SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

Common Dilemma About Aviation Safety Budgets

We have heard it time and again. Upper management has allocated insufficient funds for the safety department. This is a universal challenge for all aviation safety managers.

"Do more with less" seems to be a worn-out phrase that safety departments continue to hear.

How was the safety budget last year? Sufficient? Barely enough to pay for salaries? No room for training budgets or tools to improve efficiencies?

Just imagine what you could do with a bigger safety budget.

Spreadsheet-Based SMS or Software-Based SMS

Running a spreadsheet-based SMS or upgrading to a software-based SMS is a decision that companies are increasingly having to make a choice upon. A majority of aviation safety management systems are spreadsheet-based. If you are a safety manager, your SMS is probably based on spreadsheets.

You can’t deny the limitations of spreadsheets, however. Aviation safety management software offers efficiency and analysis ability that is orders of magnitudes above spreadsheets.

Why Department Head Charts Are Particularly Important

Traditionally, department heads are the individuals responsible for managing corrective and preventive actions associated with reported issues.

Managing an issue involves making sure that corrective-preventative actions (CPAs) are implemented appropriately. Now, let’s not get hung up on the word “department head” - it can act as a placeholder for the role in your organization that manages issues.

For example, some organizations will have a safety manager who manages issues.

How to Submit Hazard Reports with Custom Forms

SMS Pro offers over 20 pre-configured hazard reporting forms to fit data acquisition needs for the safety reporting system of most aviation safety management systems (SMS).

These reporting forms are mobile responsive, which means that they look good on any sized screen, whether it’s an iPhone, your Android mobile phone, or a large desktop screen.

Default safety reporting forms include:

FAA’s SRM Risk Assessment Element

The FAA’s SRM Risk Assessment element is the 4^th component in the Safety Risk Management Process. This process is outlined in the Advisory Circular and is based on the 4 Pillars of SMS.

The FAA's SRM Risk Assessment will naturally result from the SRM Risk Analysis component. Once a thorough risk analysis has been performed, responsible managers should have a good idea of the chances of a risk occurring, as well as potential damages/injuries.

Aviation SMS in Flight Schools Benefits Everyone

When I first forayed into the aviation industry, the first thing I learned was that the aviation industry is far more than simply flying.

While flight schools' primary goals are to prepare future pilots to be successful, a critical part of that success includes safety.

When it comes to how flight schools can use aviation safety management systems (SMS), there are 2 things to consider.

First, by their very nature, flight schools operate with considerable, daily risk.