SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

Safety Culture More Than Policies and Procedures

In some places within the aviation industry, people believe that “safety culture” looks like a lot of rules and regulations. It looks like “the man” or a bunch of nerdy pencil pushers.

I don’t believe that’s what our safety culture does or should look like. I believe safety cultures in the aviation industry can look like so much more.

• It should look more like a community.
• It should look like a team.
• It should look like a family.

A Reporting Culture Is a Just Culture

Workers’ participation in aviation safety management systems (SMS) comes down to one word: reporting.

When workers are reporting, it demonstrates three things:

How Money Can Affect the Way We Think About Safety

I find myself being an unsafe pilot all of the time, and so do many other pilots. Not in the sense of breaking safety regulations, such as flight and duty times, but by pushing personal limits.

Aviation Safety Promotion Activities Don't Have to Cost Much

Every aviation safety program is on a budget, and incorporating safety programs can sometimes be costly, but there are some ways to keep safety as a priority without spending a dime, such as

• Developing a training program with integrated safety training;

Benefits of Showing Employees That Your SMS Is Effective

Showing employees that your SMS is effective is simply building your case for the SMS. That being said, there are several prerequisites for being able to show employees that your SMS is effective:

• Your SMS has actually demonstrated safety improvement;
• Employees are actually reporting issues;

Aviation Safety Leadership Is NOT Safety Management

Aviation safety managers and department heads are tasked with delivering aviation safety management AND safety leadership capabilities.

“Leadership” and “management” are often used interchangeably both in speech and action but contrary to common practice they are NOT the same thing.

The Goal of Good Safety Newsletters

The first and foremost goal of an aviation safety newsletter is safety promotion for an organization's aviation safety management system (SMS). Which, put more simply, means creating an interest and awareness in anything safety.

What Are Responsibility, Confidentiality, and Privacy in Aviation Safety Management

In aviation safety management, responsibility, confidentiality, and privacy are the triad that affects how you handle reported safety information. Whether your organization is large or small, your leadership team needs to discuss these factors and decide how to handle them.

Your organization may decide that it doesn’t need to pay particular attention to this triad,

Quality Leadership Stimulates Teamwork

A mature, effective aviation safety management system (SMS) will always incorporate imaginative ways to stimulate teamwork and good communication between employees.

It’s a tricky area though because teamwork and communication are beset by:

Managers Drive Employee Actions Toward Aviation SMS

I am guessing that every accountable executive you speak to will honestly profess to support their aviation safety management system (SMS). After all, the alternative would be that top management only cares about making money and not doing everything reasonably practical to improve safety.

Signs that top management doesn't support their SMS include:

• Withholding budgets from safety departments;