In Phase 2 and Phase 4 of an ICAO compliant aviation safety management system (SMS), aviation service providers must
SMS training requirements have both initial and recurrent components. This means that operators cannot simply throw money at the SMS training problem and hope for a quick fix. SMS training is a long-term, ongoing commitment to safety.
Furthermore, SMS auditors and management must assure:
In this article, we'll discuss how service providers can effectively use aviation safety articles to comply with regulatory requirements regarding SMS training programs. In addition, we'll offer a blueprint to easily deliver aviation SMS training to general line employees and managers.
Finally, we will provide a free SMS training resource to get you started.
Documentation is key. If it isn't documented, it didn't happen. Documentation requirements revolve around:
Aviation safety managers are challenged with:
Not all employees require the same level of training. For example, most line employees require training on:
Most service providers implementing aviation SMS do fairly well with initial SMS training. Typically, they attend a watered-down SMS training course provided either by the safety manager or an outside SMS consulting company. The most effective training is automated SMS training programs.
As stated, SMS training requirements are not overly complex for most line employees. An automated training program that is provided online offers many advantages, including:
Quality control is more easily managed using online training. Customized SMS training programs can be developed for each user group, such as
Automated, online training is cost-effective and highly convenient to all user groups. SMS training budgets are reduced for standard expenses, such as:
There is an expense of creating the training, but this is a one-time expense. Furthermore, there are considerable amounts of training materials put out by ICAO, civil aviation authorities, SMS training schools, and SMS consultants. The majority of these SMS training materials are free and available online.
Once employees have received their initial SMS training, recurrent training must be considered. There are no identifiable standards as to what elements must be taught in recurrent SMS training. Furthermore, recurrent training has no stated time interval as to when the initial SMS training elapses. Best practices show that recurrent SMS training should be provided every 12-18 months.
What should your recurrent SMS training look like? I recommend that you keep it simple and not bore line employees. Certain employee groups require comprehensive SMS training, such as
The remaining employees' training can be as simple as reading educational safety articles. Again, this training must be documented.
Online databases are excellent tools to provide libraries filled with aviation safety articles that can be used for recurrent SMS training. These safety article libraries will hold hundreds of aviation safety articles based on categories, such as:
You may have noticed these categories follow the four pillars or components of aviation SMS.
In most cases, employees should be encouraged to browse safety articles and find topics that interest them. A best practice is to have your safety article library online and automatically track employee activity. Safety managers can easily remind employees to perform their recurrent SMS training using the automated safety training article library.
A poor man's approach is to have a spreadsheet with links to educational safety articles. The problem with the spreadsheet approach is the lack of automatically tracking and documenting employee SMS training activities.
Educational aviation safety articles offer many benefits to service providers struggling to comply with regulatory requirements. These educational articles are typically written by subject matter experts and are freely available. The best safety articles will include free resources, such as checklists and templates to further employee interest and education.
Recurrent SMS training does not have to be expensive. Finally, tracking and documenting recurring SMS training should not become so laborious as to discourage safety managers. These mundane data entry tasks should be automated by your aviation SMS database program.
You can create your own SMS training library using this list of over 300 educational safety articles. If you are an SMS Pro user, look for the aviation safety article training library under "Safety Promotion."
If you need a way to automate SMS training for the bulk of your company's employees, check out SMS Pro. We can automate both initial and recurring SMS training. Since 2007, SMS Pro has been providing aviation SMS database services to operators around the world. Learn how we can help you reach SMS compliance.
Last updated in November 2024.