Achievements
Over the years, Joe has gained considerable experience and knowledge, using both to mentor individuals and contribute to the general aviation industry. With a personal mission Statement of "I strive to make the industry grow and to be better and safer than when I first entered it",
Joe's efforts have had a positive impact on the industry. Examples of some of his achievements include:
Strong Self-Initiative:
When the Court Order stopping drilling off the coast of New Jersey was lifted and drilling began, the relationship between Bristow Helicopters and Kaman Aviation, holder of the Air Operator Certificate allowing Bristow to operate in the United States, broke down irrevocably. Simultaneous with his creation of United Helicopters and having developed a strong relationship with the FAA, Joe obtained an IFR Air Operator Certificate (AOC) and began flights offshore for Mobil Corporation on time, which continued for the duration of their exploration activities. Chevron was added as a second client shortly after operations began.
Undertaking Unknown, Difficult Challenges:
The creation of the Aga Khan Foundation Helicopter Wing proved to be a significant challenge. Because of the political instability within Pakistan, it was decided to obtain Swiss registration for the two recently purchased Bell 212 helicopters. Joe convinced the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) to provide a 90-day temporary operating certificate while he set up the operation, then have them visit the operation to determine its continuance. Joe went to Pakistan, developed operating standards including performance criteria for mountainous operations, prepared an Operations Manual, developed a safety management system, and brought advisors in from Bristow Helicopters to oversee aircraft maintenance. Following his training of pilots recruited directly from the Pakistani military and the Pakistan CAA Examiner, operations began. After 90 days, FOCA representatives visited the operation where it received high praise and a permanent certificate was issued without reservation. The operation continued under Joe's leadership for an additional fourteen months before he voluntarily turned it over to local leadership. It still operates today!
Willingness to Operate Outside Personal Comfort Zone:
The Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC) was formed as a direct result of the catastrophic oil spill in Alaska caused by the Exxon Valdez
oil tanker. The Northwest Region of MSRC was started by a former Mobil colleague, who understood the important role aviation plays in any oil spill and invited Joe to join MSRC as one of the Region's founding members. Joining as the Safety and Training Manager, which later added Environmental and Health to the job responsibilities, he quickly learned environmental regulations, and developed self-assessment tools to ensure OSHA compliance at all locations of the Northwest Region, which was comprised of the four states of Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawaii. He worked with a software manufacturer to develop a custom-based software tracking program to demonstrate individual competency levels. He also played key roles in developing exercises and drills, served as the Safety Officer for Oil Company drills and real spills, and acted as the manager of a real spill in Hawaii until the oil company representatives arrived from the mainland.
Applying Practical Approach to Operating Standards Without Compromise to Safety:
Besides the many opportunities over the years to oversee aviation support operations directly in the field, two that stand out are the on-land seismic operation for BHP Billiton in Colombia and BG Group seismic operation in the remote, mountainous areas of Bolivia. Both seismic operations required setting high standards, selecting and contracting aviation expertise to be positioned in the field for monitoring daily activity, and paying routine on-site visits. The details for the Colombia program can be found in "The Zero Harm Report" under the Acknowledgements tab on this site. The Bolivia operation was conducted in very hostile conditions from both a weather and topographical perspective. Strict departure and approach-to-land procedures were put in place and enforced. The Bolivia operation was conducted over a period 8½ months and completed 4,300 flight hours of which 2,800 hours had external loads; included 21,000 flights of which 16,500 were external load flights; transported over 19,000 passengers; moved 7.5 million kilos of cargo of which 7.2 million kilos were carried externally; and conducted 3 rescue hoist flights for medical evacuation. This, and the Colombian operation were conducted without any major aviation incident.
Providing Leadership and Developing Strong Relationships:
Upon joining BG Group as the Aviation Group Technical Authority, Joe maintained the charter operator audit program provided by the Independent Aviation Safety Group and focused on helping each BG Asset understand how to better manage aviation on a day-to-day basis. This required a complete rewrite of the BG Aviation Standard, dividing it into two main sections: requirements on how Assets were to manage aviation, and what BG expected from its charter operators. Using this new Standard, assessment tools were developed to measure the level of compliance within the Assets, and to provide operators a means to determine gaps between their requirements and those of the BG Group Aviation Standard. The majority of Joe's efforts was spent on mentoring Asset personnel, developing trusting relationships with the Assets and operators, and working together with operators to solve problems and issues with common sense solutions without compromise to safety.
Supporting Innovative Ideas:
Contributing to Industry Associations:
Twice-elected to the Board of Directors of the Helicopter Association International (HAI), serving a total of eight years.
Served on the Executive Committee and Treasurer for the Helicopter Safety Advisory Conference (HSAC) for more than twelve years, providing leadership and direction to the committee and overall group.
Participated as an active member of the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) Aviation Safety Sub-Committee nearly from the time of its inception. He remained active in various workgroups, especially the two formed to create the competency-based training requirements within the Aircraft Management Guidelines (AMG) and the overall rewrite of the entire AMG (Report 590 version 2).
Education and Job-Related Credentials:
Bachelor of Science Degree from the Pennsylvania Military College.
Certified as an ISO 9001 Lead Auditor.
Completed University of California course on "Aviation Safety Program Management".
Completed "Integrated Risk Management" Course conducted by SAI Global.
Completed 40 hour training Program from Government Institutes on "Environmental OSHA Compliance, Reporting, Record Keeping, and Hazard Communications".
Geographical Experience:
Includes North, South, & Central America; Europe; Australia; Middle East; China; Kazakhstan; Russia; India; Pakistan; Asia; Algeria; Egypt; & Africa.