SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

Relationship Between Aviation Safety Management Systems and Safety Culture

I have recently seen a great rise in the interest and emphasis placed on safety culture in aviation safety management systems (SMS).

Until the last number of years, safety culture has been treated like an appendage or “bonus” to having a performant, successful aviation SMS implementation. Now, however, I see safety culture starting to pop up all over the place.

By definition, aviation safety culture is described as reflecting the real commitment to safety, or how people act when no one is watching.

Definition of Aviation SMS Safety Assurance

In November 2006, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) mandated that all member states implement formal aviation safety management systems (SMS). To facilitate compliance, ICAO guided regulatory authorities and aviation service providers with the publication of the Safety Management Manual (SMM), now in the fourth edition as of 2019.

An aviation SMS implementation covers considerable territory, including, but not limited to:

• Safety accountabilities;

What Are Components of Risk Matrix

During the issue management life-cycle, safety managers commonly conduct initial and residual risk assessments on reported issues. In most cases, the risk is a combination of both:

• Probability (frequency), and
• Severity (consequences).

What Is Trend Analysis in Aviation SMS

Simply put, trend analysis in aviation SMS is an activity that is used to target patterns in your safety program that might otherwise be “lost in the noise” of your safety data.

Patterns can be related to behavior, occurrences, or other aspects of your safety program. Patterns are identified within your chosen time period.

Mistakes Are an Opportunity

In any industry, there are bound to be mistakes. Mistakes can be either willful or unintentional, but are equally dangerous to aviation safety.

In aviation, unintentional mistakes can lead to devastating accidents, an outcome that we hope to prevent by implementing Safety Management Systems (SMS) in our organizations.

Aviation SMS implementations are expected to reduce both direct and indirect costs associated with accidents and minor incidents.

What Is Management of Change in Aviation SMS

Management of change in aviation SMS is a formal process for facilitating changes in safety programs. In general, the change management process is evoked when larger, system-level changes are needed in the SMS.

Small changes are handled with corrective actions.

What Does It Mean to Mitigate Risk?

The term “mitigate risk” and “risk mitigation” is slightly misleading. This is because the meaning of the term “risk” changes depending on the context in which it is used.

Confusion also exists because different safety experts have different understandings of what “risk” means.

What Is Safety Culture Really?

"Safety culture" in aviation safety management systems (SMS) is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot and in many types of SMS conversations.

Yet “safety culture” is also a phrase that rarely receives a concise definition, and is often used to convey “a general sense of safety.”

More Insidious Than Confrontational

Formal aviation safety management systems (SMS) have been continually being implemented across the world for over a dozen years now. Some are successful, while many are not. Failed or under-performing aviation SMS is a concern for account executives and the safety team.

How can management increase the chance of a successful SMS implementation?

Ground Handling Accidents in Aviation Risk Management

A couple of months ago I was sitting on a Boeing 737 jet waiting for the rest of the passengers to board the plane.

My seat was near the front of the aircraft, and I had a central view of ground handling operations. Since I boarded nice and early, I had nothing better to do than sit and observe the bustling of workers, bags, and carts below me.