The aviation safety manager (SM) is the individual charged with developing, monitoring, and improving the safety management system (SMS) of the service provider.
The safety manager acts as the primary reference point for safety management issues in the organization. Safety professionals must understand risk management processes and much more.
Appointing a safety manager is a crucial step in establishing the SMS' organizational structure and planning for the aviation SMS implementation. The appointed SM may be:
Both in small and large service providers, the appointed SM will likely be the point of contact for regulatory agencies, such as the FAA or EASA.
It’s extremely important to note that the safety manager is not responsible for the aviation SMS – they are in charge of managing and directing safety operations. The accountable executive is responsible for ensuring the SMS is properly implemented and performed in all areas of the organization.
An extremely common misnomer about safety manager responsibility is that they are ultimately responsible for the success/failure of the SMS implementation. This is not true. The accountable executive is ultimately responsible for the safety performance of the SMS.
What an aviation safety manager is responsible for is managing the SMS and facilitating the safety program’s operations, which include the above-mentioned:
What this looks like in a real-world scenario is the following 3 components:
The safety manager is in charge of facilitating many operational elements of an aviation SMS program, including:
There are other important duties as well, but the above points cover many primary duties. It’s also important to note that while some sites, such as SKYbrary, maintain that safety managers are responsible for making sure safety receives equal priority, it’s more accurate to say they are in charge of monitoring. The accountable safety executive needs to set the precedent that safety operations are equally valuable.
Aviation safety managers almost always have a strong background in the aviation industry. Such a background could be:
As pointed out, the position of safety manager varies quite a bit from company to company. Some companies may have stringent requirements and require specific certifications for an appointed safety manager. In small organizations, a safety manager may be appointed on the quality of their:
Safety professionals interested in becoming a manager of safety should review the requirements of different organizations and see how they can meet minimum requirements to get started right away.
Working as a safety manager is unlike many other professions in that the required tasks required for success vary quite a bit. With someone in sales, personal charisma is a big part of the job; with someone in project management, task delegation will be a part of the job. Safety managers don’t have the luxury of being able to rely on one skill. A good aviation safety manager will usually have a strong ability to:
First and foremost, good safety managers are universally invested in the safety of their program and the aviation industry as a whole. All the above skills cannot compensate for an un-invested safety manager.
Safety managers face several challenges in their everyday work. What these challenges can amount to over time is safety manager burnout. In general, aviation safety managers are high achievers, with strong technical and project management skills. However, the following areas can often drain their energy or impede upon success:
In addition to all other areas of success, good safety managers almost are always persistent in overcoming roadblocks with their “can do it” mentality.
Effective safety managers choose the right tools to manage their aviation SMS. If you are a safety manager struggling with your SMS implementation, maybe you need the right tools and support. Since 2007, SMS Pro has been serving aviation service providers. We provide a very robust and complete SMS database that will make you appear more professional and "on top of things."
Excellent decision-making dashboards, automated notifications, and approved industry workflows make SMS Pro a choice for top-performing safety managers. Check out these videos to determine how we can help your SMS.
Last updated in May 2024.