ARGH.OVS.300 Oversight

GENERAL

(a)The responsibility for the safe conduct of GH services lies with the GH organisation. A declaration policy recognises that the GH organisation is the primary holder of responsibility for monitoring the safety of its operation. The objective of ensuring safety of operations cannot be attained unless the organisation is prepared to accept the implications of this policy, including those of committing the necessary resources to its implementation. The content of Part-ORGH (Annex I to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20) is crucial to the success of the policy, as it requires that the GH organisation establish a management system.

(b)The competent authority assesses the organisation’s compliance with the applicable requirements, including the suitability and effectiveness of the organisation’s management system, on a continuing basis.

(c)The accountable manager of a GH organisation is accountable to the competent authority and to those who appoint him or her. Therefore, the competent authority cannot accept a situation in which the accountable manager is denied sufficient funds, human resources or influence to rectify deficiencies identified in the management system.

(d)Oversight of the organisation includes the review and assessment of the qualifications of the nominated persons.

EVALUATION OF A GH ORGANISATION’S SAFETY RISK MANAGEMENT

(a)As part of the oversight scope, the competent authority should evaluate the GH organisation’s safety risk management process and its capability to identify hazards, assess risks and apply effective mitigation measures. The process and capabilities should be identifiable within the GH organisation’s management system.

(b)As part of the continuing oversight of a GH organisation, the competent authority should also remain satisfied with the effectiveness of the organisation’s safety risk management process.

(c)The competent authority should establish a methodology for evaluating the GH organisation’s safety risk management process. The evaluation should be considered positive if the GH organisation demonstrates its competence and capability to:

(1)understand the hazards and their consequences for its activities;

(2)assess the safety risks related to the hazards identified;

(3)be clear on where those hazards may exceed acceptable safety risk limits;

(4)identify and implement mitigation measures to minimise or remove the safety risks, which could be reflected, for example, in the following:

(i)applying effective operational procedures for the provision of the GH services subject to the hazards identified;

(ii)assessing the competence and continued competence of its personnel to perform their duties and implementing any necessary training, conducting adequate recurrent assessment and retraining of GH personnel and ensuring the availability of sufficient personnel for GH duties;

(iii)equipping the GSE with proximity sensors or applying equivalent controls through procedures to prevent aircraft damage.

METHODOLOGY The methodology established by the competent authority for evaluating the safety risk management of an organisation is a set of processes, procedures, guidelines and tools applied consistently by a competent authority to discharge its oversight responsibilities in the aviation domains within the scope of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139. It should be understood that regardless of the methodology applied by one competent authority, the outcome of the evaluation process is expected to be the same for all competent authorities and measured against the applicable requirements.

INDUSTRY AUDITS

(a)As part of data and information collected to support the competent authority’s oversight and to develop the basis for risk-based oversight, the authority may take into account the results of industry audits on the GH organisation conducted by third-party auditors.

(b)The competent authority may credit such industry audits if they meet the following criteria:

(1)the scope of the industry audits can easily be mapped against Annex I (Part-ORGH) and Annex II (Part-GH.OPS) to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20, as applicable;

(2)the audit content is fit for purpose, is objective, the audit process is systematic and the auditors have no conflict of interest with the audited organisation and are properly trained;

(3)audit results are accessible to the competent authority, and the relevant safety information from those results can be shared with the competent authorities responsible for the oversight of the GH organisation, in accordance with Article 62(9) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139;

(4)the competent authority has access to the third-party industry auditor to determine continued compliance with the applicable requirements.

(c)It should be understood that the third-party industry audits do not replace the oversight activities of the competent authority. The competent authority remains responsible for oversight at all times.

(d)Conformity of a GH organisation with industry standards or good practices proven through a third-party industry audit does not result in automatic recognition of compliance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20.

INDUSTRY AUDITS IN THE SCOPE OF OVERSIGHT Various organisations may perform an audit on a GH organisation to verify how it implements different procedures as part of its contractual obligations. The competent authority could decide to use, as relevant, the results from those audits for the purpose of oversight or to better define a GH organisation’s safety profile as a basis for risk-based oversight, alongside safety occurrence reports. Below is a non-exhaustive list of possible industry auditing organisations:

(a)an aerodrome operator, to verify that the GH organisation implements the aerodrome procedures or programmes applicable to it under Regulation (EU) No 139/2014, such as, for example, the foreign object debris (FOD) programme, operation in adverse weather conditions, pedestrian access or driving in airside areas;

(b)an aircraft operator, to verify that the GH organisation implements the aircraft operator’s procedures applicable to it as per Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 and Annex VII to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139;

(c)a third-party industry auditing organisation performing the audit on behalf of an aircraft operator or an aerodrome operator.