SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

Aviation SMS Provides Structure to Safety Initiatives

An aviation safety management system (SMS) provides service providers with risk management processes that are:

• Globally accepted by the aviation industry;
• Structured and documented to ensure repeatability;
• Implemented organization-wide; and 
• Monitored internally and often externally to assure compliance.

These structured, repeatable processes are custom-designed to satisfy each company's "operational risk profile (ORP). An ORP is a list of hazards, risks and mitigation measures unique to a certain operator based on their aviation industry segment, size and operating theater (where they operate).

Burnout: The Career Plague

Burnout is especially common in the aviation safety industry. I’ve seen it happen to young and older safety managers. I’ve seen it happen to safety managers who were early and late in their safety careers.

Burnout is not picky about whom it possesses, meaning that burnout's scope of victims naturally exceeds aviation safety professionals.

Low-to-moderate levels of burnout are a natural cycle that everyone goes through.

The Creative: Interesting Surveys and Promotion

Unfortunately, safety culture surveys are often not high on the priority list of aviation safety management system (SMS) implementations. And judging by surveys that I have seen, they are often written with the candor and creativity of a Driver’s Education manual.

Which is too bad...

Because fun, creative, regular, and *short* safety surveys can be a truly fantastic addition to a safety manager’s bag of tricks.

Make no mistake, if done well, safety cultures benefit from safety surveys significantly by:

Accountable Executives' SMS Nightmare

In most cases, aviation safety managers are:

• Dedicated;
• Hard-working;
• Resourceful; and
• Excellent communicators.

Making It Personal

Every continuously-improving safety program will fail when employees are not involved in identifying and reporting safety hazards. Getting workers to participate in their aviation safety management system (SMS) is all about making the SMS personal. People care more about things that directly involve and matter to them.

An aviation safety manager functions as the primary bridge between an SMS implementation and the employees – he/she IS the force of “personal.”

The safety manager is responsible for influencing safety reporting cultures.

Do You Really Understand Safety Risk Controls?

FAA Part 5 - Safety Management Systems has a subtle, but important requirement stuck in subsection 5.25 Designation and responsibilities of required safety management personnel. There is a subsection that packs a dynamite punch that should leave most of you reeling with uncertainty.

This requirement is buried in the subsection 5.25 (c) Designation of management personnel and deals with monitoring the effectiveness of safety risk controls.

No Comparison to Pushing Paper by Hand

Most of us grew up using good old fashioned pen and paper for just about everything. In fact, for most things, I still prefer it over using my phone or computer.

It’s quick, it’s natural, it’s something we can touch and feel.

But frankly, comparing pen and paper methods to software for managing documentation requirements of formal aviation Safety Management Systems (SMS) is the difference between driving a trusted old pickup and a Formula 1 racing car.

I Thought I Knew Difference between Hazard and Risk

Quickly, look at the picture at the right.

What is the "hazard?"

What is the "risk?"

I consider myself well-educated with a college education.

I understand English, as it is my first language.

Before I was dragged into the aviation safety management system world in early 2007, I really never considered hazards and risks very deeply. Back in my pre-SMS days, electrical hazard and electrical risk were synonymous.

ICAO Defines Interfaces in Aviation Operations

"Safety risks faced by service providers are affected by interfaces.

Interfaces can be either internal (e.g. between departments) or external (e.g. other service providers or contracted services,).

By identifying and managing these interfaces the service provider will have more control over any safety risks related to the interfaces."

ICAO Safety Management Manual (SMM), Document 9859 4th edition

Interfaces' Importance in Aviation SMS