SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

Recognizing Good Aviation Risk Management Training Is Crucial

Having good aviation risk management training is perhaps one of the most important ways to improve safety in your organization.

Good training is not inexpensive, as it takes you and/or your employees away from regular duties. In other words, management doesn't want to waste time and money on items that have no direct and immediate relation to the bottom line. They expect to see results from their investment.

Safety Management Systems Not Just for Large Operators

When we think of safety management systems (SMS), it’s easy to think of big operations such as major airlines and large international airports.

General aviation pilots and smaller aviation service providers need their own safety management systems as well, albeit not as complex as those maintained by larger operators.

Below I’ve outlined a few safety habits I’ve learned as a general aviation pilot.

Aviation Risk Management Skills Always Need Refining

Pilots have to be committed to safety.

At the end of the day, safety is the most important thing in aviation.

Whenever aviation service providers take risks with safety, they are possibly risking their own lives and the lives of others.

An aviation professional who is successful in risk management is a person who is:

Manage Safety Is Managing Risk

Ultimately, managing safety is about managing risk – a core value that can easily be overshadowed in large aviation safety management systems' (SMS) implementations.

In many ways, smaller organizations have a natural benefit for managing risk simply because:

• The scale is smaller;
• There are fewer variables to account for;
• Regulatory scrutiny is not as severe; and
• There is a tighter-knit community, therefore influencing safety cultures becomes easier.

What Is Reactive Risk Management

Reactive risk management usually gets a bad rap. It’s often perceived as the “lowest” form of risk management, and those aviation service providers should be moving from reactive risk management towards more “advanced” forms to manage risk.

What Is Task Delegation in Aviation Risk Management

Proper task delegation in aviation safety management systems (SMS) is critical for the efficiency and success of aviation risk management processes. An SMS implementation revolves around:

• Designing risk management processes;
• Implementing processes;
• Monitoring processes; and
• Reacting to exceptions discovered during system monitoring processes.

The Money Hungry Industry of Aviation

From what I have gathered over the years, every company seems to operate in the same way, money before safety.

Companies will think to themselves “How can I make money while still being safe?”

The problem with this mindset is that the word money comes first. If it were switched to say “How can I be the safest while still making money?” there wouldn’t be much of a problem.

Common Questions About Aviation LOSA Programs

As a professional that regularly deals with Line Operations Safety Audits (LOSA), there are two questions that I frequently hear;

1. Why should my airline adopt a safety program that is not mandated by our regulating authority?
2. We already do line audits, wouldn’t LOSA be redundant and a waste of our money and resources?

They are good questions. And here are my responses...

Procedures at Heart of Aviation Safety Management

I currently just finished my freshman year at San Diego Christian College (SDCC) enrolled as an aviation major seeking a career in commercial aviation. SDCC employs a third party whom they rent aircraft and employ instructors from.

If I have learned one thing from my first year of training, it is that policies and procedures are everything, that is, they are more important than most people readily consider during everyday flight operations.

Aviation SMS Training Does Not Have to Break the Bank

In Phase 2 and Phase 4 of an ICAO compliant aviation safety management system (SMS), aviation service providers must

• Deliver training relevant to reactive risk management processes; and
• Develop training relevant to operational safety assurance.

SMS training requirements have both initial and recurrent components.