SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

Aviation SMS Implementations Take Years to Fully Mature

Safety managers are fresh, fully motivated when starting their aviation SMS implementations.

SMS Implementations are marathons, not sprints. Initially, you will be able to have many short bursts to get you out of the starting gate. These short bursts may be attributed to:

• Management pressure;
• Upcoming audits (regulatory or client); or
• Stage of your aviation SMS implementation.

Management Distancing Themselves From Aviation SMS

A common misperception in the aviation industry regarding safety management is that it is primarily a responsibility of the safety manager to work on all safety related matters.

The reality is actually different; paradoxically the safety manager is the one who should be doing the least: s/he should be working only as a facilitator of safety processes.

The real proactive work should be done at the level of each division with each divisional head (e.g. the flight operations manager) heavily involved in risk assessment and safety-sensitive development or updating of operating practices.

Benefits of Integrating QMS and SMS

Historically, quality management systems (QMS) and safety management systems (SMS) have been implemented and managed as two entirely separate entities. Today this separation persists in many if not most, companies. This is an unfortunate fact because integrating QMS and SMS provides a great opportunity for organizations to:

• Improve safety performance;
• Increase aviation safety audit results;
• Reduce bureaucratic bloat; and
• Cut overhead costs, while at the same time expanding the safety budget.

Underlying Benefit of Fishbone Diagram in Aviation SMS

Fishbone diagram libraries provide many opportunities and benefits for aviation service providers who decide to adopt fishbone diagrams as a risk management tool in their aviation safety management systems (SMS).

The primary benefit of fishbone diagrams provide is detail.

Fishbone diagrams:

Questions on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Aviation

Aviation safety professionals frequently email our subject-matter experts (SMEs) for opinions regarding aviation safety management systems (SMS) and advice as to managing key performance indicators (KPIs). Goal setting relating to key performance indicators is also another very common thread we are asked about.

In the case that follows, I was asked:

"If I were to join the one KPI on Quality & Safety for a CEO in the Aviation business, what would you recommend me to suggest?

Aviation Safety Managers Start With Something

When artists paint on a blank canvas, it allows them to start with nothing and creatively turn it into something. This allows the artist to create a picture without having to change or modify a picture that already exists.

When implementing a Safety Management System (SMS), most Safety Managers do not have the luxury of starting with a blank canvas; instead, they must overlay the SMS on what could be a very challenging organizational culture, thereby creating

What Is Proactive Hazard Management

I have a friend across the globe who is having trouble getting his head around proactive hazard identification and the resulting risk management processes in his aviation safety management system (SMS). This friend naturally prompted this blog article to explain an approach to proactively managing hazards and documenting hazard identification and risk analysis activities.

Proactive hazard management from a high level is looking at your operations and identifying hazards that may affect operations.

How Money Can Affect the Way We Think About Safety

I find myself being an unsafe pilot all of the time, and so do many other pilots. Not in the sense of breaking safety regulations, such as flight and duty times, but by pushing personal limits.

Sometimes we pilots slander the IMSAFE checklist and push it to the side when preparing for a flight knowing:

• we did not sleep well the night before,
• have not eaten very nutritiously lately, and
• have been in class far too long to be in a plane for multiple hours.

What Is a Fishbone Diagram?

Fishbone diagrams are an excellent risk management tool for the root-cause-focused aviation industry.

If you are wondering how to use fishbone diagrams, you first need to know what a fishbone diagram is.

A fishbone diagram derives its name from its fish-like appearance, with a head and several fins. Each “fin” or “branch” of a fishbone diagram describes a different element of the failure. The head of the fishbone describes the risk.

What Is a Risk Control in Aviation SMS Programs

Risk controls in aviation safety management systems (SMS) are a company’s shield against danger and the best chance for aviation service providers to conduct operations successfully.

Danger can be many things in an operational environment, but generally, danger falls into one of the following categories: