Enhancing Aviation Safety: Expert Insights, Tips, and Updates from SMS-Pro

Safety Assurance Monitoring Activities - Third ICAO SMS Pillar

Most safety managers immediately recognize ICAO's four pillars:

• Safety Policy;
• Risk Management;
• Safety Assurance; and

Why Knowing Who Is Reporting Hazards Is Important

Hazard identification and subsequent hazard mitigation strategies are critical for successful, continued operations. Monitoring which groups of employees are reporting safety issues in your aviation safety management system (SMS) allows management to stay abreast of who is involved in the SMS.

Alternatively, knowing which employees are neglecting to report hazards is also useful information to safety professionals. This would indicate that safety promotion efforts or SMS training efforts need to be reinforced.

Using Trending Charts in Aviation SMS

There are several times each year when managers are interested in trending charts coming from their aviation safety management systems (SMS). These times include during:

• Safety performance monitoring; and
• Determination of continuous improvement progress.

Trending is perhaps among the most difficult tasks for safety managers when they don't have automated tools and databases to capture hazard reports and classify these reported issues.

Safety Reporting Remains Core to Aviation SMS

Participants of healthy aviation safety management systems (SMS) enjoy trusting relationships between management and staff. The goal for organizational success without sacrificing safety and employee welfare is actively promoted and accepted by all.

Effective Use of Power in Aviation SMS

Aviation safety managers around the world are charged with implementing required aviation safety management systems (SMS). SMS implementations affect entire organizations and not simply a single department, such as:

• Flight ops;
• Ground ops; or
• Maintenance.

Why Review Safety Risk Management Procedures?

Aviation safety managers come and go. At the most volatile organizations, we see safety managers change every six months to a year.

The reasons safety managers leave their positions include:

What Is Safety Performance Monitoring in Aviation SMS

Safety performance monitoring in aviation SMS is the primary way you will assess your safety program. This assessment happens in two different ways:

• Passively, such as in the case of high, system-level performance monitoring, such as trend identification; and

What Does Being an Aviation Safety Manager Mean?

Aviation safety managers are responsible for the development, operation, and continuous improvement of our world's aviation safety management systems (SMS). Safety managers facilitate the management of all safety-related issues according to ICAO's requirements following the four pillars:

Resistance to Aviation SMS

Considerable numbers of aviation managers in the United States and a few other countries groaned when ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) mandated that most aviation service providers implement formal aviation safety management systems (SMS).

Americans, by nature, are rebellious against government involvement in commercial activities.

Aviation Risk Management Cycle

Risk management has always been the core element of effective aviation safety programs. Before the advent of formal aviation safety management systems (SMS), aviation service providers managed operational risk in their everyday activities,