Safety Promotion is definitely the least appreciated of the 4 Pillars of SMS.
Almost without fail, promoting safety takes the “back seat” in most aviation safety programs because civil aviation authorities and auditors are significantly more interested in seeing that you comply with:
Topics: 4-Safety Promotion
Monitoring safety performance in aviation safety management systems (SMS) is undoubtedly one of the most important tasks you will undertake in your SMS. Regulatory requirements turn monitoring the performance of the SMS from a "nice-to-have program" for reducing risk and avoiding accidents to a "must have and must demonstrate proof" to comply with SMS regulatory requirements.
Safety performance monitoring is integral for maintaining Safety Assurance and the integrity of your SMS program.
Topics: 3-Safety Assurance
It’s hard to underestimate the value that high-quality hazard reporting forms provide your aviation SMS.
Hazard reporting quite literally provides the underpinning for your risk management activities. No hazard reports...nothing for you to manage.
Hazard reporting forms provide incentive, organization, and guidance for employees when they detect irregularities in the operational environment. Having specific questions for specific types of issues makes reporting easier and faster than having vague or general questions.
Topics: 3-Safety Assurance
If you are reading this article, chances are that you either already have started implementing an aviation safety management system (SMS), or you are considering an SMS implementation.
Starting an aviation SMS implementation from ground zero may be confusing and difficult for any safety professional, much less a layperson who may be tasked to implement an aviation SMS. There so much to do, such as
Topics: Aviation SMS Implementation
Every aviation safety management system (SMS) must be implemented in a top-down fashion.
There can be no other way, regardless of how liberal you think your company is.
But what is the top-down approach, and why are safety managers failing at SMS implementations when using this "top-down" SMS implementation strategy?
After witnessing many SMS implementations over the past dozen years, we have some observations regarding what works for safety managers and what may not.
Topics: 3-Safety Assurance
The safety benefits of SMS software are not the primary reason a company initially decides to adopt the special, built-to-purpose software. If this were true, these companies would have acquired advanced SMS database solutions long before aviation safety management systems (SMS) became a regulatory requirement.
The reason aviation companies acquire SMS software is because their spreadsheets and in-house systems are inadequate manage all the expected SMS documentation requirements imposed by their regulatory authorities.
Topics: Risk Management Software
Safety culture will be the last thing to develop in your SMS.
Once you fully implement your SMS design (Phase 3 of SMS implementation), you will need to monitor your SMS to ensure it is functioning as designed. Aviation safety programs with good safety cultures usually operate as designed.
Having good safety culture helps you complete Phase 4 of SMS implementation. Broadly speaking, a good safety culture is one that is characterized by:
Topics: Safety Culture
Your Safety Policy is the canon of your aviation safety program. It outlines all of the essential information anyone in your company would want to know regarding safety. It is one of the first components of your SMS that you will develop. It will be the document that you:
Topics: 1-Safety Policy
Something we hear about all time is the general lack of support from regulatory oversight agencies during inspections and audits. This lack of support that safety managers complain about regards the usage of risk management software in audits that aviation service providers use daily to manage their required safety management systems (SMS).
I don't mean to imply that agencies like the FAA, Transport Canada, or EASA are against operators using risk management software by any means,
Topics: Risk Management Software
In early 2007, when we started designing and developing SMS Pro, I was mildly surprised that many aviation safety managers called a Web application to manage aviation safety events a "safety management system" (SMS) database.
I'm an IT guy, and when I think of a database, I"m thinking about Oracle, SQL Server, MS Access, etc.
I believe the confusion comes from pilots who are used to dealing with MS Access databases.
These two on-demand videos offer:
