Aerospace
The Plan Safe factor
Our Services
Safety Engineering and Assurance
The Plan Safe team are experts in Safety Engineering and Assurance. We work with your engineering team to develop pragmatic and solution focussed safety programs, so you can focus on delivering a great product. We develop clear safety arguments using goal structuring notation and implement industry-standard techniques like Functional Hazard Analysis and Fault Tree Analysis.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Our Team
Our Work
Western Sydney Airport Airspace Redesign
Airservices Australia
Safety Program for the New Airspace Design
The Challenge
To enable the new Western Sydney Airport, a new Airspace Design is being developed for the Sydney Basin. The project is the biggest airspace change in Australian history, including all airspace delivery and air traffic service provision safety matters from the airspace and flight path design meeting national and international safety standards to implementation of both air traffic control and support services for 3 air traffic centres and 5 Sydney basin airports, including Sydney International and RAAF Richmond.
What We Did
Plan Safe is building the safety and Human Factors case for the new design to enable safe and efficient move of air traffic once the new airport is operational. We are responsible for managing the entire safety program for the new airspace design, including development of quantitative analysis techniques to ensure the safety of the new airspace.
We are also responsible for safety approvals from the national regulator for both Design and implementation. Our consultants have also provided Human Factors workload assessment and task analysis based on extensive simulator exercises using the new Airspace design.
The Outcome
Planning for the opening of the new airport in late 2026 is on track, and the management of the airspace change is ongoing, including all stakeholders; CASA, Department of Infrastructure, and WSA Co. Findings delivered so far have been incorporated into an updated Airspace Design, improving safety and efficiency for the future.
Increased Tailwind Trial
Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC)
Trial of Increased Tailwind Take Off And Landings At Brisbane Airport (YBBN)
The Challenge
As part of the Brisbane New Runway Project Implementation Review, Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) are exploring options that would allow more aircraft to depart and land over Moreton Bay, minimising community impact.
What We Did
Plan Safe developed all operational material for a trial of Increased Tailwind Take Off And Landings At Brisbane Airport (YBBN), including:
- safety plan
- ATC and Aircraft draft operational procedures
- data monitoring criteria
- risk assessment
- safety case and supporting material
%20copy.jpg)
The Outcome
The trial will allow for an increased tailwind limit at Brisbane Airport, meaning that the overall volume of time that arrivals and departures will be able to operate simultaneously over the bay will be increased.
Digital Aerodrome Services (DAS)
Airservices Australia
Functional Safety For The DAS Program At Canberra and Western Sydney International Airport
The Challenge
To enable the ATC Tower Service at the new Western Sydney Airport, Airservices is implementing a Digital Aerodrome Services (DAS). In a DAS environment, the natural out-of-the-window view of the air traffic controllers is replaced by a visual reproduction system.
The DAS Program encompasses developing and delivering first-of-type technology as well as establishing an operating model for ongoing support and innovation enhancements, introducing new ways of working for Airservices.
What We Did
Plan Safe managed the entire safety program for the new DAS solution during initial design phases, including development of the system safety plan, Functional Hazard Analysis and Fault Trees, Safety Case(s) and facilitating approval by CASA.
The Outcome
Work for the DAS design is ongoing, with the program on track to support WSA in their goal of first flights in late 2026.
The DAS system will represent a fundamental transformation for air traffic in Australia, and Plan Safe are proud to have supported the safe implementation of the system at WSA.
Enterprise Network Modernisation Program
Thales Australia
Development of Fault Tree Analysis and System Safety Assessments
The Challenge
Thales is part of consortium delivering the design phase for Airservices Australia’s the ENMP Program, a $1B project to upgrade Airservices Australia’s enterprise-wide telecommunications network. The project involves the design of the telecommunications, radio communications, ADS-B surveillance and network services systems. Plan Safe were engaged to ensure that the critical infrastructure is designed safely and is able to support OneSky operations, as well as future enterprise communications services.
What We Did
Plan Safe conducted Safety Assessment using MIL-STD-882E and Eurocontrol e-SAM, including development of detailed Fault Tree Analysis for the Fast Track Program. The Fault Trees were highly complex, often running into hundreds of pages, and required our detailed and deep knowledge of functional safety analysis. We provided two highly experienced safety engineers to aid Thales in ensuring that the system has been designed to meet the rigorous reliability and safety requirements to support Air Traffic systems and data.
The Outcome
The reports and analysis are contributing to the delivery of a network solution that is resilient, reliable, secure and flexible to support the continued delivery of safe and secure air traffic management and aviation firefighting services across Australia.
Sydney Airport Integrated Drone Detection System Trial
Airservices Australia
System Safety Assurance Activities For The Drone Detection System Trial
The Challenge
With the use of drones for commercial and leisure purposes expected to grow exponentially, it is becoming a necessity to identify and efficiently manage their activity near airports. Trials were held in 2022 at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, one of the busiest aerodromes in the world.
What We Did
Plan Safe and our partners ALARP Solutions delivered Systems Safety Assurance activities for the trial, including development of the Functional Hazard Analysis and safety assessment reports enabling next-generation drone detection capabilities allowing Airservices to enhance the safe operation of crewed and uncrewed flights operating together in Australian airspace.
The Outcome
The trial of next-generation drone detection capabilities allows Airservices to continue to enhance the safe operation of crewed and uncrewed flights operating together in Australian airspace.
Brisbane 7 Knot Tailwind Safety Case
Airservices Australia
Safety Case For The 2 Knot Increase Of Tailwind Take Off And Landings At Brisbane Airport (YBBN)
The Challenge
As part of the Brisbane New Runway Project Implementation Review, Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) and Airservices are exploring options that would allow more aircraft to depart and land over Moreton Bay, minimising community impact.
What We Did
Plan Safe and our partners ALARP Solutions developed a safety case and supporting material to request an increase in the tailwind limit for Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPS) at Brisbane Airport, from 5-knots to 7-knots.
The Outcome
If approved by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), the overall volume of time that arrivals and departures will be able to operate simultaneously over the bay will be increased.
Instrument Landing System
Perth airport
Safety Management Systems update
The Challenge
While fog is a relatively uncommon occurrence at Perth Airport, each year, around a dozen such weather situations arise and cause significant and costly disruptions to operations and air services.
What We Did
Plan Safe consultants provided systems and software safety assurance to the ILS and lighting system changes. Perth Airport manages up to 400 flight movements per day and needed to remain operational throughout construction.
The Outcome
With the Category I to a Category IIIB lighting and aerodrome upgrade now in place, Perth Airport is now more attractive for long-haul flights, and even secured the highly-anticipated Qantas direct flight to London.
Communications Tower Replacement
Airservices Australia
Systems safety assurance for infrastructure
The Challenge
Aging air navigation and communications infrastructure required replacing at the highest mountain in Tasmania.
What We Did
We provided system safety assurance services for the design and construction of the replacement tower and associated infrastructure.
The Outcome
A new tower was able to be constructed using helicopters, while maintaining full coverage of navigation and communications services throughout the build.
Melbourne Aerodrome Lighting Upgrade
Airservices Australia
Systems Safety Assurance For Airfield Lighting Upgrades
The Challenge
As part of the APAMs required aerodrome lighting upgrades to ensure compliance with CASR139, Airservices are required to integrate the modern highly controllable lighting updates into INTAS (Integrated Tower Automation Suite).
What We Did
Plan Safe delivered the safety assurance program for the project. Our consultants delivered safety assurance services for the new lighting control upgrades, including hazard identifiaction and analysis, and development of safety cases.
The Outcome
The projects initiated by APAM have been completed, providing additional functionality and support for ATC when managing traffic within the manoeuvring area, which increases flexibility. This functionality includes the introduction of additional Stop Bars and the MOWP functionality for lighting maintenance.
