Enhancing Aviation Safety: Expert Insights, Tips, and Updates from SMS-Pro

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.

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.

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?”

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;

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.

Assessing Your Aviation SMS Implementation

The things that often hurt aviation safety management systems (SMS) are less symptomatic of the bureaucratic side of formal SMS implementations than they are the type of working environment that management teams cultivate.

Common Question Before Aviation SMS Implementations

I interact with safety managers and accountable executives as we provide consulting and database services for aviation service providers implementing formal aviation safety management systems (SMS).

Occasionally, I hear these groups saying, "We only want the pilots to participate in the SMS."

Safety Professionals Need to Understand Risk Control Strategies

Aviation safety managers must monitor risk controls for effectiveness as they are associated with many hazards encountered in daily operations. There is an expectation of regulatory agencies that aviation service providers' implemented safety management systems (SMS) will:

• proactively manage safety;
• identify potential hazards,
• determine the risk associated with those identified hazards; and
• implement and monitor control measures that mitigate the risk.

Why KPIs Are Different in Aviation Safety Management Systems?

Key performance indicators (KPIs) in aviation safety management systems (SMS) are different from KPIs from most other industries. The differences both benefit and hurt safety management teams' ability to choose the right KPIs for their organization.

What Is Improvement for Your Aviation SMS Implementation?

Improving your aviation safety management system's (SMS) effectiveness doesn’t always have to be a long-term effort. Just as with any complex initiative, there will always be low-hanging fruit in your SMS implementation that can add considerable value without requiring extravagant expenses or investments in time.