“The ability to scale any operation in the drone industry begins with the size and complexity of the organization,” Olds said. In many ways, it mirrors the structure used by aviation flight departments today to maintain the strong safety record the industry has achieved. The key is applying time-tested aviation safety practices to create scalable programs for drone technology. Scalability is important because in aviation, everybody is measured on the same scale. “Scalability is driven by safety culture, and that culture includes governance, personnel training, technology, and the systems that support safe operations,” Olds concluded.