The Portraits of Changemakers series focuses on visionary individuals who work at Aeromag and who, every day, demonstrate a willingness to make a difference in the world. Among them, Derek Lee, Safety Advisor within the Group.
Derek has been part of the Aeromag family for 13 years. He first joined the team as a Deicing Technician before holding several positions including Bay Lead, Operations Supervisor, Operations Manager, Head Trainer and Training and Compliance Coordinator. He is currently Safety Advisor within the Group. Derek has also worked at numerous stations including DEN, BOS, LGA, YVR, YYC, YEG and LHR.
What Derek likes the most about his job is the opportunity to travel and work in some of his favourite cities and airports.
“I’ve always loved the energy of big cities and busy environments, and Aeromag has provided me with the chance to work in amazing places while meeting great people.”
As for his responsibilities, he assists Shawn Ball, the Manager of Safety and Compliance, in developing and administering the company’s Safety and SMS program. This role allows him to contribute to ensuring a safe and efficient working environment while gaining valuable experience in the field.
Health and safety are critical components in operations and are essential to sustaining the growth and performance of Aeromag. Incidents and accidents have far-reaching costs, including delays, equipment damage, harm to the company’s reputation, and, most importantly, the health and productivity of our employees. The long-term costs of major accidents and repeated incidents always outweigh any short-term savings made by cutting corners. Healthy, happy, and safe employees are the best performers, making it in the company’s best interest to prioritize health and safety in training, procedures, and operations.
In the aviation industry, safety challenges arise from constantly changing weather, operations, and regulations, while also facing pressure to meet tight schedules and reduce costs. Weather events like snowstorms or cold snaps can disrupt operations, and long-term climate change adds complexity to planning. Each airport has its own unique conditions, requiring tailored procedures, training, and safety protocols, despite our efforts to standardize deicing programs and safety goals. The challenge lies in balancing standardization with the flexibility to address local needs. Additionally, the industry’s constant evolution, through new aircraft, technologies, and emerging risks, requires ongoing updates to policies and procedures, making it challenging to keep up with both internal and regulatory changes.
At Aeromag, our training program has always been the cornerstone of our health and safety efforts. By establishing a strong foundation focused on safety through training, we can support and enhance other initiatives like our SMS reporting system, safety campaigns, and ongoing training to maintain our long-term safety objectives. We believe that consistent safety briefings, continual training, coaching, and providing recognition and support to our staff are crucial in maintaining a constant focus on safety.
What makes Derek proud to be part of the Aeromag team is the remarkable growth, development, and maturity the company has shown over the course of his 13 years here. The aviation industry presents its own set of challenges, from ever-changing climatic, operational, and regulatory conditions to the constant pressure for performance. Despite these challenges, he takes pride in having worked alongside numerous individuals and teams across different stations to overcome these obstacles, achieve key milestones, and reach important goals, all while maintaining a steadfast focus on the safety and well-being of the employees.
Derek might use his determination and sense of collaboration to reach new heights as a team, but he isn’t the only changemaker at Aeromag. Discover the other fascinating portraits of the key players in our big family.
