History of the BARS Program

Many companies and organizations from the mining, resource, energy, government and humanitarian sectors have the need to fly their people and equipment to remote places or to execute aerial work such as surveys for exploration or mine and powerline checks.

External aircraft, helicopter, and drone operators are regularly hired to perform these missions on a contractual basis. These missions often need to be executed spontaneously and sometimes operate in the most challenging environments into airfields or airstrips with little infrastructure.

Before inception of the Basic Aviation Risk Standard (BARS) Program, the lack of a unified aviation safety standard among mining and resource companies led to a fragmented approach to managing the risks associated with such flying. The result was a significant burden on Aircraft Operators due to multiple audits and no efficient way to share safety information across the industry.

In 2010, industry leaders BHP and Rio Tinto identified both the need and the benefits of standardizing aviation safety protocols. They approached the Flight Safety Foundation, known for its independence and impartiality, to develop a global safety assessment and audit protocol. This collaboration resulted in the creation of the BARS Program.

Accident and incident number have since dropped significantly among BARS Operators, leaving people, equipment and investment of all parties involved better protected.