In every aviation safety management system (SMS), the accountable executive is responsible for ensuring the SMS is properly implemented and performing in all areas of the organization. The intent is not for the aviation SMS to reach some ideal "plateau of safety" and then maintain the "ideal safety level." Far from it!
The purpose of the aviation SMS is to demonstrate that the organization can proactively manage safety year after year, audit after audit.
As your SMS matures, your ability to collect and analyze safety data will increase. Your safety management capabilities are expected to gradually become more sophisticated. Furthermore, SMS regulatory auditors will have higher expectations of your SMS as more data has been collected, or should have been collected.
How will you react to these demands to demonstrate continuous improvement?
Continuous Improvement in FAA Part 5 compliance (Part 5.75) is simply a requirement for correcting “deficiencies identified in the assessments conducted under [the Safety Performance Assessment] process.” (Part 5.75 documentation)
The continuous improvement element is triggered when safety performance is found to be unacceptable, and the problem is due to the company’s compliance/safety policy or risk controls. Corrective actions are used to correct the deficiencies in the applicable compliance/safety policy.
The continuous improvement element is the final step in the Safety Assurance process. At this point:
Continuous improvement is measured as a result of:
A corrective action is an action used to correct any undesirable element of safety performance. Most commonly, corrective actions are called CPAs, (for corrective actions and preventive actions). You may also see them called CAPAs (corrective action and preventative action) or RCAs (recommended corrective action), though CPA is the most recognized globally in the aviation industry.
Generally, corrective actions are facilitated by subject-matter experts, such as department heads, and reviewed/overseen by either:
Corrective actions fix safety issues by making changes that bring an adverse element of the program into an acceptable level of safety (ALoS) or as low as reasonably possible (ALARP).
Corrective actions differ from:
Corrective actions are generally considered as a part of reactive risk management activities. Having effective corrective action implementation strategies is absolutely essential to the development and success of the Safety Assurance Pillar of aviation SMS implementations.
Here is an example of a safety concern that would culminate in the Safety Assurance continuous improvement action:
As shown above, corrective actions are triggered by some kind of safety event or discovery. Corrective actions are extremely important for aviation SMS implementations, as safety programs first and foremost need to be able to quickly and efficiently fix problems.
Corrective actions can be anything from training to safety policy updates, to new control measures. They can address individual people or the bureaucracy of the safety management system. Corrections of individuals are usually things like:
Corrections of the SMS bureaucracy are usually:
Any significant changes to the System that could potentially compromise operational safety will require that the changes are processed through the Safety Risk Management (SRM) process.
Establishing whether or not you are compliant with the FAA’s continuous improvement element is as simple as assessing whether or not:
For a full overview of FAA compliance, you will find these resources valuable.
Last updated in August 2024.