SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

Knowing Who Is Involved in Your Aviation SMS

Top management requires that all personnel must participate in the safety management system (SMS) program. Wishes and reality are two different ideas and the reality is that most employees don't care about the company's safety program.

Management needs tools to offer assurance that "employees are actually involved in their SMS program."

Are Aviation SMS Software Programs Necessary?

Most aviation companies are profit driven. Aviation service providers attempt to provide safe services while providing a return on investment.

Many upper-level managers at smaller companies believe that safety managers don't need modern aviation safety management databases to manage ICAO SMS requirements. They may be right.

Not having an SMS database to document all SMS activities presents a problem for safety managers. Safety managers are results driven professionals and must determine how to convince upper-level managers that professionally designed software packages save time and help in protecting assets.

But do you really need professionally designed SMS database software to meet requirements?

Spreadsheet-Based SMS or Software-Based SMS

Running a spreadsheet-based SMS or upgrading to a software-based SMS is a decision that companies are increasingly having to make a choice upon. A majority of aviation safety management systems are spreadsheet based. If you are a safety manager, your SMS is probably based on spreadsheets.

Why Department Head Charts are Particularly Important

Traditionally, department heads are the individuals responsible for managing corrective and preventive actions associated with reported issues.

Managing an issue involves making sure that corrective-preventative actions (CPAs) are implemented appropriately. Now, let’s not get hung up on the word “department head” - it can act as a placeholder for the role in your organization that manages issues.

What are Safety Benefits of SMS Software

The safety benefits of SMS software are probably the primary reason a company initially decides to adopt software.

The rational here is that the aid of technology can greatly improve the ability of all employees to practice safety operations, for many reasons.

Cloud-based SMS Programs May Make Sound Business Sense

Have you been considering the risks of moving your aviation safety management system (SMS) up to the cloud? In the past ten years, many aviation service providers have been moving their SMS program to the cloud for various reasons, but most make sound economic and business sense.

In this article, you will:

• Learn benefits of moving your SMS to the cloud; and
• See most common questions to ask when considering an SMS cloud provider.

How to Submit Hazard Reports with Custom forms

SMS Pro offers 12 pre-configured hazard reporting forms to fit most/all the data acquisition needs of aviation SMS programs.

These reporting forms are mobile responsive, which means that they look good on any sized screen, whether it’s an iPhone or a large desktop screen. These safety hazard reporting forms are:

Oversight Agencies Need Support Risk Management Software

Something we hear about all time is the general lack of support from oversight agencies regarding risk management software. Not that agencies like the FAA, Transport Canada, or EASA are against software by any means, but during audits and inspections they are often unwilling to explore the SMS program via the software. They still adhere to the old way of doing things:

FAA’s SRM Risk Assessment Element

The FAA’s SRM Risk Assessment element is the 4^th component in the Safety Risk Management Process. This process is outlined in the Advisory Circular and is based on the 4 Pillars of SMS.

The FAA's SRM Risk Assessment will naturally result from the SRM Risk Analysis component. Once a thorough risk analysis has been performed, responsible managers should have a good idea of the chances of a risk occurring, as well as potential damages/injuries.

SMS Trend Developing Aimed at Smaller Operations

Some countries (Australia and soon Canada) now require even the smaller aviation service providers to participate in safety management system (SMS) activities. This creates multiple challenges for these non-complex operators.

For starters, there is high resistance to change in the cultures of these non-complex operations, most of which never experienced severe losses, such as fatalities or complete loss of aircraft. By their very nature, when a smaller operation suffers a severe accident or incident, it typically obliterates the service provider's business.

Very small aviation service providers need basic, simple to use SMS tools and most of today's popular aviation SMS database solutions have become too complex and feature-rich for these smaller operations.