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

Thoughtfully Conduct Bowtie Analysis in Aviation SMS

Aviation safety management systems (SMS) focus strongly on:

• hazard identification,
• risk analysis and assessment;
• development and monitoring of risk controls; and
• continuous improvement of the SMS.

Popular Culture Is Useful for Every Aviation SMS Program

Risk management lessons for your aviation SMS program don’t just have to be learned

• on the ICAO's website,
• in a thick SMS manual, or
• from academic risk management research.

Safety management lessons exist everywhere if you are looking out for them.

Learning to Benefit From LOSA Programs

Congratulations! You’ve completed your Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA). You are ready to strategize and reap the benefits of your proactive LOSA strategy.

Now, one of the final steps in the LOSA process is setting up targets for enhancement based on the rich data you’ve collected. Within the LOSA data, you will undoubtedly uncover trends and issues that you were blinded to (which is one of the primary benefits of LOSA). With these identified trends and issues, you will be able to set your safety targets (i.e., targets for improvement).

Purpose of Non-Punitive Reporting Policies in Aviation SMS Programs

Dedicated, hard-working safety managers drive the setup of airline and airports' aviation safety management systems (SMS).

These safety managers are often left to decipher ambiguous requirements that are open to multiple interpretations. This comes into play, especially when upper management wants to "pencil-whip" an aviation SMS and merely check the boxes.

What Is a Corrective Action - a Definition

A corrective action is a risk management process, tool or activity used to correct any undesirable element of an aviation service provider's operational system. Most commonly, the term "corrective action" is used loosely to represent "corrective actions and preventative actions," or CPAs. You may also see corrective actions called CAPAs (corrective action preventative action) or RCAs (recommended corrective actions), though CPA is the most recognized acronym globally in the aviation industry.

Aviation Safety Culture Is Not a Concept

As I’ve discussed before, “safety culture” gets thrown around rather loosely in the aviation industry.

"Safety culture" is the kind of thing that is vitally important, but so undernourished in terms of actually discussing what it means and what it looks like,

What Is Change Management

Management of change in aviation SMS is a formal process for facilitating changes in safety programs. Usually, this process is instigated when required changes are going to affect higher-level, systems in the SMS. Smaller changes are handled with corrective actions.

#3 of the Dirty Dozen Is “Lack of Knowledge”

So, just what is a Lack of Knowledge?

Any competent human factors instructor will tell you that "Lack of knowledge" is when you lack the knowledge to complete a task correctly. Many new employees have what we call a “Lack of Knowledge” or lack of experience.

Let’s face it, in these times of ever-changing technology,

What’s in a Name?

Identifying hazards is a big part of implementing a Safety Management System or SMS. Most of us assume that we know what a hazard is. It’s not a complicated word, we’re pretty sure we know what it means. No problem, right?

What It Means to Practice Reactive, Proactive, and Predictive Risk Management

If you want to practice reactive, proactive, and predictive risk management in aviation safety management systems (SMS), you first and foremost need to understand the difference between these types of risk management in modern aviation operations.

Understanding what each type of risk management is does not involve just understanding the “conceptual” difference, but how each practice differs in the actual operational environment.