SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

Vendors as Part of Aviation SMS Initiatives

Aviation safety managers, especially at larger airlines and airports have considerable work to perform, including:

Legacy Safety Reporting Systems Increase Auditing & Financial Risk

Aviation safety managers commonly tell me that audits become much less painful after switching over to their new aviation safety management system (SMS) database software.

This doesn't mean that their company always passes audits without findings, but auditors love that all SMS documentation requirements are managed within one centralized data management system instead of being scattered around in:

Why Overdue Items Safety Chart Is Important

No aviation safety program is perfect.

Safety issues, corrective and preventive actions will inevitably “fall through the cracks” and become overdue while being managed. Problems arise when safety issues and other safety items fall critically behind. This exposes an organization to:

What Is a Fishbone Diagram for Aviation Safety Programs

Fishbone diagrams are a lesser known but very effective risk management tool in aviation safety management systems (SMS).

Fishbone diagrams get their name because of their fish-like appearance, with several fins and a head. Each “fin” or “branch” of a fishbone diagram describes a different element of the safety issue, such as “Man” and “Machine.” The head describes the Top Event (also known as Risk Event, the point at which safety control is lost).

Why #Policies Involved In Issues Charts Matter for Your Aviation SMS

Operational policies and procedures are the bureaucratic backbone to the success of every organization. The policies and procedures are the recipe, or secret sauce that your company uses to deliver its product or service.

The purpose of every aviation safety management system (SMS), besides to obviously improve levels of system safety, is to improve operational processes to a point where risk is mitigated as low as reasonably practical (ALARP). The most practical approach to achieve this goal is for the industry, as a whole, to adopt standards that manage risk in a formal, structured, proven risk management process.

As operators improve their operational processes, systemic risk is logically reduced. A most powerful approach to improve your processes in the shortest time possible is to actively and continuously monitor your policies and procedures.

Which Safety Charts Help Accountable Executives the Most?

In aviation safety management systems (SMS), the accountable executive is responsible for ensuring their SMS is both:

• implemented according to regulatory standards; and
• performing in all areas of the organization.

Everyone Understands Hazard Reporting

Every aviation safety professional has heard of a "hazard reporting system" in regards to aviation safety management systems (SMS). You may call your hazard reporting system by another name, such as safety reporting system, but the purpose of the system remains the same: allow stakeholders to communicate safety information to safety teams which will use the information to manage risk.

The intent of hazard reporting goes beyond merely hazard identification in a fully implemented aviation SMS.

Safety managers are constantly urging employees to report any:

• Accident;
• Incident (including close calls); or
• Irregularity (which is commonly a hazard).

Why This Aviation SMS Implementation Chart Is Important

As you probably already well know, implementing aviation safety management systems (SMS) is a big deal for most aviation service providers around the world – both in terms of accounting for all of an SMS' moving parts, as well as trying to get all of the moving parts moving in the direction of progress.

Why Linked Safety Issues Chart Is Important

Compliance in aviation safety management systems (SMS) will become universally consistent for the most part. Sure, there will be regions where regulatory oversight remains inconsistent, but we'll not consider those operators at this time.

Aviation SMS Structure Is the Backbone of a Safety Program

The management of aviation safety is a shared responsibility among all levels (i.e., stakeholders) of an organization.

Top management has to set the basis for establishing

• safety culture,
• safety policy,
• protections to employees, and
• the structure for controlling risk.

Middle management is delegated with tasks to ensure the organizational aviation safety management system (SMS) goals and objectives align with senior management's organizational goals . And the actual work behind an aviation SMS' risk management processes happens at the ground level with the behavior of employees. Employees are safety performance monitors, remaining ever vigilant of hazards and reporting potential safety concerns as they are identified.

From the bottom up, every employee has his/her duties to satisfy operational safety performance.