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

What Are KPIs?

KPIs, or key performance indicators, track performance in business, quality, and safety. Understanding and using KPIs is a crucial part of SMS.

What Are ICAO Hazard Identification Compliance Requirements

ICAO’s hazard identification compliance requirements are twofold:

• (2.1.1) Develop formal process for hazard identification; and
• (2.1.2) Use reactive, proactive, and predictive to identify hazards.

Being compliant with these requirements involves, like anything else in SMS, doing and documenting. You need to document your process and how you use various risk management techniques for hazard identification, and you need to follow through.

Safety Risk Management Is the SMS Star

In November 2006, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) required the implementation of an aviation safety management system (SMS) by the following aviation service provider organizations:

• Aircraft operators;
• Aircraft maintenance organizations;
• Air navigation services providers; and

Understanding Vendor Safety Assessments in Aviation SMS

Vendors and contractors play a large role in today's aviation industry. It is common for aviation service providers to employ the services of a dozen or more vendors to help the operator fulfill their mission. There are some companies with literally hundreds of suppliers.

Management’s Role in SMS

Managers must take an active role in SMS to consistently improve their knowledge and experience of operations.

I believe managers need to be trained in SMS to ensure their effective participation and contribution to the SMS.

Origin of Formal Aviation SMS Requirements

Aviation safety is not a new concept. Unless you have been living under a rock for the past dozen years, you will know that the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) mandated formal aviation safety management systems in November 2006.

How to Quantify Resistance to Your SMS Using This Article

Grab a spare pen and paper so you can write down some notes. What we are looking for is a total score. It works like this:

• Score is on a scale from 0 to 25
• Lower number is better, indicating less resistance

Why Evaluate and Justify Risk Controls in Aviation SMS

If there is one thing all aviation compliance authority guidelines (including ICAO) agree upon, it’s that your aviation safety mitigation controls need to be thoroughly analyzed BEFORE you implement them.

Transparency, a Hot Topic:

In recent years, managerial concerns surrounding organizational transparency have become extremely important at all levels of industry and government. So important in fact, that most sensational news stories in recent years

What Is Confidentiality in Aviation SMS

Confidentiality in aviation SMS refers to how much personal information should be made available to your organization. By personal information, we are mainly talking about personal information in safety reports, such as people involved or the name of the reporter.