SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

Tyler Britton

350,000 words and counting on safety risk management concepts, guidance, tools, and best practices.

Recent Posts

What Is Aviation Safety Training in Aviation SMS - Includes Videos to Use

Posted by Tyler Britton on Jun 20, 2019 6:19:00 AM

What Defines Aviation Safety Training

Aviation safety training and education an essential building block to develop performant safety cultures. This should be among the first elements to scrutinize whenever employees are involved in safety accidents or incidents.

Safety training and education falls under the Safety Promotion component in the 4 Pillars of Aviation SMS. Safety training can make or break the successful performance of an SMS program for:

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Topics: 4-Safety Promotion, Risk Management Training

How to Monitor Aviation SMS Safety Culture Performance

Posted by Tyler Britton on Jun 18, 2019 5:57:00 AM

Why Monitor Aviation Safety Culture Performance

Healthy aviation safety culture results in safety performance.

Other than the bureaucratic elements of SMS, you could even make an argument that safety culture is safety performance. In aviation safety management systems (SMS), safety performance monitoring and measurement are required.

How do you measure safety culture performance?

How do you determine safety culture performance is improving?

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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance

3 Ways for Dealing With Fatigue Risk Management in Aviation SMS

Posted by Tyler Britton on Jun 15, 2019 5:56:00 AM

How to Understand Fatigue in Aviation SMS

Fatigue is a top safety priority. Even moderate levels of fatigue can cause employees to demonstrate the same mental and physical capabilities as an intoxicated person.

Discussing fatigue in aviation safety management systems (SMS) becomes interesting when one considers the onus for managing fatigue is on multiple parties, namely:

  • Civil aviation authority for providing regulatory framework and oversight activities to ensure operators manage fatigue based on scientific principles, knowledge, and operational experience;
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Topics: 2-Safety Risk Management

5 Simple Ways to Motivate Employees in Aviation SMS

Posted by Tyler Britton on Jun 14, 2019 6:05:00 AM

Employee Resistance in Aviation SMS Implementations

The majority of aviation service providers are required to implement formal aviation safety management systems (SMS) per the November 2006 ICAO mandate. This is a requirement. SMS implementation is not optional for most operators.

Just as the SMS implementation is not optional, employees do not have the luxury of shirking their duties and responsibilities to the SMS.

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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance

How to Prepare Data for Trend Analysis in Aviation SMS

Posted by Tyler Britton on Jun 13, 2019 6:08:00 AM

What Is Trend Analysis in Aviation Safety Management?

It is a common misnomer that trend analysis in risk management is used to forecast future performance. This understanding of trend analysis is both reductive and distorts the purpose of trend analysis in aviation safety management systems (SMS).

According to the FAA, the objective of aviation SMS implementations is to:

  • proactively manage safety,
  • identify potential hazards;
  • determine risk, and
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Topics: 2-Safety Risk Management

How to Restructure Aviation SMS Implementations: 4 Steps to Prepare

Posted by Tyler Britton on Jun 12, 2019 5:58:00 AM

What Does It Mean to Restructure Aviation SMS Implementations

Occasionally aviation safety managers will want to do a turn and pivot with the direction of their aviation safety management system (SMS) implementation. What this looks like is restructuring.

When safety managers decide to restructure an aviation SMS implementation, it means changing and updating the bureaucratic structure of the SMS and possibly some of the SMS' documented risk management processes.

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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance

4 Unlikely Indicators of Unhealthy Aviation Safety Culture - With Downloads

Posted by Tyler Britton on Jun 11, 2019 10:00:00 AM

The Obvious Reasons

We are generally aware of the more straightforward indicators of unhealthy aviation safety management systems (SMS).

Things like:

  • Low safety reporting numbers
  • Poor safety audit results
  • High accident rates

There are several other data-supported indicators of course, but you get the idea.

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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance

4 Best Aviation SMS Gap Analysis Strategies for SMS Implementations

Posted by Tyler Britton on Jun 9, 2019 10:00:00 AM

The Real Purpose of Gap Analysis

A true aviation SMS implementation takes years and a lot of hard work to effect lasting change. SMS implementations can take considerably longer due to:

  • Poor gap analyses;
  • Ineffective procedures;
  • Unstable safety management teams;
  • Resistance from upper management;
  • Poor oversight (internal & external audits); and
  • Mistaken assumptions.
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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance

3 Traits Good Aviation Safety Auditors Share

Posted by Tyler Britton on Jun 8, 2019 10:00:00 AM

Safety Auditors Are a Rare Breed of Personality Traits

Good aviation safety auditors play a vital role in the ability of an aviation safety management system (SMS) to identify

  • substandard safety performance; and
  • ways in which the SMS can improve.

Furthermore, safety auditors provide oversight to ensure regulatory and contractual obligations are fulfilled. This oversight is one method of data collection in an SMS' Safety Assurance (SA) component.

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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance

Which Pillar of Four SMS Pillars Carries Most Weight in Aviation SMS?

Posted by Tyler Britton on Jun 7, 2019 8:30:00 AM

All Four Pillars Are Not Created Equal

Aviation safety professionals know that the four pillars of safety management systems are the foundational idea upon which aviation safety management systems (SMS) are based.

  1. Safety Policy – Defines methods, procedures, and organizational structure
  2. Safety Risk Management – Looks at the adequacy of, and determines the need for, risk controls, and identifies new hazards
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Topics: 2-Safety Risk Management

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