SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

Importance of Investigations in Aviation Risk Management

Investigations are the cornerstone of quality assurance efforts in aviation safety management systems (SMS). They are an attempt to answer why and how safety events occur. Investigations also commonly occur in response to reactive and proactive risk management activities after safety issues are submitted through the SMS' safety reporting system.

Different organizations use the term investigation differently depending on the context of the investigatory activity and common risk management practices within the organization.

Characteristics of a Sustainable SMS Implementation

Sustainability is a modern buzz word, and aviation safety management systems (SMS) are no exception. Sustainable SMS implementations are those that survive

• upper management personnel changes,
• safety manager changes, and
• high volume of employee turnover.

The question every safety manager and/or upper manager needs to ask is, does my SMS implementation achieve these sustainable goals?

Perform Risk Analysis to Meet Oversight Compliance Expectations

It hardly needs to be said that performing risk analysis in aviation safety management systems (SMS) is absolutely essential. There are many opportunities in the aviation SMS' risk management processes for safety professionals and operational department heads to determine whether the potential consequences of conducting operations in the presence of hazards remain either:

• acceptable; or
• acceptable with additional mitigation strategies applied; or
• unacceptable, requiring operations to cease.

What Is Safety Risk Management in Aviation SMS?

Depending on the context and your educational background, safety risk management in aviation safety management systems (SMS) can mean a couple of different things:

1. Second component of ICAO's four pillars; and
2. Processes to identify, describe, monitor, and manage hazards affecting safe aviation operations.

In both instances, the objectives remain the same, which ensures that risks surrounding safe operations are controlled.

Stages of Safety Events With FAA vs. Others

Regulatory oversight agencies in various countries/regions possess inconsistent definitions for:

• hazards,
• risks, and
• the stages of safety events.

Make no mistake, it’s extremely important how these safety elements are defined and conceptualized. It will determine how you practice risk management and safety assurance activities.

Safety Survey Benefits Run Deep

Surveys seem a bit old-fashioned. That’s probably because they are.

Surveys have been around and popular for years. There are many uses for safety surveys besides getting the opinions of the workforce. Surveys are also useful for

• Promoting the aviation safety management system (SMS);
• Teaching employees about processes or procedures;
• Confirming management's suspicions about employee behaviors.

Why KPI Charts Matter

The main continuous improvement activities for maturing aviation safety management systems (SMS) following an ICAO-compliant SMS implementation include developing:

• key safety performance indicators (KPIs); and
• safety goal and objectives tied to KPIs.

Since KPIs are set to track safety goals and objectives, KPIs are a big deal. They are generally associated with the baseline or core performance of an aviation SMS. Choosing great aviation SMS KPIs takes

What Change Management Is in Safety Management Systems

Change management in aviation safety management systems (SMS) is an extremely important topic. Formal processes to manage change have become important not just for safety performance, but also for demonstrating to SMS auditors that your company knows how to formally manage change as your operations are exposed to changing environmental conditions.

You can bet that poorly managed or documented change management processes will result in an audit finding. The reason is that change management:

How Do You Talk About Aviation Safety Risk Management

Aviation safety managers have jobs that others may find unrewarding, or difficult for them to witness results. The safety manager may spend years performing routine "safety manager stuff," while others may wonder: "just what do you do around here?"

Managing safety is similar to managing security. The job is often a thankless one. Safety managers don't get the daily slap on the back or hear much rewarding praise.

Plan Continuation Bias for the Layman

Several years ago NASA analyzed pilots' actions from 19 airline accidents from the viewpoint of "real-time" - i.e. during the flight and without hindsight bias. NASA found that the primary cause of the accidents was something they called "plan continuation bias."

For those of you who aren't unfamiliar with this concept, the premise is this: when you have "someplace to get to" you tend to ignore your environment.