A Discussion Paper by Steve Bentley Group CEO of Sofema Aviation Services www.sassofia.com
Clearing up the Basic Stuff
SMS is not QMS by another name they are both separate and both significantly important QMS together with Quality Assurance (QA) strives to deliver a fully compliant product or process, whereas SMS considers the risk associated with any & all business risks. SMS is both subjective & forward-looking. A fully functioning Safety Management System contributes to the viability of the organisation by addressing safety risk.
SMS should focus on real-time performance monitoring and reporting together with effective data analysis â a major challenge being to consider how to capture the required data across the business in a valid way.
Top Down or Bottom up?
To be effective the Safety Management System must be led by the âExecutive Teamâ means it has to be âtop down.â However, it is also of critical importance for an effective system that all employees are fully engaged â means they understand in relation to their own job role what to report and how to report.
An Often-Held Misconception â SMS Implementation
A common misunderstanding concerns the believe that SMS implementation must be expensive. The reality is the opposite it is all about people engaging with processes which drive positive safety aware changes to organisation behaviour (culture). Usually most of the elements required to develop an SMS, as well as the needed resources, typically exist within the organisation.
At the core of an effective ICAO compliant Safety Management System which has been migrated from an existing safety system, it is usually necessary for a degree of reorientation as well as refocusing of existing safety process and activities.
Supporting with effective ownership, documentation management & role specific training across the business.
Where does âdataâ come from?
Data is the real challenge for any effective SMS.
Bottom up safety reporting by employees is a primary driver for safety data collection under SMS (It is also relatively inexpensive to deliver). Full engagement of all employees requires the communication of what to report as well as what does not need to be reported as well as how to report.
We must have information related to issues encountered during the delivery rather than any negative outcomes following issues with the delivery. In other words the âwhyâ rather than the âwhatâ.
We also need to identify âdisconnectsâ which may not necessarily have adverse outcomes but nevertheless are able to influence the overall effectiveness of the process in a negative way.
Consider that we are not looking for compliance status rather to understand shortfalls in the effectiveness and resilience of the system service or process.
DATA Drives Decisions
Because SMS captures safety data from workplace activities on an on-going basis, it generates a significant volume of data that allows senior leadership to reallocate safety resources, add further safety resources or remove those safety resources identified as unnecessary or ineffective.
It is through analysis of the SMS Data that the leadership team may allocate the appropriate resources to deliver the most effective mitigation’s.
Attendees to The Aviation Quality & Safety Management Symposium 2019 on Tues 14th May & Wed 15th May at Holiday Inn, Sofia, Bulgaria will consider further the challenges related to SMS Data acquisition.
âIf you are engaged in Aviation Quality & Safety Management in an EASA Environment this is your one âmust attendâ event of the yearâ
Please see www.sassofia.com or email office@sassofia.com
