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 Be Compliant With ICAO Hazard Identification

Posted by Stu Martin on Oct 22, 2018 5:40:00 AM

What Are ICAO Hazard Identification Compliance Requirements

ICAO’s hazard identification compliance requirements are twofold:

  • (2.1.1) Develop formal process for hazard identification; and
  • (2.1.2) Use reactive, proactive, and predictive to identify hazards.

Being compliant with these requirements involves, like anything else in SMS, doing and documenting. You need to document your process and how you use various risk management techniques for hazard identification, and you need to follow through.

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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance

Checklist to Quantify Resistance to Your Aviation SMS

Posted by Stu Martin on Oct 17, 2018 4:45:00 AM

How to Quantify Resistance to Your SMS Using This Article

Grab a spare pen and paper so you can write down some notes. What we are looking for is a total score. It works like this:

  • Score is on a scale from 0 to 25
  • Lower number is better, indicating less resistance
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Topics: Safety Culture

How to Evaluate and Justify a Risk Control in Aviation SMS

Posted by Stu Martin on Oct 15, 2018 5:23:00 AM

Why Evaluate and Justify Risk Controls in Aviation SMS

If there is one thing all aviation compliance authority guidelines (including ICAO) agree upon, it’s that your aviation safety mitigation controls need to be thoroughly analyzed BEFORE you implement them.

Safety mitigation controls are the bedrock of your risk mitigation strategy.

Safety mitigation controls are also commonly called:

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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance

Confidentiality in Aviation Safety Management

Posted by Stu Martin on Oct 11, 2018 4:09:00 AM

What Is Confidentiality in Aviation SMS

Confidentiality in aviation SMS refers to how much personal information should be made available to your organization. By personal information, we are mainly talking about personal information in safety reports, such as people involved or the name of the reporter.

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Topics: Safety Culture

How to Be Compliant With ICAO Safety Risk Assessment and Mitigation

Posted by Stu Martin on Oct 10, 2018 5:15:00 AM

What Is ICAO’s Requirement for Risk Assessment and Mitigation

Element 2.2 of ICAO’s requirements is for you to develop and maintain a process to:

  • Analyze risk;
  • Assess risk; and
  • Control risk.
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Topics: 2-Safety Risk Management

How to Be Compliant With ICAO Safety Performance Monitoring and Measurement

Posted by Stu Martin on Oct 8, 2018 4:59:00 AM

What Is Safety Performance Monitoring and Measurement

Safety performance monitoring and measurement is an extremely important part of Safety Assurance. It’s how you verify the safety performance of your organization.

By safety performance, we are talking about:

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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance

How to Promote Your Aviation SMS Safety Policy

Posted by Stu Martin on Oct 1, 2018 5:22:00 AM

What Is Aviation Safety Policy

An aviation safety policy is a document in safety management systems that outlines the core, important safety information that underlies your SMS.

This required document should outline your organization’s;

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Topics: 1-Safety Policy

Why Employees Don't Care About Your Aviation SMS - and How to Fix it!

Posted by Stu Martin on Sep 30, 2018 10:00:00 AM

Apathy: The SMS Killer

Apathy is the bane of any aviation safety management system (SMS).

Apathy is the most insidious kind of resistance any aviation safety manager will face. It can take many forms, such as:

  • Lack of budget approval
  • Lack of participation
Read More

Topics: 4-Safety Promotion

How to Overcome Iceberg of Ignorance in Aviation SMS

Posted by Stu Martin on Sep 26, 2018 5:06:00 AM

What Is the Iceberg of Ignorance

The Iceberg of Ignorance was first developed in 1989 by a consultant named Sidney Yoshida. The Iceberg of Ignorance is a model that addressed concerns about safety awareness in large organizations. This model contends that of all problems:

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Topics: Safety Culture

How to Organize Data for Good Data Analysis in Aviation SMS [Best Practices]

Posted by Stu Martin on Sep 24, 2018 5:57:00 AM

Organize Data for Good Data Analysis

Effective data organization is the cornerstone of robust aviation Safety Management System (SMS) data analysis, enabling airlines, airports, MROs, and flight schools to ensure compliance with FAA Part 5 and ICAO Annex 19 while identifying risks.

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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance

Site content provided by Northwest Data Solutions is meant for informational purposes only. Opinions presented here are not provided by any civil aviation authority or standards body.

 

 

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