SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

What Is Risk Assessment?

In November 2006, ICAO mandated that all member states implement formal aviation safety management systems (SMS). One objective was to provide aviation service providers with a standardized approach to managing safety.

During the aviation SMS implementation, operators must create and maintain a formal process of risk analysis and risk assessment in order to keep safety performance at an acceptable level of safety (ALoS).

Safety Management Systems Not Just for Large Operators

When we think of safety management systems (SMS), it’s easy to think of big operations such as major airlines and large international airports.

General aviation pilots and smaller aviation service providers need their own safety management systems as well,

Aviation Risk Management Skills Always Need Refining

Pilots have to be committed to safety.

At the end of the day, safety is the most important thing in aviation.

Manage Safety Is Managing Risk

Ultimately, managing safety is about managing risk – a core value that can easily be overshadowed in large aviation safety management systems' (SMS) implementations.

In many ways, smaller organizations have a natural benefit for managing risk simply because:

• The scale is smaller;
• There are fewer variables to account for;
• Regulatory scrutiny is not as severe; and
• There is a tighter-knit community, therefore influencing safety cultures becomes easier.

What Is Reactive Risk Management

Reactive risk management usually gets a bad rap. It’s often perceived as the “lowest” form of risk management, and those aviation service providers should be moving from reactive risk management towards more “advanced” forms to manage risk.

What Is Task Delegation in Aviation Risk Management

Proper task delegation in aviation safety management systems (SMS) is critical for the efficiency and success of aviation risk management processes. An SMS implementation revolves around:

• Designing risk management processes;
• Implementing processes;
• Monitoring processes; and
• Reacting to exceptions discovered during system monitoring processes.

Common Questions About Aviation LOSA Programs

As a professional that regularly deals with Line Operations Safety Audits (LOSA), there are two questions that I frequently hear;

1. Why should my airline adopt a safety program that is not mandated by our regulating authority?
2. We already do line audits, wouldn’t LOSA be redundant and a waste of our money and resources?

They are good questions. And here are my responses...

Safety Professionals Need to Understand Risk Control Strategies

Aviation safety managers must monitor risk controls for effectiveness as they are associated with many hazards encountered in daily operations. There is an expectation of regulatory agencies that aviation service providers' implemented safety management systems (SMS) will:

What Is Improvement for Your Aviation SMS Implementation?

Improving your aviation safety management system's (SMS) effectiveness doesn’t always have to be a long-term effort. Just as with any complex initiative, there will always be low-hanging fruit in your SMS implementation that can add considerable value without requiring extravagant expenses or investments in time.

Aviation SMS Are Not Required by All Operators

In November 2006, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICA0) mandated the implementation of formal aviation safety management systems (SMS) for most commercial aviation service providers. Besides the usual suspects of large airlines and airports, the list of required operators includes

• flight schools,
• aircraft designers,
• aircraft parts manufacturers, and