The Joint Inspection Group (JIG) – representing the global aviation fuel industry
The Vision of JIG is to be the leading internationally recognised forum where experts in all aspects of the aviation fuel supply industry can come together to establish and enhance standards for the safe handling and quality control of aviation fuels globally, and that those standards are recognised and endorsed by all parties with a stake in the industry.
Since the early 1970s, at the larger airports around the world, the aviation fuel supply companies have shared the use of the fuel storage tanks and fuelling systems in order to prevent unnecessary and expensive duplication and to save space, which is often at a premium. Driven by this trend, the oil companies formed the Joint Inspection Group to develop a set of standards which govern the operation of the shared fuel storage and handling facilities at the world’s major airports where the JIG companies operate.
The Standards which JIG maintains are:
• JIG 1 – Aviation Fuel Quality Control and Operating Standards for Into-Plane Fuelling Services
• JIG 2- Aviation Fuel Quality Control and Operating Standards for Airport Depots.
• JIG 3 – Aviation Fuel Quality Control and Operating Standards for Supply & Distribution Facilities.
• JIG 4 – Aviation Fuel Quality Control and Operating Standards for Smaller Airports.
The latest edition of JIG 1, 2 and 3 is Issue 11 which was published in January 2012.
JIG has also developed an inspection system whereby each facility is audited annually by a highly trained inspector. These inspections provide assurance that the facilities are operated in accordance with the JIG Standards and that fuel quality checks, equipment inspections and maintenance is carried out in line with the Standards, and that any remedial actions are quickly followed up and closed out.
The membership of JIG has expanded and contracted over the last 30 years as new companies have entered the aviation fuel supply market and established companies have merged, but the underlying commitment to the highest possible standards and excellent operations has remained at the heart of JIG.
The primary purpose of JIG is to ensure that the standards for aviation fuel handling and quality control and aircraft refuelling operations ensure safe and reliable operations, are continuously updated taking into account developments in technology and lessons learned, and that they are rigorously followed at JIG operations around the world.
Recent years have seen the traditional oil majors withdraw from some countries to focus their resources elsewhere, and this has provided opportunities for other companies to enter the aviation fuel supply industry. A number of these companies have become Associate Members of JIG, providing them with the opportunity to interact with other industry experts on product quality and safety issues.
Currently the JIG standards are applied at about 180 of the world’s major airports where there are shared fuel storage and handling facilities, including Heathrow, Frankfurt, Paris, Sydney, Singapore, Johannesburg, Amsterdam, Istanbul, Dubai, and Hong Kong. JIG Standards are also applied at many of the member companies own operations, typically the smaller regional airports where the facilities are not shared, and used as a reference by many other airport operators. As a result some 2500 locations around the world work to the JIG Standards with the result that approximately 40% of the world’s aviation fuel is supplied through facilities operating to the JIG.
As such the JIG Standards have effectively become the global de facto Standard for aviation fuel quality control and safe refuelling operations.
Over the past 40 years JIG has proved itself to be a dynamic and successful organisation, responsive to the demands of the industry. The JIG Standards are the global benchmark, and the people who contribute their time and expertise are the best in the industry.
For information about the current JIG Organisation and Structure click here.
