IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO)

About the Program

The ISAGO program started in 2008 in response to an industry request to address the safety risks and incident costs of ground operations. Therefore the primary objective of ISAGO is to improve the safety of ground operations through the oversight of the implementation of management system within a GHSP and driving adoption of standardized operational procedures. ISAGO is also a cost-effective alternative to the audits conducted by airlines, airports, and regulators of ground operations, reducing duplication and cost of oversight.

Compliance with highest ground handling standards

ISAGO is an accreditation  scheme, validating that GHSPs comply with industry ground operations standards such as IGOM and AHM. ISAGO also provides independent assessment of compliance with  ICAO Annex 19 Safety Management System.

How it works

An ISAGO registration is based on the audit of the GHSP as an organization, at its corporate headquarters. It covers the management systems that control the ground operations. A least one Station Accreditation is required, achieved by the audit of the ground operations implemented at the station.

An ISAGO Registration or a Station Accreditation is granted when all findings are closed. It is valid for a period of 24 months. Full details are in the  ISAGO Program manual - GOPM Ed4 (pdf)

The ISAGO audits are performed against standards and recommended practices (GOSARPs) published in the ISAGO Standards Manual. 

Interested in gaining ISAGO registration/Station accreditation?

• If you are a Ground Handling Service Provider, please submit an application for an initial Headquarters Audit and initial Station Audit for Station Accreditation. 
• If you are already an ISAGO-registered GHSP or accredited Station, you do not need to apply for a renewal audit. You will be automatically included in the annual audit allocation. 

For further details contact isago@iata.org

ISAGO Registry

The ISAGO Registry lists companies which have undergone an ISAGO audit and complied with the ISAGO program and standards requirements.

• There are 220+ ISAGO registered GHSPs globally
• There are 330+ ISAGO-accredited stations at 200+ airports worldwide

Access to the ISAGO Registry (500+ audit reports) is restricted to ISAGO member airlines. For more information contact isago@iata.org

If you are ISAGO GHSP and your customer airline is on the list of ISAGO member airlines, please contact them directly to find out how to reduce the cost/time of the oversight activities.

ISAGO for Airports/Regulators

Are you an Airport or Regulator interested in the benefits from ISAGO?

Airport ramp is a challenging work place. Any incident impacts not only operations, causing delays and  costs, but ramp incidents can also impact the safety of people, airplanes, airport’s equipment and facilities.

What can ISAGO offer you?

 

• Complementary data about GHSP performance/compliance and benchmark opportunities
• Compliance with ICAO Doc 10121 Manual on Ground Handling and ICAO Annex 19
• Reduction of scope/frequency/ cost of  your own oversight activities
• AMC (An Acceptable Means of Compliance) to your regulatory/airport  requirements
• Harmonization everyone operates according to the same standard (some variations may apply)
• Strengthening the licensing scheme for GHSPs at the airports

Contact us at isago@iata.org to sign Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC).

Standards management change

Description of change

• ISAGO checklists will be mirroring AHM/IGOM/ICHM requirements and ISAGO will be assessing conformity with industry standards as published in various industry manuals.

Benefits

• Greater drive for standardization – airlines and GHSPs to operate according to the same standards.
• Industry benchmark is clearly established (no more ambiguity on “provider shall have process.” but the process could have been different from one GHSP to another)
• More potential for airlines’ audit reduction (ISAGO report will provide evidence that e.g., IGOM, AHM 1100 were implemented by the GHSPs, and airlines can remove those elements from their own oversight, focusing on monitoring their variations, if any)
• AHM, IGOM can be recognized as acceptable means of compliance to regulatory requirements and evidence of their adoption will be available via ISAGO report sharing and OPS Portal
• Further step to safe and sustainable operations via the GSE fleet declaration

Today	Future	Timeline
GOSM Ed.10 contains many generic standards: provider shall have process, program procedure. AHM and IGOM are listed in the Guidance Material (GM) as an acceptable means of conformity / one way to conform to the GOSARP not necessarily the only way. Ongoing alignment between IGOM, AHM and GOSM needed to be maintained but was not always accurate. Scope: ORM, PAB, LOD, HDL, AGM, CGM	ISAGO standards will be the industry requirements as published in AHM, IGOM, ICHM The ISAGO checklist will mirror the industry requirements. Checklist / standards transformation: ORM - AHM 600 & AHM 1100 &    AHM 900 & GSE fleet, declaration PAX – IGOM 1 BAG – IGOM 2 RMP – IGOM 3 & 4 LOD – IGOM 5 CGM – ICHM High level checklist available in the AHM and IGOM toolkit Detailed checklist - available in audit software	2023  Completed: PAX – IGOM 1 BAG – IGOM 2 RMP – IGOM 3 & 4 LOD – IGOM 5 In progress (to be completed in phases): ORM (reduced checklist without training) and AHM 1100 checklist to be published in 2023. 2024 Planned to be finalized and published: AHM 600 & AHM 1100 & AHM 900 checklist & GSE fleet declaration (to replace ORM) ICHM checklist (to replace CGM)

 

Audit assessment method change

Description of change

• Documentation assessment will be done remotely via Operational (OPS) Portal.
• GHSP will be requested to submit a gap analysis with the industry benchmark - including potential variations primarily driven by airport/country specifics. 
• GHSP will be able to submit one gap analysis and share it within their station network - including the possibility to modify it locally where needed. 
• The gap analysis will be remotely validated by the auditors. 
• The GHSP will be able to modify the gap analysis anytime the industry requirements change or when the GHSP’s documentation changes. 

Benefits

• Continued assessment and alignment with industry benchmark.
• Capability to share results of gap analysis and variations within GHSP’s network and/or with customer airlines.
• >Increased GHSP unbiased readiness for the ISAGO audit  
• Reduced audit time spent on documentation assessment (sampling only)
• Reduced audit time on-site.

Today	Future	Timeline
ISAGO checklists require an assessment of documentation and implementation to reach conformity with GOSARPs. ISAGO measures alignment of MHQ processes with stations ORM assessment is done during MHQ audit to cover organization and management processes for the entire network. A documentation assessment for all applicable operational disciplines is also part of the MHQ audit. Implementation assessments happen during STN audit for all audit disciplines including an assessment of local variations. CTN audit requires combined documentation/implementation assessment.  Assessments are recorded in the audit software.	GHSP will be required to adopt AHM, IGOM, ICHM industry requirements.  Prior to each audit, the GHSP will be required to submit or update a gap analysis with industry standards using an online tool (OPS Portal) Gap analysis can be done by MHQ or each STN – decision of each GHSP. Gap analysis can be modified or cloned to save time / manpower. Gap analysis will require recording a GHSP’s documentary references. Gap analysis’ accuracy will be validated remotely by the auditors (sampling method will apply) Completed and validated gap analysis will be equivalent to the documentation assessment.  The revamped ISAGO checklist will be used in the audit software for an implementation assessment.	2023  Completed: Phase 0: IGOM gap analysis via OPS Portal is possible and available.  Planned: Launch of GSE fleet declaration trials as part of the future ISAGO audit scope (outside OPS Portal) 2024 Planned: Phase 1: ORM and CGM gap analysis to be available through OPS Portal added next to the existing IGOM. Phase 2: AHM 600, 1100, 900, GSE fleet declaration to be available through OPS Portal  2025 Planned: Phase 3: CGM gap analysis to be replaced by ICHM gap analysis capability on the OPS Portal

 

Registry management change

Description of change

• Basic information about GHSP services, contact details, ISAGO accreditation scope and validity will be publicly available on One Source. 
• GHSP will get additional recognition for GSE fleet declaration (focus on enhanced and sustainable GSE)
• GHSP will control their report / certificate sharing, approving/declining requests for sharing.
• Various GHSPs / airports / airlines certifications and accreditations will be available in one place. 

Benefits

• One place to go to for customer airline / regulator / airport when seeking information about a GHSP, their services and their recognition awards. 
• Transparent, fast, and smooth certificate / audit report sharing scheme.
• Additional data analytics to measure industry benefits. 
• Open benchmark opportunity against other GHSP’s accreditation 

Today	Future	Timeline
ISAGO Registry is private, accessible to ISAGO member airlines only and to individual GHSP. Certificates and reports are shared via e-mail.  Requests from regulators or airports to share an audit report are resolved via e-mail.	GHSPs will be required to create a profile on One Source  ISAGO accreditation details will be added to the GHSP’s profile and will be publicly available (name, services, location, accreditation validity) Access to the ISAGO certificate and link to ISAGO report through One Source will be controlled by GHSP. ISAGO member airlines will continue to have unlimited access to the ISAGO reports once they have signed the ISAGO Airline member agreement.	2023  In progress, to be completed: One Source launch (adding ISAGO details) and GHSPs’ onboarding.  2024 Planned: GHSPs’ onboarding continues until the end of 2024, ISAGO current registry will be decommissioned.

 

Audit program management simplification

Description of change

Various program enhancements are in progress or under consideration to improve the customer experience with the program’s management.

To name a few:

• Contract and payment process simplification 
• Implementation of online account management for GHSPs
• Introduction of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool to address GHSPs’ inquiries.
• Mobile audit software application
• Interactive data ISAGO audit report to be shared with GHSPs.
• GOPM revamp to better serve for its purpose.

Benefits

• Simplification of the program
• Improved customer experience 
• Better value for GHSPs 
• Clear understanding of program’s provisions

Today	Future	Timeline
Contracts and invoicing are done via e-mail. Multiple different files and tools need to be maintained and updated to manage the program. All communication with GHSPs is done via e-mail, there is no tracking system for inquiries and FAQ. Auditors make assessments on-site and once on Wi-Fi and on their laptops then they can enter the assessment into the audit software. Audit report in pdf form is shared via e-mail.	GHSP should be able to purchase an ISAGO audit through the IATA online store, using a credit card. Audit agreement would be replaced by confirming Terms and Conditions. Invoicing should go through SIS. The account management online tool should be in place as the platform for information exchange with GHSPs.  It will facilitate tracking and monitoring of inquires (CRM) as well as following the audit process flow and status. Auditors should be able to use a mobile application when doing on-site assessment. Audit data should be available to GHSPs and airlines through PowerBI analytics.	2023 -2024 All activities are in progress and under development.