If you are reading this, chances are you have just begun implementing your aviation safety management systems (SMS). Or, you would like to see how your implementation plan stacks up against the suggested process for creating an implementation plan.
Either way, the important things you need to know about aviation SMS implementation plans are that they:
Aviation SMS implementation takes time usually 3-5 years. There will always be setbacks and struggles, but implementation plans will inevitably expedite this process by always keeping the “bigger picture” at the forefront of your decision-making.
As alluded to above, the accountable executive has particularly high stakes in the SMS implementation. Accountable executives will regularly demand updates about the SMS implementation. They are responsible for making sure the SMS is properly implemented and functioning in all areas of your company. Furthermore, accountable executives must demonstrate that they regularly review organizational safety performance and be able to manage identified shortcomings or roadblocks in the implementation.
By providing regular updates regarding the progress of the SMS implementation, safety managers can collaborate with accountable executives to discuss challenges, such as:
There are many factors to consider as SMS implementation teams enter the planning phase of the SMS. The sooner these challenges are addressed, the more positive the impact on safety cultures and the success of the SMS. There are many benefits from properly implemented aviation SMS. Sadly, a large percentage of you will never realize these benefits due to:
Many managers will resist SMS because they don't believe the hype that aviation SMS can benefit operators. They see SMS as another way for government regulators to put their foot on the back of operators' necks to oppress them. These operators may already believe:
In the early years of your SMS implementation, uncovering and overcoming resistance to the SMS should be a top priority. This is a common dilemma faced by safety professionals all over the world and in EVERY aviation industry segment, whether you are an:
You will find managers who have been successfully managing aviation operations for decades and resist this governmental intrusion. So you must be prepared to identify these resistant managers. It is not always easy.
Here is the suggested process for creating an aviation SMS implementation plan.
The very first thing you need to do before anything is acquire an aviation implementation plan checklist. These checklists are simple but will provide you with a “bigger picture” scope throughout the entire process of implementation.
Additionally, implementation plan checklists:
The ICAO checklist (see link above) is always a good plan to follow, though there are other implementation checklist resources available. Surprisingly enough, the IS-BAO SMS implementation plan is among the best I've ever seen. Why is this surprising? Because their gap analysis checklist is too elementary to be useful to anyone.
Make sure your checklist is in Excel, where you can add further columns and configurations so that your implementation checklist is yours. The best practice is to store your SMS documentation in a centralized data repository to reduce risk.
More than once safety managers have taken a company's SMS documentation when they left the company, often on their personal laptops. An SMS database is the best recommendation for managing SMS data as there are many SMS documentation requirements.
The sooner your company acquires an SMS database, the less risk to your SMS. You will also be setting your company up for REALIZING the true SMS benefits, instead of pouring money down a hole with little expectation to see a return on your investment.
You can build an SMS database in-house. The expense of development and the lack of subject matter expertise may preclude you from developing your own SMS database. Some low-cost commercially available SMS solutions manage ALL SMS documentation requirements and allow management to monitor SMS performance in real time.
Be aware of flooding your company with "point solutions" to manage SMS data. A point solution is software that addresses a single business objective, such as:
It is easy to fall prey to point solutions because you may have some of these already in service. Short-sighted management teams neglect to foresee the burden of monitoring all of these systems and aggregating the results to identify trends. Furthermore, the accountable executive is tasked to regularly review organizational safety performance and whenever necessary, direct actions to fix substandard safety performance.
The point is that mining data to detect trends in six to eight systems, or from spreadsheets is adding unnecessary risk. Whenever safety managers are working on their SMS implementation, one of their first actions is to determine their SMS data management strategies, as this will have a long-lasting impact on their ability to monitor SMS performance.
Identifying safety issues and easily spotting trends becomes untenable even for smaller aviation service providers with 50 employees. If your company has more than 50 employees, this is a no-brainer. Get the SMS database. Ditch the spreadsheets. Carefully consider the overuse of point solutions.
When one understands the intent of the regulators for requiring SMS, one will recognize the need for a long-term solution. Choose wisely. For those who don't quite understand the objectives of SMS, or you need to educate your safety team or the accountable executive, the FAA summarized SMS objectives very nicely as:
The objective of Safety Management Systems (SMS) is to proactively manage safety, identify potential hazards, determine risk, and implement measures that mitigate the risk. The FAA envisions operators being able to use all of the components of SMS to enhance a carrier’s ability to identify safety issues and spot trends before they result in a near-miss, incident, or accident. For this reason, the FAA is requiring carriers to develop and implement an SMS.
Source: Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 5 / Thursday, January 8, 2015 / Rules and Regulations
From the above, you can see that safety teams will need the facility to aggregate data and create trend charts. And you will be doing this for many years to come. The best solution is to get SMS database software that will automate much of this work for you and allow management to review trends at their convenience.
The reason I hammer this data management strategy so fiercely is that so many SMS become mere paper exercises without the proper tools to efficiently collect data, identify trends, and monitor the performance of the SMS. This is an important point!
Having an SMS dropped into your lap is a disorienting and overwhelming experience. If this situation sounds familiar before you worry about creating your implementation plan you need to perform some initial tasks to get your SMS started.
These initial tasks are as follows:
Why perform these tasks before creating your implementation plan? Creating an implementation plan without detailed knowledge of "what you’re dealing with" is like trying to fly an aircraft with a blindfold on.
These initial tasks:
In short, these initial tasks make your implementation plan more:
The accountable executive and the safety manager will also feel much better about the decisions and expectations that are set.
You will notice that key performance indicators (KPIs) are mentioned above. In the safety world, some safety professionals call KPIs "safety performance indicators" or SPIs. Don't worry, SPIs are the same as KPIs, but with a focus on safety goals and objectives. You can use KPI or SPI with equal ease when discussing aviation SMS, but some new safety managers may have the question as to which is correct.
SPIs are subsets of KPIs. Your organization's KPIs may include financial and operational concerns. Management teams are used to hearing about KPIs. Is there a time and place to say SPI instead of KPI? I'm guessing that you should only use SPI as a matter of personal preference or when you need to explicitly differentiate between the two. KPI = SPI
While a gap analysis was pointed out in the last section as being an essential initial SMS task for getting started, it deserves some more special attention. A gap analysis should evaluate your existing SMS in the following areas:
By "evaluate", we are talking about two things:
A gap analysis is an integral part of understanding your program's safety needs.
Understanding your company’s safety needs is much simpler than it might initially seem. Safety needs constitute the following 4 elements:
A “safety need” is simply something in your company that either detracts from or is apathetic to exposure mitigation. For example, all of the following can be safety needs:
The list goes on, but you should be able to see that each of these elements is something undesirable for improving/maintaining safe operations.
Remember your implementation plan checklist? Now that you have a good understanding of your SMS and organization, you can start to make some notes on each element of the checklist. Create another column for “Notes” in your checklist.
For each item in your checklist, these notes will:
Next, create one more column on your checklist for “Strategy”. Review your Notes column, and for each element, list how (i.e., bullet point steps) you are going to implement the safety element.
For example, for the checklist item “Deliver training to reactive risk management,” you might list a strategy as the following steps in your “Strategy” column:
Completing all of these bullet point tasks will allow you to effectively cross out this implementation checklist item.
Finally, based on your notes and your strategy, you should have a rough idea of how long it is going to take you to accomplish each element. Create one more column in your checklist for the deadline. For each activity, write the deadline in this column and then review your entire checklist.
Deadlines for each activity are often within the following:
Note that especially in the case of phases 3 and 4, timelines will be heavily affected by the size and complexity of the organization. Typically, aviation SMS implementation takes 3-6 years. Larger companies may take even more time.
If you are a new airline, you will have to have a fully functioning SMS before commencing operations in many parts of the world where SMS is required.
Good luck with your SMS implementation.
How you manage SMS data storage and retrieval will affect the effectiveness and success of the SMS. We provide a web-based SMS database that addresses ALL SMS compliance requirements.
Review these short demo videos to see how we can help you manage your SMS. Your company will appear more professional in managing aviation SMS when you have the proper tools. Furthermore, this software assures accountable executives that the SMS is implemented properly and they can monitor SMS performance with utmost assurance.
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Last updated in May 2024.