SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

Questions Come First in Safety Management

The unfortunate fact is that many managers in aviation safety management systems (SMS) don’t start asking serious questions until their SMS is either “stuck” or in trouble.

Questions and answers need to come at the beginning of SMS implementation. Your answers to fundamental questions about safety management will be a guideline through the entire process of your SMS' implementation.

What Is Risk Assessment in Aviation SMS

Operators implementing formal aviation safety management systems (SMS) need to develop, practice and maintain a documented process of risk analysis, risk assessment, and risk control to an acceptable level of safety (ALoS). We say that the process needs to be formal in the sense that risk assessments/analysis needs to be documented and communicated to employees based on their participatory role in the aviation SMS.

Elements of Safety Risk Management (SRM)

Safety Risk Management receives by far the most attention of any aspect of aviation safety management systems (SMS). It is, as you might say, “where the action is,” in terms of managing risk and the most focused-upon element in an aviation SMS.

Despite the fact that other aspects of aviation risk management processes provide equally valuable assistance in developing an aviation SMS, SRM deals most directly with risk exposure.

What Is a Risk Matrix

Risk matrices are probably the inter-industry safety standard as the primary tool used in risk evaluation. In aviation safety management systems (SMS) they are ubiquitous.

Risk matrices are simplistic charts (though not necessarily “simple”) that use “probability” and “severity” to quantify the risk priority of a real or hypothetical safety scenario. The quantification is generally broken into 3 categories:

• Acceptable risk (green);

What Is a Risk Mitigation Strategy in Aviation SMS Programs

The primary objective of risk mitigation strategies in aviation SMS programs is usually detailed as being a plan to implement risk controls that reduce the likelihood/severity of each identified specific risk. However, this risk mitigation plan is limited in that it does not address the mitigation of hazard occurrence.

Despite the fact that oversight agencies generally stress risk mitigation as being accident-centric, aviation SMS programs should include hazard-mitigation and risk-mitigation strategies.

Aviation Risk Management Is a Cyclical Process

The phrase “aviation risk management” gives the impression of being a single, solid idea – something to attain for – but in actual practice, it is a cyclical process.

Simply put, risk management is about identifying and placing controls (i.e., strengthening) weak points in an aviation safety management system (SMS).

The understanding that risk management is cyclical is an important fact because, while the phrase "risk management" has a strong flavor of top-down management styles,

What Is Operational Risk for Airline SMS

Operation risk is a primary concern of airline safety management systems (SMS). Just as in traditional safety programs, modern SMS implementations will revolve around identifying hazards and controlling these safety events.

In a formal aviation SMS implementation, there are two inter-connected components:

Why You Need to Know the Difference Between Reactive, Proactive, and Predictive Risk Management

Aviation safety managers and employees who understand the real difference between reactive, predictive, and proactive risk management activities gain considerable benefit for generating good safety performance.

The fact is that these three types of risk management strategies are often misunderstood and/or confused.

Can you describe the difference?

Most Common Misunderstanding in Aviation Risk Management

We run across this time and time again in aviation risk management programs: safety management teams confuse hazards and risks, and consequently also confuse risks and consequences.

To be frank, misunderstanding the difference between these three things can have far-reaching repercussions on your ability to practice risk management in your aviation safety management system (SMS).

Understanding Safety Terms Remains Important

We write every day about topics relating to aviation safety management systems (SMS), yet we have always taken for granted that you know what is aviation safety?

Deep down, most of us have an idea about safety. We can logically expand a safety definition to encompass the aviation industry. Yet this takes work to consider the broad implications. I've taken a few moments to discuss what is aviation safety since I've never defined it in the past.