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

Let the Bowtie in Aviation SMS Make Your Job Easier

I love the Bowtie.

It’s logical, lightweight, and delivers a ton of pertinent information that no other tools in your aviation risk management toolbox can deliver.

What Is Safety Management Training

Don’t confuse safety management training with “training for managers in a safety program.” They are not the same thing.

Safety management training is simply any safety training whose goal is to allow employees to better manage their own safety and the safety of others around them.

What Is the Bowtie Method in Aviation SMS Risk Management?

The Bowtie in aviation risk management is a fairly new and trending, but extremely effective way of approaching risk and risk management in aviation safety management systems (SMS).

What Actions You Should Take On Each Reported Safety Issue

Through the course of daily work in an aviation safety management system, you will discover safety issues – this is called “discovery.”

Why This Aviation SMS Implementation Chart Is Important

As you probably already well know, implementing aviation safety management systems (SMS) is a big deal for most aviation service providers around the world – both in terms of accounting for all of an SMS' moving parts, as well as trying to get all of the moving parts moving in the direction of progress.

Why Aviation KPIs Lagging and Leading Indicators Are Important

Lagging and leading indicators for aviation safety management systems (SMS) key performance indicators (KPIs) are often confused or misunderstood.

Even various online sources have conflicting, vague, or incomplete explanations of the difference between lagging and leading indicators.

Obviously, understanding how to select aviation SMS KPIs is extremely important, and it’s a topic that often generates much interest from all levels of the aviation safety industry.

Benefits of Showing Employees That Your SMS Is Effective

Showing employees that your SMS is effective is simply building your case for the SMS. That being said, there are several prerequisites for being able to show employees that your SMS is effective:

Aviation SMS New Employee Integration Time

The oil industry, which in terms of safety standards is rather similar to the aviation industry, provides a great example with its statistic that over 50% of all accidents are caused by employees with less than 1 year of experience in their current work environment.

Aviation Safety Leadership Is NOT Safety Management

Effective leadership is crucial in aviation safety, with key figures such as

• Accountable Executives,
• Department Heads,
• Safety Champions, and
• Safety Managers

These leaders each play an important role contributing to a safety culture where safety cannot be ignored.

Monitor SMS Performance in Real Time

Safety teams and the accountable executive are expected to regularly review the performance of their implemented aviation safety management system (SMS). A regular review of the SMS is important to ensure that any substandard safety performance is addressed in a timely fashion.