Most of us grew up using good old fashioned pen and paper for just about everything. In fact, for most things, I still prefer it over using my phone or computer.
It’s quick, it’s natural, it’s something we can touch and feel.
But frankly, comparing pen and paper methods to software for managing documentation requirements of formal aviation Safety Management Systems (SMS) is the difference between driving a trusted old pickup and a Formula 1 racing car.
Topics: Risk Management Software
Have you been considering the risks of moving your aviation safety management system (SMS) up to the cloud? In the past ten years, many aviation service providers have been moving their SMS data to the cloud for various reasons, but most make sound economic and business sense.
In this article, you will:
Topics: Risk Management Software
Something we hear about all time is the general lack of support from regulatory oversight agencies during inspections and audits. This lack of support that safety managers complain about regards the usage of risk management software in audits that aviation service providers use daily to manage their required safety management systems (SMS).
I don't mean to imply that agencies like the FAA, Transport Canada, or EASA are against operators using risk management software by any means,
Topics: Risk Management Software
Aviation safety managers, especially at larger airlines and airports have considerable work to perform, including:
Topics: Risk Management Software
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:
Topics: Risk Management Software
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:
Topics: Risk Management Software
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).
Topics: Risk Management Software
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.
Topics: Risk Management Software
In aviation safety management systems (SMS), the accountable executive is responsible for ensuring their SMS is both:
To ensure the SMS is performing as designed, accountable executives should be regularly reviewing organizational safety performance. When substandard safety performance is detected, it is the accountable executive's responsibility to bring the SMS into compliance.
Topics: Risk Management Software
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.
Topics: Risk Management Software
These two on-demand videos offer:
