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

What Is Plan Do Check Act (PDCA)

Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) is a very simple, but remarkable process for driving improvement in the design of your aviation SMS.

Here are the main points of PDCA:

• It is a cycle;
• This cycle is designed to be repeatable; and
• It is designed to improve the processes of your SMS.

The various parts of PDCA are:

Hazard Reporting More Than Just Hazards

“Hazard reporting” is a bit of a misnomer because employees report much more than hazards. Hazards are simply one type of thing that people report. Perhaps a more accurate expression for hazard reporting would be “issue reporting.”

Goals for Hazard Reporting

Knowing what issues employees should be reporting in your SMS requires you always keep the primary goals of hazard reporting in mind:

First, you need to gather data. You use data to:

• Understand your SMS performance;
• Monitor effectiveness of risk controls;
• Mitigate safety concerns; and

What Is Proactive Risk Management

Proactive risk management for safety managers involves risk management activities that are dedicated to recognizing potential concerns before those concerns actualize. Proactive risk management does this by:

• Identifying trends in important safety data; and

Hazard Reporting Process Is for More Than Just Hazards

The idea of “hazard reporting” is a bit inaccurate because employees should be reporting more than just hazards.

Hazards are just one type of concern that employees should report. When we are talking about hazard reporting, what we are really talking about is “issue reporting.”

What Is Reactive Risk Management in Aviation SMS

Reactive risk management in aviation SMS is a technique that, mainly, involves the ability to respond to safety issues (or other types of issues, such as compliance, quality, etc.).

Reactive management is a response based approach to risk.

Practically, this means that anytime managers or front-line employees respond to an active threat in the operational environment (front-line employees)

Best Safety Risk Management Practices for Aviation Maintenance

In aviation maintenance, as in all other aspects of the aviation sector, safety is paramount. Four safety management practices that can be applied to make any maintenance operation safer are:

1. use of tangible aviation safety metrics to measure effectiveness,

How to Manage High Levels of Risk Effectively

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.

What Is Management of Change in Aviation SMS

Management of change in aviation SMS is a formal process for implementing system-level changes in aviation SMS programs.

By system-level, we are talking about a change that is significant enough to affect the design of your SMS.

What Is an SMS Operational Risk Profile (ORP)

Under the umbrella of many SMS compliance agencies, an operational risk profile (ORP) is a requirement that is the core of your hazard, risk, and control measure accountability. That’s another way of saying that all risk mitigation “resources” are identified in your ORP.

But what are risk mitigation “resources?” These are any elements that are relevant to risk exposure and risk reduction. Resources can be:

• Knowledge;
• Budgets;