SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

Presenting Key Performance Indicators to Managers

A KPI key performance indicator remains the most effective means to communicate and monitor aviation service providers' goals and objectives related to the aviation safety management system (SMS). These dashboards offer the most value when they are:

• Focused on Organizational Key Objectives;
• Free From Clutter;
• Easily Personalized for Individual Managers;
• Secured From Unauthorized Personnel;

What Are Goals for Best Practices of Hazard Reporting

Knowing best practices for hazard reporting in aviation safety management systems (SMS) is an attempt to better attain the goals of hazard reporting.

What are the goals of hazard reporting?

There are three main objectives:

• Gather data;
• Use that date to improve the SMS; and
• Improve safety culture.

Perpetual Improvement in Aviation SMS

I was recently talking to a friend about the less spectacular points of his job as an aviation safety manager.

We talked about this and that – the various hurdles every aviation safety manager has to jump over every day.

• Management who is unwilling to hand over resources for better SMS tools
• Apathetic employees or high turnover
• Resistance to change
• Implementing a new program in a chaotic environment

What Is a Gap Analysis?

As I researched SMS and what it means and how to implement one, the gap analysis kept coming up as something I needed more information on.

At first it seemed intimidating, but it's exactly what it sounds like; a tool to identify:

• What already exists
• What’s missing
• What steps need to be taken

Do We Need an Aviation Safety Database Yet?

Not every aviation safety manager has a budget. Let's face it. Some safety managers don't know how to ask for a budget.

Many safety managers are part-time safety managers. These are line employees with full-time duties in the position they were formally hired to fill. This may be their first time being exposed to aviation safety management systems (SMS).

Other safety managers are too intimidated to ask for a budget, believing that not being able to "figure it out yourself" is either a sign of:

Practicing vs Verifying SMS Continuous Improvement

It’s important to make the distinction between the

• practicing of continuous improvement and
• verifying that continuous improvement is happening.

Being ICAO compliant with continuous improvement is a systematic review to continuous improvement verification. Actually, practicing continuous improvement will happen in day-to-day operations.

Communication to the Right Person Is Good Communication

It’s no secret that many if not a majority of all aviation accidents are a direct result of a lack of communication. Generally, we think of lack of communication as

• No communication whatsoever
• Misinformation or insufficient information
• Misinterpretation of information given
• Another person has no clue as to what's going on
• Cultural interpretation differences

How Risk Management Depends on Managers and Employees

As the former Commander of the International Space Station, it is not surprising that in interviews, Chris Hadfield often stresses the importance of effective risk management. Whether for career or pleasure, every aviator experiences a considerable level of risk in their operational environment.

This is epitomized by the life of this former astronaut. Nothing but the thin walls of a pressurized enclosure, hurtling through space at unimaginable speeds, lay between his small team onboard the space station and the cold eternity of space.

If the Shoe Fits, Wear It - Which Cronies Do You See?

This is a delicate topic, yet must be approached. After reading this article, if you have any solutions or even part solutions that I'm unable to address, please comment. Your help will be appreciated. I know of at least five safety managers who need some advice on this topic.

In most countries, aviation safety officers don't have a sense of entitlement.

Do I Have What It Takes to Be an Aviation Safety Manager?

One of the most difficult tasks for new and aspiring safety managers is to acquire their first job.

This is especially true for those fresh out of schools, such as Embry-Riddle or Florida's Institute of Technology. If you are on the other side of the Atlantic, you may have gone to Cranfield's safety program.

I remember when I first wanted a job falling timber in North Idaho. I had watched others perform the dangerous, repetitive task of cutting down large trees for logging operations, but I had no experience.