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

Stu Martin

Stu Martin is an accomplished aerospace safety engineer with over 25 years of experience in the aviation industry. Beginning his career on the ramp, Stu developed a hands-on understanding of aircraft operations, maintenance, and safety protocols. His journey from ground operations to engineering has equipped him with a unique perspective on aviation safety, blending practical expertise with technical rigor. Stu has contributed to numerous safety initiatives, including the development of risk assessment frameworks and incident investigation protocols, earning recognition for his commitment to enhancing operational safety. A respected voice in the field, he continues to advocate for robust safety cultures within aviation organizations worldwide.
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Recent Posts

How to Assign Severity and Likelihood to Issues When Assessing Risk

Posted by Stu Martin on Nov 28, 2018 4:36:00 AM

What Is a Risk Assessment

A risk assessment is a method you use to rank the risk of safety issues. You will commonly perform risk assessments on reported safety issues and other identified hazards. Assessments are integral to helping you establish whether or not a given issue is within an Acceptable Level of Safety.

Risk assessments use a risk matrix to create composite number/letter grades based on:

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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance

Non-Essential but Important Roles in Aviation SMS Software

Posted by Stu Martin on Nov 23, 2018 5:17:00 AM

What Are Roles in Aviation Safety Management Systems

Aviation SMS roles are used to organize different responsibilities in your aviation safety program. Each role in your SMS will have separate responsibilities. SMS roles are assigned to each of your employees.

You should develop roles at the very beginning of starting an SMS. Roles provide significant benefits by helping you:

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Topics: Aviation SMS Implementation

How to Create Roles for Your Aviation Safety Management System

Posted by Stu Martin on Nov 22, 2018 6:35:00 AM

What Are Roles in Aviation Safety Management Systems

Roles in aviation SMS are used to categorize different responsibilities of employees in your safety program. Each role in your SMS will be responsible for different areas of your SMS, including different duties to fulfill those responsibilities. SMS roles are assigned to each of your employees.

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Topics: Aviation SMS Implementation, 1-Safety Policy

40 Questions for Your Safety Assurance Process in Aviation SMS [With Free Checklists]

Posted by Stu Martin on Nov 19, 2018 5:40:00 AM

What Is Safety Assurance Process in Aviation SMS

Safety Assurance in aviation SMS is a process that helps you ensure that your SMS is functioning as designed. Safety Assurance is most closely associated with Phase 4 of SMS implementation. Implementing Phase 4 largely involves implementing to:

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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance

Indicators of Good Hazard Reporting Culture

Posted by Stu Martin on Nov 14, 2018 4:03:00 AM

What Aviation SMS Needs for Successful Hazard Reporting

Aviation safety management systems (SMS) needs input from three levels of your organization to be successful. Without the total involvement of your company, hazard reporting will fail.

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Topics: 4-Safety Promotion, Safety Culture

Understanding SMS: A Breakdown of Aviation Safety Management Components

Posted by Stu Martin on Nov 12, 2018 5:15:00 AM

What Is a Management System

The idea of a safety management system (SMS) is something those of us in the aviation risk management industry use as if an SMS were one solid “thing.” But a safety management system is actually made up of multiple ideas, packaged into a single, functioning effort for better aviation safety.

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Topics: 1-Safety Policy, Quality-Safety Management

Important Ways to Formally Document Aviation Safety Programs

Posted by Stu Martin on Nov 7, 2018 5:22:00 AM

What Is Formally Documenting in Aviation SMS

Formally documenting your SMS means creating an “official” record of your SMS. Official records are simply aspects of your SMS that you document and save to use later, such as during review or provide to an auditor.

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Topics: 1-Safety Policy

How to Show Effectiveness of Your Aviation Safety Management System

Posted by Stu Martin on Nov 5, 2018 6:05:00 AM

Who Are You Showing Effectiveness of SMS To

Proving the effectiveness of your aviation safety management system comes in several flavors. Who are you proving the effectiveness to? You might be showing your SMS effectiveness at managing safety to:

  • Auditors;
  • Investors;
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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance, Quality-Safety Management

How Employees Should Be Participating in Your SMS

Posted by Stu Martin on Oct 29, 2018 4:39:00 AM

What Is Participation in Your SMS

Employee participation in your aviation SMS is critical to its maintainability. We do this over and over, where the SMS is being pushed by one person and when that person leaves, the program falls apart.

One of the primary goals of generating good involvement is creating a sustainable SMS.

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Topics: Safety Culture

How to Create Your Risk Matrix for Risk Assessments in Aviation SMS

Posted by Stu Martin on Oct 24, 2018 5:54:00 AM

What Is a Risk Matrix

A risk matrix is a tool you will use to assess safety concerns. The matrix allows you to rank risk and provide visual cues on safety acceptability.

Read More

Topics: Aviation SMS Implementation

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