SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

Financial Opportunities Abound from Aviation SMS Processes

Aviation safety management systems (SMS) are designed to be implemented in a top down managerial style for some "not-so-obvious reasons." For one reason, the "accountable executive" cannot accurately be considered "accountable" when safety initiatives and budgets exist beyond their direct control.

Accountable executives control organizational resources, including finances. Organizational safety financial decisions must be controlled and optimally  championed by accountable executives.

Accountable executives understand:

• Current business strategy;
• Available and future budgetary constraints; and 
• Global, regional and corporate business cycles.

Unfortunately, most accountable executives don't realize how much latent money-making-potential resides within their aviation SMS implementations. This potential resides outside their purview.

In this advanced aviation SMS article, we assume you "influence" a functional SMS. Like many others, you may expect this core business function to earn the financial rewards so often promised in SMS regulatory guidance.

If processes are not easy, they are not sustainable!

What You Need to Know about Aviation SMS Implementation Plans

If you are reading this, chances are you have just begun implementing your aviation safety management systems (SMS). Or, you would like to see how your implementation plan stacks up against the suggested process for creating an implementation plan.

Either way, the important things you need to know about aviation SMS implementation plans are that they:

• Organize all elements of SMS;
• Provide you with a road map of implementation-order;

The Glamour of Aviation SMS Consulting

Aviation safety management systems (SMS) are viewed as complex systems comprised of multiple, interdependent subsystems. These subsystems include, but are not limited to:

• Safety reporting system;
• Risk management system;
• SMS training management system;
• Safety communication system(s); and
• Safety performance monitoring systems.

Benefits of Aviation SMS for Flight Schools

Flight schools operate with many risky hazards every day.

Students are inexperienced, usually younger, and are new to technology and hazards of flying.

Moreover, the pressure that students undergoing flight training feel to perform well naturally makes them less prepared to identify hazards early on.

Of course, while flight schools need to prepare highly successful pilots, maintenance workers, air traffic controllers, etc., the FAA’s new compliance policy that airlines have a safety management system in place is a testament to the fact that safety performance is an integral part of overall performance.

Characteristics of a Sustainable SMS Implementation

Sustainability is a modern buzz word, and aviation safety management systems (SMS) are no exception. Sustainable SMS implementations are those that survive

• upper management personnel changes,
• safety manager changes, and
• high volume of employee turnover.

The question every safety manager and/or upper manager needs to ask is, does my SMS implementation achieve these sustainable goals?

Most Important Items for Starting SMS Implementation

If you are reading this article, chances are that you either already have started implementing an aviation safety management system (SMS), or you are considering an SMS implementation.

Starting an aviation SMS implementation from ground zero may be confusing and difficult for any safety professional, much less a layperson who may be tasked to implement an aviation SMS. There so much to do, such as

• gap analysis;
• implementation plan;

Bringing Life to a System

It’s easy to get lost in the bureaucracy side of aviation safety management systems' (SMS):

• Policies and procedures;
• Safety accountabilities;
• SMS training;
• Risk management processes;
• Management of change;
• SMS documentation requirements;

Idle Time Doesn’t Have to Be Dreaded

Aviation safety managers are hardworking professionals, and their daily work schedules can be hectic, challenging, and extremely busy. But for many safety officers – and I’m guessing you may be one of them – there may be times when things become pretty quiet on the "SMS front", as if everything is under control...finally. And a big sigh of relief comes.

Then you suddenly find yourself rubbing your hands together, wondering how to best spend your time. What can I do to add value to our aviation safety management system (SMS)?

Safety Benefits of Aviation Safety Management Systems

The most obvious benefits of implementing an aviation safety management system (SMS) are the marked improvements in safety.

Just to give you an idea of exactly how successful aviation SMS implementations have been, the only statistic you need to know is that 20 years ago there were four times as many workplace accidents as last year.