If you are reading this article, chances are that you either already have started implementing an aviation safety management system (SMS), or you are considering an SMS implementation.
Starting an aviation SMS implementation from ground zero may be confusing and difficult for any safety professional, much less a layperson who may be tasked to implement an aviation SMS. There is so much to do, such as
Topics: Aviation SMS Implementation
The safety benefits of SMS software are not the primary reason a company initially decides to adopt the special, built-to-purpose software. If this were true, these companies would have acquired advanced SMS database solutions long before aviation safety management systems (SMS) became a regulatory requirement.
Topics: Risk Management Software
Safety culture will be the last thing to develop in your SMS.
Once you fully implement your SMS design (Phase 3 of SMS implementation), you will need to monitor your SMS to ensure it is functioning as designed. Aviation safety programs with good safety cultures usually operate as designed.
Having good safety culture helps you complete Phase 4 of SMS implementation. Broadly speaking, a good safety culture is characterized by:
Topics: Safety Culture
Your Safety Policy is the canon of your aviation safety program. It outlines all of the essential information anyone in your company would want to know regarding safety. It is one of the first components of your SMS that you will develop. It will be the document that you:
Topics: 1-Safety Policy
Something we hear about all the time is the general lack of support from regulatory oversight agencies during inspections and audits. This lack of support that safety managers complain about regards the usage of risk management software in audits that aviation service providers use daily to manage their required safety management systems (SMS).
I don't mean to imply that agencies like the FAA, Transport Canada, or EASA are against operators using risk management software by any means,
Topics: Risk Management Software
Being honest about mistakes is hard.
It’s even harder to try and seek out mistakes you are making that you do not know you are making.
In aviation safety management systems (SMS), safety managers are tasked with actively exploring, understanding, and seeking out failures in the program to improve them. Even unknown failures are holes in the safety structure of the SMS.
Topics: 3-Safety Assurance
Every aviation safety management system (SMS) contains a subsystem to manage risk associated with reported safety issues and audit findings. This subsystem can be called the SMS' risk management system as this system provides the logical workflow necessary to efficiently:
Topics: 3-Safety Assurance
The management of aviation safety is a shared responsibility among all levels (i.e., stakeholders) of an organization.
Top management has to set the basis for establishing
Topics: Risk Management Software
Safety performance in aviation safety management systems (SMS) can be difficult to fully comprehend because it involves so many moving parts. In general, we understand safety performance as involving the:
Topics: 3-Safety Assurance
Aviation safety managers need to give feedback – both praise and criticism – to employees and management regularly. It’s an essential part of their role as a leader in driving the performance of their aviation safety management system (SMS).
Safety managers who communicate well with employees and other managers tend to be significantly more successful in all areas of their aviation SMS, such as:
Topics: 3-Safety Assurance
These two on-demand videos offer:
