Comments regarding Safety Management System (SMS) by Sofema Aviation Services (SAS) www.sassofia.com
Consider the Role of a Safety Management Systems (SMS)
An SMS is a documented set of procedures and defined safety objectives which are used to implement and maintain a safe effective & efficient environment.
A viable SMS helps companies to identify safety risks which can be assessed and acted on (Mitigated) before they become bigger problems.
Introduction Consider Quality & Safety Definitions
Quality Assurance
Quality assurance (QA) within an EASA Environment is the independent activity of providing, through an audit process, the evidence needed to establish that all activity is being conducted in accordance with the applicable requirements, standards and procedures. Quality Assurance is the Responsibility of the Compliance Manager.
Quality Control
Quality Control activities ensure through direct oversight that all elements of either production or service are performed In accordance with the documented control process & procedures. Quality Control is the Responsibility of the business area manager and ultimately the Nominated Person (Post Holder).
Quality Inspection
An inspection is typically a specific physical activity performed to establish the conformity of a product or system to ensure full alignment with a provided standard.
Safety Management System Assessments
Within an SMS Hazards are identified and Data is gathered which provides an opportunity for analysis to determine the Risk Profile and Exposure. (Not all Hazards pose a threat which requires addressing)
With an understanding regarding the magnitude of risk, we can develop appropriate mitigations – to lower the potential exposure of the “Hazard”.
What Is a Safety Audit?
- An Assessment of Safety Equipment, Processes Procedures, and Facilities in accordance with a procedures document is sometimes considered as a Safety Audit – However, essentially this activity is a prescriptive (QA) type task against a checklist or standard. We could also call it a Quality Assurance audit of Safety Requirements.
What is a Safety Inspection?
- As identified above any examination of conformity to a standard is essentially a “Quality” activity – however, in the big picture, it does not matter how we label the activity – why?
o It is not about labels it is about:
· Demonstrating Compliance with Regulations and Company Processes
· Identifying any activity which has an unacceptable level of Risk and developing actions to lower the risk (mitigate)
Note 1: Whenever we ask the “RISK” Question we immediately move to Safety Assurance.
Example – What is the Risk of Persons not following a specific Safety Requirement ?
To answer we need to look at the following:
o Availability of Procedure (How it should be)
o Awareness of the Procedure (Training)
o Willingness to Comply (Culture and Behaviour)
o Discipline
Summary
With the above understanding, we can now make a risk assessment (subjective judgment).
Note 2: Quality Assurance & Safety Assurance live very comfortably together – The key is to consider that QA is related to compliance with a specific requirement and SA is an educated assessment of the magnitude of the “risk” (Risk, of course, being subjective).
What are the QA requirements related to SMS systems?
Exactly the same as any other business area SMS is should be subjected to independent quality audit for:
- Compliance with regulations
- Compliance with Internal Procedures
- Completion of Training Program
- Control of Process & Procedures
- Reporting System
What are the SMS requirements related to the Organisations SMS?
- Assessment of the effectiveness of the Training
- Assessment of the effectiveness of the Reporting System
- Demonstration of Continuous Improvement
Next Steps
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aviation, Aviation Quality Assurance, aviation quality control, aviation safety, Aviation Safety Assurance, Aviation SMS, Quality Inspection, Safety Audit, Safety Inspection, Safety Management systems, SAS blogs
