SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

5 Simple Tips to Improve Aviation Safety Reporting Cultures

Posted by Christopher Howell on Jan 3, 2024 1:59:00 PM

Safety Managers Can Only Manage Hazards That Are Reported

Healthy aviation safety management systems (SMS) rely upon hazard reporting to reduce operational risk. High-performing safety reporting cultures receive approximately one report for every ten employees each month.

When safety managers have poor hazard reporting cultures, they have a more difficult time justifying aviation safety budgets. Furthermore, their collected data is skewed and inaccurate and basically useless for responsible decision-making.

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Topics: 1-Safety Policy

Is Root Cause Analysis Proactive or Reactive?

Posted by Tyler Britton on Dec 27, 2023 10:29:00 AM

What Is Root Cause Analysis in Aviation SMS

If you put 10 safety managers in a room and asked them what root cause analysis was, they would have ten different answers.

Safety professionals all say that they perform root cause analysis at some time during their risk management process. In their minds, that’s probably true.

But root cause analysis for one safety manager would not necessarily be the root cause analysis for another manager.

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Topics: 2-Safety Risk Management

How to Perform Risk Analysis in Aviation SMS

Posted by Tyler Britton on Dec 20, 2023 5:15:00 AM

What Are You Looking for When Performing Risk Analysis

During the risk management process in an aviation safety management system (SMS), one of the expected tasks is to analyze the risk of hazards associated with

  • reported safety issues;
  • audit findings; and
  • proposed operational changes.

When you perform risk analysis on whatever type of a safety issue in aviation SMS, your goal is to understand how and why the underlying issue affects risk exposure in your organization.

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Topics: Risk Management Training

How Safety Management and Quality Assurance Work in Management Systems

Posted by Tyler Britton on Dec 13, 2023 5:28:00 AM

What Is a Management System

This article is originally inspired by a rather insightful video discussing the interplay between safety management and quality assurance.

A management system is a set of processes used to manage “findings” during operations.

“Findings” are simply things you discover in your operations that are less than ideal. We can also call findings “issues.” There can be many types of issues, such as:

  • Safety;
  • Security;
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Topics: Quality-Safety Management

How to Implement Effective Control Measures

Posted by Aviation Safety Student on Dec 6, 2023 5:21:00 AM

What Are Control Measures?

When you identify a hazard within your organization, the first step is to analyze the risk. If the risk is high, then you need a control measure to reduce risk to acceptable levels.

Any change made to the existing system to reduce risk is a control measure.

Control measures can be simple or complex. Using a less hazardous chemical might be a simple control. Designing and installing a new ventilation system would be more complicated.

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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance

What Is a Hazard in Safety Management Systems

Posted by Tyler Britton on Nov 29, 2023 5:45:00 AM

Why Definition of a Hazard Matters

Accuracy is extremely important.

Much of the bureaucracy of safety management systems depend on correct and specific understanding of safety concepts. Misunderstanding definitions in SMS is synonymous with misunderstanding what a safety element is and can compromise how that safety element is:

  • Controlled;
  • Documented; and
  • Accounted for.
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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance

What Are Differences of Aviation Safety Management Systems (SMS) and QMS Programs

Posted by Christopher Howell on Nov 22, 2023 6:00:00 AM

What Is an Aviation Safety Management System (SMS)?

An aviation safety management system (SMS) has been repeatedly defined as a formal, systematic approach to managing safety, including necessary

  • organizational structures,
  • accountabilities,
  • policies, and
  • procedures.
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Topics: Aviation SMS Implementation

Understanding Management of Change in Aviation SMS

Posted by Christopher Howell on Nov 15, 2023 10:00:00 AM

What Is the Fuss about Management of Change?

Management of change in aviation safety management systems (SMS) is essential for managing operational or organizational change. Safety teams are typically involved in the management of change (MOC) exercises.

There is often confusion among new aviation safety managers when they are confronted with answering auditors' questions regarding MOC in their SMS. Best practices should always be reviewed when implementing your MOC workflow.

This article will briefly describe MOC and some preferred best practices.

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Topics: 2-Safety Risk Management

Choosing Key Performance Indicators in Aviation SMS - with Free KPI Resources

Posted by Christopher Howell on Nov 8, 2023 3:52:00 PM

Using Safety Key Performance Indicators in Your Aviation SMS

Most aviation safety professionals today are managing their aviation safety management systems (SMS) using automated tools. These full-featured SMS database tools allow safety managers to easily classify issues according to many criteria.

Safety managers benefit from using SMS databases because they can more easily analyze trends to bring pressing concerns to management.

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Topics: Key Performance Indicators

5 Characteristics of Effective Aviation Safety Cultures - with Free Survey

Posted by Tyler Britton on Nov 1, 2023 11:42:00 AM

Understanding What Aviation Safety Culture Is

“Safety culture” is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot in aviation safety management systems (SMS) as a vague reference to different aspects of safety.

Understanding the meaning of aviation safety culture is less a practice in philosophy as it is recognition of what it looks like in actual practice for:

  • Safety management’s responsibility;
  • Employees’ responsibilities;
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Topics: 4-Safety Promotion

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