SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

What Is the Iceberg of Ignorance

The Iceberg of Ignorance was first developed in 1989 by a consultant named Sidney Yoshida. The Iceberg of Ignorance is a model that addressed concerns about safety awareness in large organizations. This model contends that of all problems:

• Only 4% of problems are known to upper managers;
• Only 9% of problems are known to middle managers;
• 74% of problems are known to supervisors; and
• 100% of problems are known to staff and front-line employees.

Classify Safety Issues With Classifications

Organizing data and information is extremely important in SMS, as much of your data analysis and performance monitoring depend on such an organization. One best practice to organize your data is assigning classifications to issues.

A classification is an organization tool. Classification is a word or a short phrase that describes the safety issue in some way.

What Are Root Causes?

We generally understand a root cause as being the underlying heart of why a particular issue happens.

When aviation safety teams are reviewing, classifying, and investigating issues with root cause analysis, they are tasked with following the chain of “why” questions until they can reasonably assess why a safety issue occurred.

Creating a System of Organization

Even smaller aviation safety management system (SMS) are still a leviathan of

• policies and procedures,
• SMS documents,
• reported safety concerns,
• investigations;
• SMS training materials; and so on.

What Is A Hazard Reporting System

A hazard reporting system encompasses the processes and resources your employees will use to report concerns.

The implication here is that your hazard reporting system is the primary means by which you will acquire feedback from operations (acquire data) and improve your SMS.

A hazard reporting system is a core part of driving your:

Perpetual Improvement in Aviation SMS

I was recently talking to a friend about the less spectacular points of his job as an aviation safety manager.

We talked about this and that – the various hurdles every aviation safety manager has to jump over every day.

• Management who is unwilling to hand over resources for better SMS tools
• Apathetic employees or high turnover
• Resistance to change
• Implementing a new program in a chaotic environment

Communication to the Right Person Is Good Communication

It’s no secret that many if not a majority of all aviation accidents are a direct result of a lack of communication. Generally, we think of lack of communication as

• No communication whatsoever
• Misinformation or insufficient information
• Misinterpretation of information given
• Another person has no clue as to what's going on
• Cultural interpretation differences

What Is Aviation SMS Safety Policy

An Aviation Safety Policy is a document in safety management systems that outlines the core, important safety information that underlies your SMS.

It is the canon for your SMS.

This document should define your organization’s;

• Safety values;
• Safety commitments; and

Brief Definition of Aviation SMS for the Layman

Some of you are well acquainted with the ins and outs of aviation safety management systems and SMS software.

If you are in the other group, like me, and are only barely acquainted with what aviation SMS is and who uses it, then this article is for you.

Before we jump in, let’s set some groundwork for what SMS is.

A safety management system is exactly what it sounds like:

What Is Safety Communication in Aviation SMS

Safety communication in aviation SMS is simply another way of sharing data.

Safety communication IS data sharing. This data sharing happens in several ways:

• Sharing data with compliance authorities;
• Sharing data with other service providers; and
• Sharing data with employees and contractors.