SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

FAA’s Safety Risk Management (SRM) Process and Hazard Identification Element

The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) SRM compliance requirement for hazard identification controls every U.S. aviation service provider required to implement formal aviation safety management systems (SMS). These SRM requirements indirectly affect these operators' safety culture and risk management processes whether they like it or not.

Unlike traditional safety programs, formal aviation SMS implementations have requirements for management to participate and provide oversight to ensure the SMS remains operational across the entire organization.

A Hot Word in Aviation SMS?

As airlines and the aviation industry, in general, continue to eclipse safety records year by year, a nagging question begins to crop up with increasing vigor:

To what end?

The thought of endless safety improvement is daunting for any aviation safety manager. Endless improvement is totally unrealistic, though it often feels like the pressure from up top is to strive for just that – an impossible goal.

What Are Lagging Indicators in Aviation SMS?

Lagging indicators are an essential element of system performance monitoring in aviation safety management systems (SMS). Safety professionals and accountable executives should become familiar with lagging indicators as these managers are responsible for regularly reviewing organizational safety performance and detecting substandard safety performance.

Lagging indicators show the historical performance of your aviation SMS implementation. They answer 3 essential questions about safety in your risk management program:

A Reporting Culture Is a Just Culture

Workers’ participation in aviation safety management systems (SMS) comes down to one word: reporting.

When workers are reporting, it demonstrates three things:

• That they trust the SMS that is in place
• Cultivation of Just Culture in the workplace
• That the aviation safety officer is doing his job well

But as we are well aware, creating a hazard reporting culture has several powerful enemies, namely

What Is Safety Performance Monitoring and Measurement

Safety performance monitoring is an essential component of aviation safety management systems (SMS). And by “essential,” performance monitoring is like your SMS implementation's immune system.

When performance monitoring is not handled well, your safety program will wither. Worse yet, your operating certificate may be in jeopardy.

How to Prove Your Aviation SMS Is Working

Proving to stakeholders that your aviation safety management system is working is simply a matter of showing that the primary goal of SMS is being achieved - namely, that:

• Operational environment is safer; and
• Each employee is safer.

There are several prerequisites for being able to show that safety is being improved as a result of SMS and employee involvement:

What Is SMS Shortfall Analysis?

In every aviation safety management system (SMS), the accountable executive is responsible for ensuring the SMS is properly implemented and working across the entire organization. In order to fulfill this responsibility, accountable executives and their safety teams need tools to identify and address substandard safety performance.

Making Decisions About QMS and SMS in Aviation Safety Management

Recently, there has been a significant rise in the interest in reducing data management complexity and increasing synergies by integrating quality management systems (QMS) and safety management systems (SMS) in the aviation industry. This is probably because many aviation service providers have already begun or have well-developed SMS implementations.

Alternatively, the interest may result from the overwhelming number of data management systems that modern aviation service providers use to manage operations.

What Is Change Management in Aviation SMS

Since November 2006, most commercial aviation service providers have been required to implement formal aviation safety management systems (SMS) to comply with the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) mandate.

These operators must develop and maintain a formal risk management process for identifying hazards and implementing needed changes in their operational environments to help reduce risk to acceptable levels.

Aviation Safety Manager's Allegiance to Company

You depend on your safety manager to monitor and improve safety in your area of operations, regardless of whether you are an:

• Airline Pilot;
• Aviation maintenance technician;
• Baggage handler; or