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.
What Is a Management System
This article is originally inspired by a rather insightful video discussing the interplay between safety management and quality assurance.
A management system is a set of processes used to manage “findings” during operations.
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Topics:
Quality-Safety Management
Why Definition of a Hazard Matters
Accuracy is extremely important.
Much of the bureaucracy of safety management systems depend on correct and specific understanding of safety concepts. Misunderstanding definitions in SMS is synonymous with misunderstanding what a safety element is and can compromise how that safety element is:
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Topics:
3-Safety Assurance
Understanding What Aviation Safety Culture Is
“Safety culture” is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot in aviation safety management systems (SMS) as a vague reference to different aspects of safety.
Understanding the meaning of aviation safety culture is less practiced in philosophy as it is recognition of what it looks like in actual practice for:
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Topics:
4-Safety Promotion
Not So Obvious
The line between reactive and proactive safety workplaces is unfortunately not as concrete as anyone would like. If it were so obvious, many organizations would be far less reactive.
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Topics:
3-Safety Assurance
Certification vs. Qualification
Last year my wife went to the dentist to have a filling put into one of her teeth. She had severe pain for several days, went back to the dentist, and found out that he had put the filling in backward.
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Topics:
4-Safety Promotion
What Is an Acceptable Level of Safety (ALoS)
The objective of aviation safety management systems (SMS) is to
- Proactively manage safety,
- Identify and report potential safety hazards,
- Determine risk to operational safety; and
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Topics:
Quality-Safety Management
Definition of Hazard Identification
Hazard identification in aviation SMS is the baseline performance needed for a successful safety program. It is the first element of the Safety Risk Management component of the 4 Pillars of aviation safety.
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Topics:
2-Safety Risk Management
Things to Prepare for Aviation SMS Audits
There are many aviation audit checklists available online.
While these checklists offer many specific tasks you need to perform, few checklists offer a broad overview of things that airports, airlines,
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Topics:
3-Safety Assurance,
Quality-Safety Management
Safety Benefits of Aviation Safety Management Systems
The most obvious benefits of implementing an aviation safety management system (SMS) are the marked improvements in safety.
Just to give you an idea of exactly how successful aviation SMS implementations have been,
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Topics:
Aviation SMS Implementation
Questions Come First in Safety Management
The unfortunate fact is that many managers in aviation safety management systems (SMS) don’t start asking serious questions until their SMS is either “stuck” or in trouble.
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Topics:
2-Safety Risk Management