HeliOffshore has appointed a highly experienced aviation safety professional to handle the development of its expanding Helicopter Safety Intelligence Programme This month Dr Matthew Greaves is joining the offshore helicopter industry’s global safety-focused association in the new role of Safety Intelligence Project Manager to oversee all aspects of the system, which allows the global offshore helicopter industry to gather the safety data it needs to understand and enhance its safety performance.

The Safety Intelligence Programme allows helicopter operators to work more collaboratively with each other, as well as with aircraft and sub-system manufacturers, to proactively identify safety issues and address them before they cause accidents. The system, which is progressing to its more advanced Phases II and III, brings together information such as flight data monitoring (FDM) and day-to-day operational data.

Dr Greaves—a respected aviation safety expert–will be responsible for the online tools and web applications being used to support the Safety Intelligence Programme as well as for managing the HeliOffshore working groups involved in data collection, sharing and analysis. Prior to joining HeliOffshore, Dr Greaves was the Head of the Safety and Accident Investigation Centre at the UK’s Cranfield University, where he worked for 10 years. He helped the European Aviation Safety Agency to establish the European Operators FDM forum, co-chairing the working group that developed algorithms for this project. He has taught FDM at Cranfield, and also has applied these skills in response to important air transport accident investigations, such as the Air France 447 and MH370 accidents.

Previously, Dr Greaves, who has an MSc in Accident Investigation and a PhD in Acoustics and Vibration in Gas Turbine Engines, was a senior scientist in the Vibroacoustic Materials group of science and technology group QinetiQ.

“We are delighted to have recruited someone with such solid expertise in both flight data monitoring and aviation safety,” commented HeliOffshore CEO Gretchen Haskins. “Dr Greaves has more than enough knowledge and experience to be able to look at both specific technical systems in our sector, while also seeing how these fit into the overall safety system to help enhance safety performance.”