September 25, 2019

sasadmin

Contribution by Sofema Aviation Services www.sassofia.com

Introduction ā€“ EASA NPA 2019-05 (C) sees the inclusion of Safety Management Systems into the Part 145 Environment.

What Does EASA Say?

The organisation and the way in which it operates can have a significant impact on human performance.

Therefore, safety management necessarily addresses how humans can contribute both positively and negatively to an organisationā€™s safety outcomes, recognising that human behaviour is influenced by the organisational environment.

The effectiveness of safety management largely depends on the degree of commitment of the senior management to create a working environment that optimises human performance and encourages personnel to actively engage in and contribute to the organisationā€™s management processes.

Similarly, a positive safety culture relies on a high degree of trust and respect between the personnel and the management, and it must, therefore, be created and supported at the senior management level.

If the management does not treat individuals who identify hazards and report adverse events in a consistently fair and just way, those individuals are unlikely to be willing to communicate safety issues or to work with the management to effectively address the safety risks.

As with trust, a positive safety culture takes time and effort to establish, and it can be easily lost.

It is further recognised that the introduction of processes for hazard identification and risk assessment, mitigation and verification of the effectiveness of such mitigation actions will create immediate and direct costs, while related benefits are sometimes intangible, and may take time to materialise.

Over time, an effective management system will not only address the risks of major occurrences, but also identify and address production inefficiencies, improve communication, foster a better organisational culture, and lead to more effective control of contractors and suppliers.

In addition, through an improved relationship with the authority, an effective management system may result in a reduced oversight burden.

Thus, by viewing safety management and the related organisational policies and key processes as items that are implemented not only to prevent incidents and accidents but also to meet the organisationā€™s strategic objectives, any investment in safety should be seen as an investment in productivity and organisational success.
Consider the Key Elements

  • Overall Safety Management is a key component of an effective business
  • Senior Management “buy-in” is essential
  • Positive Safety Culture is also essential with the visibility of a Just & Fair Culture
  • Risk analysis and mitigation brings cost to the table which will not always be addressed in the short term
  • Over time an effective SMS will bring multiple benefits

Sofema Aviation ServicesĀ www.sassofia.comĀ and SofemaOnlineĀ www.sofemaonline.comĀ provide a range of regulatory compliant and vocational training courses. For any questions please emailĀ office@sassofia.comĀ  orĀ online@sassofia.com

Tags:

Aviation Safety Management System, EASA Part 145 Organisation, Safety Culture