Personnel Management

Every UAS program is different. From volunteer-led organizations to large multi-jurisdictional programs, each will have its own unique needs. For a new program, the initial set of decisions about personnel will be around which roles need to be filled to ensure everything runs smoothly.

At minimum, every UAS organization will need to have an administrator that ensures data is tracked and logs are properly maintained within the tools selected for your program. The administrator role is generally responsible for compliance with FAA requirements and reporting, following reporting or other formal rules, and staying up to date with personnel tracking such as pilot currency and certification.

Pilots have their own set of obligations within a program and are responsible for tracking and reporting on their flights. As the program grows, pilots are often grouped into teams, which can have their own structure.

Many UAS programs also assign one or more resources to act as liaisons to outside stakeholders. This role is often responsible for initiating and managing communication with outside staff and can be called upon to arrange for other users to have access to streamed video on demand.

Maintenance is critical to the long-term success of a UAS program, so you will be well served to have dedicated resources responsible for ensuring that maintenance is performed and tracked. Individual pilots will still be responsible for the equipment they use but having that centralized authority in place will provide a vital check that processes are followed properly and consistently.

Depending on the size of your program, the tasks performed by each role can often be shared among personnel. As your organization grows, having dedicated roles will ensure that critical equipment is properly maintained, and mission critical data is kept up to date and ready for any stakeholders that need access.

If everybody is responsible, no one is.

Your staff will crave clear roles, responsibilities, and accountability. If the organization does not provide sufficient structure and clarity, and everybody is expected to informally share the load, things will fall through the cracks. A mature and successful program recognizes the shared responsibility among its staff and defines roles to establish accountability for specific areas of ownership.