even made adjustments based on our feedback.”
What they are doing next
With the program running, the team is working on what comes after: safety placards through the work areas, dashboards against their safety objectives, and a monthly safety meeting. Their president reviews it quarterly without anybody having to assemble a summary for him.
“Even though our president has a lot on his plate, RISE makes it simple to keep him updated. We meet monthly as a safety team, and every quarter he can just log in, see what’s done, what’s open, and approve what’s needed. It’s a lot easier than tracking him down or sending long emails.”
The result
What came of it
- 01Everyone trained and reporting within three weeks
- 02One reporting channel instead of five conversations
- 03Hazards moving from report to mitigation without a gap
- 04Records that can be shown to oversight bodies as they are
Discover how RISE can empower your safety program
A guided walkthrough of how RISE handles reporting, evaluation, resolution and insight, with time to talk about how your own operation runs today.
