Aviation safety managers are tasked with managing all aspects of fully implemented aviation safety management systems (SMS). Naturally, most laypersons imagine safety managers reacting to accidents, incidents, and irregularities (issues or events) as their primary job function.
It is also probable that most managers outside the safety department
Topics: 2-Safety Risk Management
One of the first steps in implementing an aviation safety management system (SMS) is to complete the documentation elements in the Safety Policy and Objectives component of an ICAO compliant SMS.
Please note that I said "one of the first steps." Before tackling these documentation elements, we recommend that you first:
Topics: 1-Safety Policy
Have you been tasked to implement your aviation safety management program (SMS) at your company?
Or perhaps you have inherited a "paper SMS" or one that is dysfunctional?
One of the most common challenges safety managers face is to secure buy-in from all employees to support the SMS both during
Topics: Aviation SMS Implementation
Fact: In most countries, aviation service providers must implement formal aviation safety management systems (SMS).
Fact: Most aviation safety managers tasked to implement SMS programs have primary duties outside the safety program. Their day jobs may be as pilots, airfield maintenance engineers, etc.
Fact: Most safety managers are lower in the organizational chart than department heads accustomed to doing business "the way we've always done it."
Topics: Aviation SMS Implementation
Safety managers are commonly the invisible authors to many safety policies showcased at aviation service providers worldwide. After all, safety managers are the "supposed" subject-matter experts and the accountable executive is busy doing "accountable executive stuff."
When you are assigned to manage an aviation safety management system (SMS), one of the first tasks is to either create or review the aviation safety policy.
Where do you begin?
Topics: 1-Safety Policy
Timely reporting of hazards, incidents, or accidents is seen as an essential activity of aviation safety and risk management. I can safely say that without reported hazards or safety issues, there will be:
Topics: Risk Management Software
When I was in school, both high school and college, English composition professors would frequently remark on my ability to use very few words to say a lot.
I always took this to be a compliment, but there is a severe limitation to my writing style. From my point of view, why use ten words when one will suffice?
Topics: 3-Safety Assurance
I am guessing that every accountable executive you speak to will honestly profess to support their aviation safety management system (SMS). After all, the alternative would be that top management only cares about making money and not doing everything reasonably practical to improve safety.
Signs that top management doesn't support their SMS include:
Topics: 4-Safety Promotion
Historically, aviation safety management strategies relied predominantly upon reactive risk management principles. For example, a critical part would break or an accident occurred, and managers would then attempt to determine the root cause and fix the issue.
In a perfect world, aviation service providers will lean toward a more modern proactive, organizational-based methodology to avert serious accidents before they occur. By looking at Boeing stats, commercial traffic is very safe, with greater than 99.999% accident-free rate.
Topics: 2-Safety Risk Management
Most safety managers immediately recognize ICAO's four pillars:
Topics: Aviation SMS Implementation
These two on-demand videos offer:
