SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

Aviation Risk Management Requires a Safety Mindset

Aviation risk management is a vital part of being a well-rounded pilot. The safety mindset works best every time flying.

Although all components are important, perhaps the most vital of them all is understanding the importance of "aviation risk management."

The textbook definition of risk management is a decision-making process that relies on

• situational awareness,
• problem recognition, and
• good judgment

Elements of Healthy Safety Cultures in Aviation

Aviation is known as a safe industry; we have statistics showing that it’s safer to fly than it is to drive a car.But what makes it so safe? Should industry really be focused so heavily on safety management systems (SMS) when we enjoy such high levels of safety?

Elevated levels of aviation safety performance certainly didn’t happen by chance, but by careful planning and creation of a culture of safety. There are certain elements that aviation service providers consider to attribute to safe operations. These elements make up a healthy safety culture.

Three Ways to Encourage Participation in Your Aviation SMS

Many aviation service providers struggle with overcoming the difficulty of increasing participation and buy-in for their aviation safety management system (SMS). However, increasing participation in the SMS doesn’t have to be difficult. After all, it is not rocket science.

Employees in your organization will be much more likely to participate if you design your SMS to be:

• Inclusive – make sure all employees understand their role in the SMS;

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, albeit not as complex as those maintained by larger operators.

Below I’ve outlined a few safety habits I’ve learned as a general aviation pilot.

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.

Whenever aviation service providers take risks with safety, they are possibly risking their own life and the lives of others.

An aviation professional who is successful in risk management is a person who is:

The Money Hungry Industry of Aviation

From what I have gathered over the years, every company seems to operate in the same way, money before safety.

Companies will think to themselves “How can I make money while still being safe?”

The problem with this mindset is that the word money comes first. If it were switched to say “How can I be the safest while still making money?” there wouldn’t be much of a problem.

Today’s safety culture in aviation depends on whether money is going to be made, which is quite sad.

Procedures at Heart of Aviation Safety Management

I currently just finished my freshman year at San Diego Christian College (SDCC) enrolled as an aviation major seeking a career in commercial aviation. SDCC employs a third party who they rent aircraft and employ instructors from.

If I have learned one thing from my first year of training, it is that policies and procedures are everything, that is, they are more important than most people readily consider during everyday flight operations.

Safety Culture More than Policies and Procedures

In some places within the aviation industry, people believe that “safety culture” looks like a lot of rules and regulations. It looks like “the man” or a bunch of nerdy pencil pushers.

I don’t believe that’s what our safety culture does or should look like. I believe safety cultures in the aviation industry can look like so much more.

• It should look more like a community.
• It should look like a team.
• It should look like a family.

Aviation Is Risky Business

Aviation, like any business, has elements of risk.

Whether it is a safety issue or a cost issue, the risk is very much a part of the aviation industry past, present, and future.

I believe it takes a certain kind of person to be successful in aviation risk management.

Yet what does success look like for an aviation safety professional?

How Money Can Affect the Way We Think about Safety

I find myself being an unsafe pilot all of the time, and so do many other pilots. Not in the sense of breaking safety regulations, such as flight and duty times, but by pushing personal limits.

Sometimes we pilots slander the IMSAFE checklist and push it to the side when preparing for a flight knowing:

• we did not sleep well the night before,
• have not eaten very nutritiously lately, and
• have been in class far too long to be in a plane for multiple hours.