SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

How to Create an Aviation SMS Audit Plan

Posted by Tyler Britton on Apr 10, 2024 6:30:00 AM

What Is an Internal Aviation SMS Audit

An internal aviation safety management system (SMS) audit is a process you used to verify that certain actions are taking place in your SMS.

Audits are a safety assurance activity that is most commonly used to broadly assess whether or not aviation service providers can demonstrate continuous improvement of the SMS.

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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance

What Is Proactive Risk Management in Aviation SMS?

Posted by Tyler Britton on Apr 3, 2024 6:15:00 AM

Understand What Is Proactive Risk Management

Proactive safety management is often upheld as the second highest form of risk management after "predictive risk management." This is because being able to demonstrate proactive risk management activities generally doesn’t happen until an aviation safety management system (SMS) matures beyond Phase 2.

The primary goals of proactive management of safety are:

  • Identify precursors that lead to risk;
  • Identify threats before they become dangerous; and
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Topics: 2-Safety Risk Management

How Often Should You Conduct Aviation SMS Audit

Posted by Tyler Britton on Mar 27, 2024 2:30:00 AM

What Is an Internal Aviation SMS Audit

An internal aviation SMS audit is how you evaluate any part of your SMS.

On the one hand, you use such audits to ensure that certain actions are taking place in your SMS, such as SRM operations or continuous improvement.

Safety programs with good audit processes have multiple processes. Each audit process will audit a different aspect of your aviation safety program, such as:

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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance

5 Warning Signs and Symptoms of Aviation SMS Failures

Posted by Christopher Howell on Mar 20, 2024 6:00:00 AM

Aviation Safety Management System Symptoms and Underlying Causes

An aviation safety management system (SMS) functions almost like a living, breathing entity. The SMS' required safety assurance processes facilitate improvements through continual verification and follow-up actions. Regardless of your SMS maturity level, the SMS continually evolves.

Every SMS has many moving parts that work together to reduce risk and comply with regulatory requirements. These individual components can exhibit healthy signs, as well as symptoms of underlying problems.

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Topics: 2-Safety Risk Management

Top 5 KPIs in Aviation Safety - Free KPI Resources

Posted by Tyler Britton on Mar 13, 2024 5:48:00 AM

What Are the Top 5 KPIs in Aviation Safety

We recently analyzed the key performance indicators (KPIs) of hundreds of aviation service providers around the globe, and used our data to assess what the most common KPI concerns are for the aviation industry.

The top 5 KPIs in aviation safety based on our data are KPIs related to:

  1. Death;
  2. Processes not followed;
  3. Bird/wildlife strike;
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Topics: Key Performance Indicators

Safety Chart: Risk Level Breakdown in Aviation SMS

Posted by Tyler Britton on Mar 6, 2024 6:30:00 AM

Importance of Risk Level Breakdown in Aviation SMS

Simple safety charts often speak volumes.

A group of simple, yet related, safety charts evolves nicely into a performance monitoring dashboard. For aviation service providers, a secure, easily accessible dashboard allows management to remain updated as to the performance of their aviation safety management system (SMS).

A simple risk management chart embedded within a dashboard may communicate many things, including:

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Topics: Risk Management Software

4 Tips for Passing Aviation SMS Audits - with Free Resources

Posted by Christopher Howell on Feb 28, 2024 6:30:00 AM

Why Passing an Aviation SMS Audit Is Critical

Over the past dozen years, an aviation SMS audit has become a necessary and commonly difficult task for:

  • Airlines;
  • Airports;
  • Aviation maintenance organizations;
  • ATC; and
  • Flight schools.
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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance

Real Difference between an Aviation Safety Audit vs. Inspection

Posted by Tyler Britton on Feb 21, 2024 6:00:00 AM

Interesting Discussion on Audits vs. Inspections

The other day, I had a rather interesting discussion with a couple of seasoned aviation safety managers on the topic of aviation safety audits vs inspections.

It took a while to come to a consensus about the primary differences, as well as the ideological implications of each. The discussion got me thinking, and I did some further research.

More than simply understanding the practical difference between the two, it's important to understand the ideological differences between safety audits and safety inspections as well.

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Topics: 3-Safety Assurance

Examples of Good Hazard Reporting Forms in Aviation Safety

Posted by Tyler Britton on Feb 14, 2024 5:45:00 AM

How to Use Hazard Reporting Forms in SMS

You can’t really overestimate the value and usefulness of having high-quality hazard reporting forms.

Hazard reporting underpins your ability to acquire data, which is the basis of most of the continuous improvement changes you make to your aviation SMS.

Good hazard reporting forms provide:

  • Guidance for employees when reporting issues;
  • The framework for the types of data you want to gather;
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Topics: 2-Safety Risk Management

Who Started Four Pillars of Safety Management in Aviation?

Posted by Doug Walker on Feb 7, 2024 6:15:00 AM

Four Pillars of Safety Management Systems (SMS)

In 2006, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) required safety management system (SMS) implementation for most commercial aviation service providers. The list of required service providers has been expanded in recent years to include:

  • Aircraft operators;
  • Aircraft maintenance organizations (AMOs or MROs);
  • Air navigation services providers;
  • Helicopter operators;
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Topics: Aviation SMS Implementation

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