SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

Number One Asset in Aviation Risk Management Programs

People.

Superior safety performance in any aviation risk management program is always the result of putting the needs of employees first, and then supporting them with quality policies and procedures, and great aviation safety management system (SMS) tools.

Great aviation safety policy can give rise to quality lagging indicator controls (reactive controls to the safety event) through analysis of issues. But leading safety indicators – that is to say, proactive indicators – will ever only be worth as much as the employees behind the risk controls.

Let the Bowtie in Aviation SMS Make Your Job Easier

I love the Bowtie.

It’s logical, lightweight, and delivers a ton of pertinent information that no other tools in your aviation risk management toolbox can deliver.

I've seen very few aviation service providers with fewer than 100 employees use the bowtie in their aviation safety management systems (SMS). This does not mean that smaller operators will not benefit from conducting a bowtie analysis.

What Is Safety Management Training

Don’t confuse safety management training with “training for managers in a safety program.” They are not the same thing.

Safety management training is simply any safety training whose goal is to allow employees to better manage their own safety and the safety of others around them.

Safety management training can be generic across all types of aviation industries, and may be specific to certain types of providers.

What Is the Bowtie Method in Aviation SMS Risk Management?

The Bowtie in aviation risk management is a fairly new and trending, but extremely effective way of approaching risk and risk management in aviation safety management systems (SMS).

Long story short, the Bowtie was developed in order to gain a clearer, more comprehensive handle on every angle of risk in a situation, be it a hypothetical or real one.

In terms of risk management, the Bowtie has split into three areas:

What Actions You Should Take On Each Reported Safety Issue

Through the course of daily work in an aviation safety management system, you will discover safety issues – this is called “discovery.” When you make discoveries, such as through hazard reporting or SMS audits, you need to formally process them through your SMS Safety Assurance Process. In short, you need to document and manage the safety issues you discover.

While different issues require some different actions, there are certain actions you need to take on every issue. These actions are:

Why This Aviation SMS Implementation Chart Is Important

As you probably already well know, implementing aviation safety management systems (SMS) is a big deal for most aviation service providers around the world – both in terms of accounting for all of an SMS' moving parts, as well as trying to get all of the moving parts moving in the direction of progress.

While it’s easy for aviation safety managers to start their SMS implementation ready and motivated, SMS implementations are marathons, not sprints.

Why Linked Safety Issues Chart Is Important

Compliance in aviation safety management systems (SMS) will become universally consistent for the most part. Sure, there will be regions where regulatory oversight remains inconsistent, but we'll not consider those operators at this time.

During SMS implementation, each operator will need to adapt its operations to embrace changes in "how they do business" to meet SMS requirements. While SMS requirements are basically the same across the world, how they are implemented varies from operator to operator, depending mostly on size and operational complexity.

Key Performance Indicators Are Hottest Topic for SMS Programs

Without a doubt, key performance indicators (KPIs) have been on the minds of more aviation safety professionals for the past five years than any other single aviation safety topic. These KPIs cover a wide scope of business operations, such as:

• Safety;
• Quality;
• Financial; and
• Production activities.

Enhance SMS Oversight With Awareness

Knowing your aviation safety management system (SMS) is much like going on an extended backpacking trip.

To be safe, you need to be aware of:

• Your environment
• Your limitations;
• Your risk management tools; and
• Basically, have a plan for as many scenarios as you can think of.

Why Associated Policies & Procedures Charts Matter

Policies and procedures are the central backbones of any aviation safety management system (SMS).

During aviation SMS audits, the adequacy of your policies and procedures will be looked at thoroughly. The safety of day-to-day behaviors will be greatly influenced by the quality of procedures being followed.

Tracking policies and procedures becomes critically important when these policies or procedures are risk controls that mitigate hazard-related consequences.