SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

Aviation Safety Manager's Allegiance to Company

You depend on your safety manager to monitor and improve safety in your area of operations, regardless of whether you are an:

• Airline Pilot;
• Aviation maintenance technician;
• Baggage handler; or

What Is Aviation Safety Culture

By definition, aviation safety culture is an organization’s commitment to safety. I tend to find this definition limiting.

Perhaps a better way to understand safety culture is the means of realizing safety success, in which commitment is just one part.

Of course, safety culture in the aviation industry needs to be coupled with an organized, compliant aviation safety management system (SMS) in order to increase an organization's ability for safety success.

Management Distancing Themselves From Aviation SMS

A common misperception in the aviation industry regarding safety management is that it is primarily a responsibility of the safety manager to work on all safety related matters.

The reality is actually different; paradoxically the safety manager is the one who should be doing the least: s/he should be working only as a facilitator of safety processes.

The real proactive work should be done at the level of each division with each divisional head (e.g. the flight operations manager) heavily involved in risk assessment and safety-sensitive development or updating of operating practices.

Aviation Safety Policy Influences Safety Assurance

Our global economy relies heavily on aviation SMS safety assurance activities to be carried out dutifully by aviation service providers.

The aviation industry is responsible for safely transporting goods and people all over the world.

What Information You Need to Analyze Risk

In aviation SMS, you analyze risk in order to identify how a particular issue affects safety. Based on your analysis, you can assess the safety issue, thereby ranking the level of risk and understanding what, if any, actions you need to take on the issue.

When you analyze the risk of an issue, you should be looking out for specific parts of the issue, such as:

What Does Ideal Safety Culture Look Like in Aviation SMS

I have written before that one of the biggest problems with safety culture in aviation safety management systems (SMS) is the way most of us understand what safety culture is. The problem confounds itself when one considers the other related organizational performance topics, such as:

• Just culture;
• Learning culture;
• Flexible culture;
• Reporting culture; and
• Informed culture.

What Are Leading Indicators in Aviation SMS?

Leading indicators is a current hot topic in safety programs.

I’ve noticed that there also seems to be differing and even conflicting information about exactly what are leading indicators in aviation safety management systems (SMS).

I’ve seen lagging indicators equated with

1. predictive risk management,
2. root causes, and
3. – most commonly – leading indicator examples.

Number One Asset in Aviation Risk Management Programs

People.

Superior safety performance in any aviation risk management program is always the result of putting the needs of employees first, and then supporting them with quality policies and procedures, and great aviation safety management system (SMS) tools.

What Actions You Should Take On Each Reported Safety Issue

Through the course of daily work in an aviation safety management system, you will discover safety issues – this is called “discovery.” When you make discoveries, such as through hazard reporting or SMS audits, you need to formally process them through your SMS Safety Assurance Process.

Key Performance Indicators Are Hottest Topic for SMS Programs

Without a doubt, key performance indicators (KPIs) have been on the minds of more aviation safety professionals for the past five years than any other single aviation safety topic. These KPIs cover a wide scope of business operations, such as:

• Safety;
• Quality;
• Financial; and
• Production activities.