OSAC, a subsidiary of the Apave group, renewed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for a third term

This decision by the DGAC, translated into a ministerial order published in the Journal Officiel on 3rd August 2022, follows a call for tenders launched more than a year ago. For Apave, this renewal is a mark of confidence and recognition a mark of confidence and recognition of the work accomplished by the OSAC teams over the last 12 years, in the service of users and in favour of the safety of all.

During the recent crises that have impacted the aeronautical industry, OSAC has also been able to reinvent itself and accompany users in a context as particular as the pandemic linked to Covid: extension of OSAC's missions to the complementary French and foreign military fields to challenge its organisation, agility in the management of personnel skills, maintenance of the modularity of the information system, reinforcement of internal communication to accompany the changes.

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The DGCA Call for Tender response dossier includes a number of ambitious provisions, such as :

• Introduction of Risk Based Oversight (RBO) for production (Part-21G) and maintenance (Part-145) organisations, defined by EASA as "a way of exercising oversight where the programming of oversight taking into account the risk profile of the operator and its implementation focuses, beyond regulatory compliance oversight, on the management of operational risks".
• Application of the new regulation (Part-IS) on the implementation of an Information Security Management System aiming at contributing effectively to the protection of the aviation system against cyber attacks and their consequences by introducing provisions for the management of information security risks for production, maintenance (145) and continuing airworthiness management organisations (CAMO), which will be subject to oversight by OSAC.
• Evolution of the surveillance modalities to take into account the technological novelties of aircraft and their equipment (electric aircraft, alternative fuels, giant airship for freight transport, etc.) and the lightening of production requirements in the field of light aviation introduced by Part-21Light.

"The Apave group and all OSAC employees are honoured by the confidence that the DGAC has just renewed in them. We will do our utmost to meet the expectations expressed
We will do our utmost to meet the expectations expressed and demonstrate our desire to support the players in their safety and risk management challenges, by meeting the current ambitions of the aviation sector, while imagining together innovative and sustainable solutions. Philippe MAILLARD, Managing Director of the Apave Group.

Within the framework of this new mandate, materializing the renewed confidence of the DGAC, OSAC is committed, in a complicated economic context for the aeronautical sector, to continue to innovate and to adapt in order to maintain a high level of service quality, to optimize its operating methods and to progress towards risk control.

About Apave

Apave is an international group with over 150 years of experience in France and abroad and 18 testing centres. Apave has an international presence in over 45 countries. Nearly 500,000 customers in France and abroad already place their trust in Apave. www.apave.com

About OSAC

OSAC (Organisme pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile), a subsidiary of the Apave group, is authorised by ministerial decree to carry out technical inspections in civil aviation. As part of the Authority, OSAC issues, monitors, suspends or withdraws approvals of production, maintenance, continuing airworthiness management and maintenance training organisations, aircraft airworthiness documents and aircraft mechanics' licences. With the agreement of the DGCA, OSAC provides paid inspection and support services to civil and military authorities and certification services to private companies in accordance with ISO 9001, EN 9100 and EN 9120 standards. www.osac.aero

OSAC (Organisme pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile), a subsidiary of the Apave Group, is authorised by ministerial decree to carry out technical inspections in civil aviation. As part of the Authority, OSAC issues, monitors, suspends or withdraws approvals of production, maintenance, continuing airworthiness management and maintenance training organisations, aircraft airworthiness documents and aircraft mechanics' licences.

The purpose of airworthiness oversight is to ensure that aircraft are technically fit to fly safely for property and people on board and on the ground.
This oversight essentially consists of audits and controls to ensure that the various actors in civil aviation apply the European regulations on airworthiness monitoring issued by EASA, the European Civil Aviation Safety Agency.

Since 2010, OSAC has been providing this oversight in France as part of the Authority, and carries out missions outside Europe for EASA as a subcontractor of the DGCA.

Profile of OSAC :

• OSAC is a simplified joint stock company (SAS), whose majority shareholder is the Apave Group
• OSAC is managed by a Chairman assisted by a strategic committee composed of representatives of the shareholder and the aeronautical industry
• 2021 SALES: €24M
• Workforce: 174 people
• The head office is located in Issy-les-Moulineaux (92)
• OSAC started its activity in 2010

Main figures of the surveillance carried out by OSAC in 2021 :

• 220 Production organisations including 11 subcontracted by DSAC on behalf of EASA
• 700 maintenance organisations of which 118 are subcontracted by CASD on behalf of EASA
• 160 airworthiness management organisations (CAMO)
• 100 Combined Organisations (CAO)
• 90 training organisations of which 50 are subcontracted by CASD on behalf of EASA
• 12,800 French aircraft maintenance licences
• 14,000 aircraft registered in France
• 6,270 audits performed per year