SMS- why required

 WORKSHOP ON SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 

 Pondicherry  30.04.2011            

Topic: Safety Management Systems – Why required ?

      Introduction: ICAO in its Annexes requires ‘States to, as part of their safety programme, have the service providers/ organizations engaged in commercial operations, maintenance of aircraft, aerodrome operations, provision of air traffic services, design organizations, training to implement a safety management system which is acceptable to the State’.  In compliance with the standards of ICAO Annexes, various CARs specify the requirements for the establishment of SMS by an organisation. 
          SMS CAR- CAR Section 1 General Series C Part I specifies the minimum acceptable requirements for the establishment of SMS in an organization. 

         Benefits:To improve on existing levels of aviation safety in the light of the continuing growth of the industry, additional measures are needed.  One such measure is to encourage individual operators and maintenance organisations to introduce their own Safety management System.  

       Definition
1.Safety Management is defined as the systematic management of the risks associated with flight operations, related ground operations and aircraft engineering or maintenance activities to achieve high levels of safety performance: 

2.Safety Management System is an explicit element of the corporate management responsibility which sets out a company’s safety policy and defines how it intends to manage safety as an integral part of its overall business.   

      Fundamentals:Success in an organisation’s safety performance will be greatly strengthened by the existence of a positive safety culture.  Safety culture in an organisation can be described as the way in which it conducts its business and particularly in the way it manages safety.  It stems from the communicated principles of top management and results in all staff exhibiting a safety ethos which transcends departmental boundaries.  Safety culture can be measured by informal or formal staff surveys, or by observations conducted in safety related work areas.  It is essential that safety must be actively managed from the very top of a company.

Understanding and Implementing 

          There are four main points described below that must be made and understood from the outset to indicate that implementation of a Safety Management System involves evolution rather than revolution.  These are:

1) Organisations establishing an SMS need to take a pragmatic approach, building where possible on existing procedures and practices (particularly Quality Management).  SMS identifies and prioritises the use of resources to manage risk and it should lead to gains in efficiency.

2) Adoption of “best practice” standards must be a clearly stated objective.

3) A fully-fledged SMS is a formalised, company wide system.  Established at corporate level, the SMS then devolves out into the individual departments of an organisation.  Flight Operations, engineering & Maintenance, Ground Handling and all other departments whose activities contribute to the operator’s safety performance will have their own processes and procedures under the umbrella of the corporate SMS.

4) Where safety sensitive functions of the operator are outsourced (for example maintenance and ground handling) contractual agreements should identify the need for equivalent auditable SMS in the supplier.

 Prerequisites:There are three essential prerequisites for a successful Safety Management System described below as:  

A comprehensive corporate approach

An effective SMS will provide a means of achieving enhanced safety performance which meets or exceeds basic compliance with the regulatory requirements associated with safety and quality.  It is a well established fact that enhanced safety performance is founded upon a proactive safety culture inherent in all the organisation’s safety related activities.  It is achieved by effective, devolved executive management in association with a means of independent safety oversight, both of which are the ultimate responsibility of the organisation’s Board and Chief Executive Officer.  

A corporate approach to safety must be able to meet the following criteria:

1. Published safety accountabilities of managers and key staff
2. Requirements for a safety manager
3. The ability to demonstrate that it generates a positive safety culture throughout the organisation
4. Documented business policies, principles and practices in which safety is inherent
5. Commitment to a safety oversight process which is independent of line management
6. Regularly reviewed safety improvement plans
7. Formal safety review process
8. An effective organisation for delivering safety

The second essential prerequisite is for an organisation that delivers safe standards by way of:

1. Effective arrangements for selection, recruitment, development and training of staff
2. Safety awareness training for management and staff
3. Defined safety standards for, and auditing of, asset purchases and contracted services
4. Controls for the early detection of - and action on – deterioration in the performance of safety-significant equipment or systems or services
5. Controls for monitoring and recording the overall safety standards of the company
6. The application of appropriate hazard identification, risk assessment and effective management of resources to control those risks
7. Change management
8. Arrangements enabling staff to communicate significant safety concerns to the appropriate level of management for resolution and feedback of actions taken
9. Emergency response planning and simulated exercises to test its effectiveness
10. Assessment of commercial policies with regard to impact on safety   

Systems to achieve safety oversight.

The following elements are desirable:

1. A system for analysing flight data for the purpose of monitoring flight operations and for detecting unreported safety events
2. A company wide system for the capture of written safety event issues/ reports
3. A planned and comprehensive safety audit review system which has the flexibility to focus on specific safety concerns as they arise
4. A published system for the conduct of internal safety inspections, the implementation of remedial actions and the communication of such information
5. Systems for effective use of safety data for performance analysis and for monitoring organisational change as part of the risk management process
6. Arrangements for ongoing safety promotion based on the measured internal safety performance and assimilation of experience of other operations
7. Periodic review of the continued effectiveness of the safety management system an internal, independent body
8. Line manager’s monitoring of work in progress in all safety critical activities to confirm compliance with all regulatory requirements, company standards and local procedures.