SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

Why Do We Measure Aviation Safety Performance?

Aviation safety managers are tasked with a Safety Assurance (SA) element labeled "Continuous Improvement." Not many aviation safety management systems (SMS) training courses go into much detail about "Continuous Improvement" which leaves many safety managers confusedly scratching their heads.

Safety Assurance is the third ICAO component or pillar of an ICAO-compliant SMS framework. Annex 19 - Safety Management and the four components are described in detail in ICAO's Document 9859.

What Are Leading Indicators in Safety Programs?

Leading indicators in aviation safety management systems (SMS) are:

• The “input” of the program;
• Identify precursors that directly correlate to future performance;
• Identify technical or organizational weaknesses;
• Are underlying causes for safety success and failure; and
• Identify warning signs.

High Stakes

Passing aviation safety audits is absolutely critical for safety managers, not to mention the accountable executive who is ultimately responsible for aviation safety management systems (SMS) performance.

Their jobs may depend on satisfactorily managing both:

• The aviation safety audit; and
• Followup and tracking of corrective actions resulting from the findings.

Aviation Safety Audits Are Not for Just Airlines

Aviation safety managers must be prepared for a never-ending chain of audits. This is a fact of life, whether you are working at:

• Airlines;
• Airports;
• Ground handling companies;
• Flight schools; or
• Aviation maintenance organizations.

What Is an Internal Aviation SMS Audit

An internal aviation safety management system (SMS) audit is a process you used to verify that certain actions are taking place in your SMS.

Audits are a safety assurance activity that is most commonly used to broadly assess whether or not aviation service providers can demonstrate continuous improvement of the SMS.

What Is an Internal Aviation SMS Audit

An internal aviation SMS audit is how you evaluate any part of your SMS.

On the one hand, you use such audits to ensure that certain actions are taking place in your SMS, such as SRM operations or continuous improvement.

Safety programs with good audit processes have multiple processes. Each audit process will audit a different aspect of your aviation safety program, such as:

Why Passing an Aviation SMS Audit Is Critical

Over the past dozen years, an aviation SMS audit has become a necessary and commonly difficult task for:

• Airlines;
• Airports;
• Aviation maintenance organizations;
• ATC; and
• Flight schools.

Interesting Discussion on Audits vs. Inspections

The other day, I had a rather interesting discussion with a couple of seasoned aviation safety managers on the topic of aviation safety audits vs inspections.

It took a while to come to a consensus about the primary differences, as well as the ideological implications of each. The discussion got me thinking, and I did some further research.

More than simply understanding the practical difference between the two, it's important to understand the ideological differences between safety audits and safety inspections as well.

Why You Need to Monitor the Effectiveness of Control Measures

Control measures are the heart of your aviation safety management system’s (SMS) risk mitigation efforts. You may call your "control measures" either:

• Risk controls; or
• Simply "controls."

In this article, we'll use the term "control measures," but I am sure many of you call them "risk controls." Either term is permissible; however, I'm detecting a global preference in the aviation industry for the term "risk control."

What Are Control Measures?

When you identify a hazard within your organization, the first step is to analyze the risk. If the risk is high, then you need a control measure to reduce risk to acceptable levels.

Any change made to the existing system to reduce risk is a control measure.

Control measures can be simple or complex. Using a less hazardous chemical might be a simple control. Designing and installing a new ventilation system would be more complicated.