This article considers the four phases of ICAO SMS implementation within an Aviation Organization, presented by Steven Bentley Managing Director of Sofema Aviation Services.
The initial phase without surprise is the most important, to design the SMS framework which is going to suit your organization. A key element of this stage is to have a clear commitment from senior management together with an understanding of the roles and responsibilities.
The initial phase of SMS implementation is where the organization understands its current position and performs a comparison with where it intends to be called an SMS ‘Gap Analysis” maybe up to 80% of what needs to be done can be done without huge effort or indeed significant cost other than a focus on optimizing processes and procedures. SMS implementation is not just a step by step approach rather a phased transition to a new way of working and gathering and processing data.
The Data from the ‘Gap Analysis” activity thus acts as the initiator and leads to the development of activities which may be documented using an implementation timeline.
The Second Phase, here is when you start to deliver the real and tangible system, using the data that you have gathered during the previous phase. In addition much of your existing system will be focused typically on Reactive processes rather than Proactive ones. Your have to be realistic and understand that it will take some (possibly considerable) time, moreover the may need to be a change management process to drive the implementation particularly in a larger company, where roles may be more structured.
The Third Phase is where we start to move to gathering data Proactively. To deliver an effective proactive SMS we need to gather data which is then analyzed to determine risk or exposure by looking at the probability of a hazard damaging the organization in some manner whether it be in terms of financial exposure, damage to equipment or potential harm to persons. The risk assessment process identifies weaknesses which need to be addressed by the organization.
The Fourth phase sees an auditable fully functioning system which is delivering a proactive risk management process, further optimization of this element will enable the organization to develop prediction strategies which will deliver a higher level of understanding.
At this stage an effective organization wide Training program should be evident, delivering role specific training to all employees within the business.
The organization should be able to deliver an effective Safety Assurance and oversight system to include formal and systematic processes for continuous monitoring.
The data that is gathered is used to deliver performance oversight and to enable evaluation of the systems effectiveness
The final element should be the demonstration of effective safety communication throughout the organization, from top to bottom and just as importantly from bottom to top.
Sofema Aviation Services provides SMS trainings across a range of areas including implementation, management and training.
To see the current availability of trainings www.sassofia.com To arrange for your own in company training please email office@sassofia.com
