SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

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.

What Is Predictive Risk Management?

In aviation safety management systems (SMS), risk management professionals toss around three common terms:

• reactive risk management;
• proactive risk management; and
• predictive risk management.

Benefits of Automated SMS Training for Initial and Recurrent Training Requirements

During the implementation of formal aviation safety management systems (SMS), service providers are expected to develop and deliver SMS training to employees in every implementation phase except the first phase. For example:

• Phase II: Deliver training relevant to reactive risk management processes;

Cyber Security in Aviation SMS Data Management

Technology has made aviation safety management systems (SMS) much easier to manage as a whole. Furthermore, this formal, structured approach to managing safety has undeniably contributed to system safety.

Technology is wonderful. It has been changing our lives at an unprecedented rate,

What Are We Really Talking About?

In aviation safety management systems (SMS), the best indicator of a highly performant safety culture isn’t one that has reduced operational risk close to zero, but one that readily adapts to and absorbs safety issues and disturbances as they arise.

In so many words, high-performing aviation SMS is simply able to adjust to instability rather than resist or deflect it. In other words: goes with the flow without any setbacks.

Aviation SMS Implementations Are Result of Many Small Actions

The process of aviation safety management systems (SMS), simply put, is the conglomeration of many small actions on the part of safety management teams, operational managers and employees.

Actions such as:

Management Incentives to Know If Aviation SMS Management Is Efficient

Every person in a company should be concerned if their aviation safety management system (SMS) management is efficient and working as designed.

Management efficiency in aviation SMS implementations has significant stakes for everyone in the organization, as well as customers who use the company’s services.

Moreover, I think it goes without saying that aviation safety officers, who are both driven and naturally curious about their organization's safety performance, will be logically motivated to monitor the aviation SMS' performance.

What Is Confidence in Aviation Safety Programs?

Confidence in aviation safety management systems (SMS) is trust that the SMS implementation fulfills its obligations. The obligations of SMS include, of course, safety. But they don’t just include safety. The fact is that aviation SMS implementations that set out to only satisfy good-looking safety data or regulatory compliance will plateau or even implode before long.

Bringing Life to a System

It’s easy to get lost in the bureaucracy side of aviation safety management systems (SMS):

• Policies and procedures;
• Safety accountabilities;
• SMS training;
• Risk management processes;