Enhancing Aviation Safety: Expert Insights, Tips, and Updates from SMS-Pro

What Is This SMS Thing?

What’s the first thing you do when you want to answer a question? You Google it, right? Well, when you Google "aviation SMS", this is what the FAA will tell you:

What Is It Like to Lose Control of Your Aviation SMS

Losing control of your aviation SMS is largely a product of feeling overwhelmed by all the actions, documentation, and tasks required to implement and monitor safety.

While it is possible for safety culture to erode over time, to the point where the SMS does not perform well,

What Is Too Much to Handle

We talk with aviation safety professionals and business executives every day about their struggles with implementing and managing an SMS.

Inevitably, all aviation safety programs will reach a point of growth where it is getting too much to handle.

What Is Phase 4 of Aviation SMS Implementation

Phase 4 of SMS implementation is all about following through on designing your SMS, and moving forward with actually using the created resources and monitoring your SMS. For example, in Phase 3 of SMS implementation you are required to create KPIs, and in Phase 4 you are required to monitor them.

What Is Phase 3 of Aviation SMS Implementation

Phase 3 of Aviation SMS implementation is largely about implementing your Safety Risk Management process. Your SRM process is where you document and design your safety management system. Designing your SMS is a two-step process:

What Is Phase 2 of Aviation SMS Implementation?

Phase 2 of SMS Implementation is largely dedicated to documenting foundational, core, elements of your safety management system.

The result of implementing Phase 2 is an SMS Safety Policy that all employees can reference to understand:

What Is Phase 1 of Aviation SMS Implementation

Phase 1 of Aviation SMS implementation involves activities that lay the groundwork you will need to begin implementing other parts of your SMS, such as critical processes and policy.

Phase 1 of aviation SMS has the goal of answering like:

What Does It Mean to “Switch” SMS Program

If you’re reading this, it means you are considering or curious about what it takes to switch your safety management system. But, what are we talking about when we say “switch” your SMS program. There are a couple of possible scenarios that you should consider:

Daily SMS Activities May Preclude Routine Review

The new year has started. Business activities are beginning to return to full speed. At full speed, aviation safety managers may be putting out fires. These fires may cause safety teams to look continuously ahead when they should occasionally be looking back.

Ignorance Is No Excuse for Regulatory SMS Noncompliance

Imagine you come to Anchorage to play ping pong at NorthWest Data Solutions' headquarters. You fancy yourself as a pretty good ping pong player, so you are confident that you will not be skunked by NWDS' professional software engineers.

A small problem may arise as you are trying to keep score.