Accreditation visits rarely fail on whether a program briefs. They stumble on whether the program can show it briefed, consistently, at every base, over time. When records live in binders, whiteboards and group texts, pulling that evidence together takes days and still leaves gaps.
This guide covers what good pre-shift briefing records look like and how to keep them ready. It isn't a substitute for the current CAMTS standards or your accreditation coordinator. Always work from the latest standards your program is held to.
What a useful record contains
A briefing record is only evidence if it's specific. At minimum, each one should show:
- When: the date, the shift and a time stamp of when the brief was completed, in local time.
- Who: the pilot in command and the med crew who were briefed, by name.
- Where and what: the base, the aircraft by tail number and its status.
- The content: weather conditions and the overall call, hazards reviewed (NOTAMs, TFRs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs), the risk score and any mitigations.
- Acknowledgment: evidence that the crew received the brief, not just that it was written.
Consistency beats volume
A surveyor looking at your records is really asking two questions: does every shift get briefed, and does every brief cover the same ground? Programs answer the first with coverage, meaning shifts briefed out of shifts scheduled, base by base. They answer the second with a standard format that doesn't change from base to base or pilot to pilot.
Make it retrievable
- Searchable by date range, base, aircraft and person.
- Exportable as a readable PDF for individual briefs and a CSV for whole periods.
- Kept centrally, not on one device or one person's email.
- Tamper-evident: each record tied to the account that submitted it, with a time stamp.
Close the handoff loop
Shift-change handoffs are part of the same story. A recorded handoff (fuel, times, write-ups and open items passed from the outgoing to the oncoming crew) shows continuity between briefs. See Closing the gap at shift change.
Before the visit
- Pull shift coverage for each base over the review period and look for patterns in missed shifts.
- Spot-check briefs from different bases and shifts for completeness.
- Export the period as CSV, and a sample of briefs as PDF, so they're ready on request.
- Be ready to show how a missed or incomplete brief is followed up.
BRIEFED is built to support this: every brief is time-stamped and tied to the pilot, aircraft, base and shift, the Admin Console shows shift coverage by base, and any period exports as PDF or CSV.