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

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 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).

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.

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:

What Is a Risk Assessment

Airport SMS programs and Airline SMS programs need to use a formal process for ranking various risks. Risk assessments satisfy this need and, based on your Acceptable Level of Safety policy, allow you to know which actions to take next on the issue you are assessing.

The risk assessment process in aviation SMS starts with discovery, which usually happens via:

Incentives Are the Key to Proactive Risk Management

Incentive (or lack of) will make or break an aviation safety management system (SMS).

Without fail, aviation SMS that perform at a proactive risk management level have specific incentives that fit the needs of the organization.

Immature programs struggle to cultivate incentives for several reasons,

Data Mining Is the Foundation of Predictive Risk Management

Predictive risk management is one of the primary goals of an aviation safety management system (SMS). Predictive risk management allows operators to identify safety issues and spot trends before they result in a

• near-miss,
• incident, or
• accident.

Safety Managers Are Dedicated Lot

Aviation safety managers are among the best people I've ever worked with. What does this tell you? Maybe my exposure is severely limited?

During my life, I've worked a lot with:

• Military officers;
• Loggers;
• Oilfield workers;
• Government bureaucrats;

Hazard Identification Training and Safety Reporting in Aviation SMS

Hazard identification training and safety reporting can be seen as the beginning of the aviation risk management cycle in aviation safety management systems (SMS).

SMS' Risk Management Seldom Reaches Full Potential

Risk management processes in aviation safety management systems (SMS) offer service providers structure for:

• Hazard identification;
• Hazard reporting;
• Risk quantification;