Introduction provided by Sofema Aviation Services www.sassofia.com
This document considers an overview of the overall concept of Safety Management Systems (SMS) in the Territories.
It applies to all those parts of the aviation industry such as aircraft operators, maintenance organisations, ATS providers and aerodrome operators required to operate an SMS.
Aviation safety has traditionally focused on compliance with regulatory requirements and corrective actions to prevent recurrence of incidents.
As the industry continues to expand and develop, a different approach is needed to keep safety risks at an acceptable level. Safety management systems (SMS) are designed to complement regulatory compliance by the proactive use of good practices.
Sometimes situations arise where a hazard warrants controls that are beyond those of traditional regulation.
SMS provides a set of processes to control hazards identified by the organisation through identification, assessment, analysis, prioritisation and safety improvement actions.
Service providers and all their staff are responsible for the safe provision of their aviation services, therefore they must assess and, where appropriate, remove or mitigate any identified hazards.
SMS looks to allocate sufficient resource to manage hazards not only within a service provider’s organisation, but throughout the whole aviation system.
ICAO Annex 19 to the Chicago Convention requires States to place requirements on service providers to implement SMS.
The ICAO Standards stipulate:
(a) that the SMS be established in accordance with the SMS framework elements; and
(b) be commensurate with the size of the service provider and the complexity of its aviation products or services.
Use of an SMS has clear business benefits:
• stability, safety and customer support – customers are aware that some operations are safer than others and they will sense the service provider’s
attitudes and approach whilst using their services
• possible reduction in insurance premiums through evidence of control of safety risks
• good work/life balance practices, for example adjustment of rosters to avoid most tiring shift/sector will give safety benefits, and can also improve staff/crew morale – potentially lowering staff turnover and reducing training costs
• a proactive approach to safety can be demonstrated with documented evidence in the event of an incident or accident
• a more cost effective use of resources in managing safety
The cost of implementing and maintaining SMS becomes less significant and well worth the investment when contrasted with the cost of doing nothing. It makes sound business – as well as safety – sense.
The requirements in the OTARs
A common SMS requirement format, based on ICAO Annex 19, has been adopted and has been introduced to the various OTAR parts, e.g. for aerodromes, air traffic services and the operation and maintenance of aircraft.
It must be emphasised that the SMS will need to be designed to meet the specific needs of the individual organisation. Consequently, the requirement is not very prescriptive. The intent is that an organisation develops and/ or adapts processes within its operation to meet the SMS requirements.
The ICAO Standards have been incorporated into the various OTAR Parts as follows:
(a) An applicant for the granting of a certificate/approval shall establish, to the satisfaction of the Governor, a safety management system (SMS) which is commensurate with the size of the organisation and the complexity of its operation.
(b) The safety management system shall include:
(1) a safety policy and objectives signed by the accountable manager which reflects an organisational commitment towards safety throughout the organisation and sets out:
(i) management commitment; and
(ii) safety accountability and responsibilities within the SMS; and
(iii) appointment of key safety personnel including a safety manager who is responsible for the implementation and maintenance of an effective SMS; and
(iv) SMS documentation; and
(v) coordination of emergency response planning
(2) provision for safety risk management including:
(i) hazard identification based on reactive and proactive methods; and
(ii) safety reporting and investigation processes; and
(iii) safety risk assessment and mitigation.
(3) provision for safety assurance including:
(i) safety performance monitoring and measurement; and
(ii) the management of change; and
(iii) continuous improvement.
(4) safety promotion including:
(i) training and education, appropriate to each individual’s involvement in the SMS, to ensure that personnel are trained and competent to perform their duties; and
(ii) safety communication.
(5) a quality management system in accordance with the relevant OTAR, that as a minimum:
(i) identifies applicable requirements, regulations and standards and demonstrate compliance with them;
(ii) ensures technical manuals, checklists and other documentation is appropriately maintained and incorporates the latest amendments; and
(iii) ensures that training programmes maintain staff proficiency and competency.
(c) The safety management system shall be described in the relevant documentation and shall be acceptable to the Governor.
What do the requirements mean?
With the smaller company very much in mind, the following paragraphs give some suggestions in italics to explain what the requirements mean in real terms. Larger, more complex organisations may also find this a useful starting point.
Although the requirement has been broken down in the following sections it is important to understand that a safety management system consists of all these parts that come together in various ways to support and interact to manage hazards.
All of the following elements are needed for an effective SMS.
To be effective, the SMS must be tailored to suit the type of operation.
The objective is to weave SMS into the fabric of the organisation – to fully integrate SMS into its management methods. This usually starts with a commitment to provide the necessary resources.
Each of the following components is necessary in some way, regardless of the size or type of operation (see Appendix A). It is the extent or detail of the component that needs to be tailored to the operation. This may well be adaptations of current Safety Management Systems processes. These processes may be quite simple as long as they function and are used.
So an SMS of one organisation may look very different to those of others, hence why the requirement, as previously noted, is not very prescriptive.
Overall the system must be practical and sustainable for the organisation’s size, complexity and resource.
A safety policy and objectives signed by the accountable manager which reflects an organisational commitment towards safety throughout the organisation and sets out:
Safety Policy
There needs to be a clear statement of the organisation’s policy.
As a cornerstone of the SMS all staff should be aware of this, have easy access to it, and understand what it means. It could be viewed as a contract between management and staff to what each should expect of each other with respect to the SMS.
Sofema Aviation Services and our sister company www.sofemaonline.com provide Safety Management System Training, with more than 45 different courses to choose. https://sassofia.com/aviation-safety-and-safety-management-system-sms/ please see the websites or email office@sassofia.com or online@sassofia.com for details
