Safety Management Systems | SMS

SMS Components

Effective SMS programs consist of the following four essential components:

• Safety Policy & Objectives: To be effective, an SMS must be based on a clearly defined and communicated safety policy and objectives. The official policy and objectives need to include a formal commitment to a culture of safety from senior management; assignment of responsibilities and accountabilities for ensuring that the SMS is effective and successful; the appointment of a safety manager at a sufficiently high level of corporate management; and documentation to define and communicate the organization's approach to address safety issues.
• Safety Risk Management: An effective SMS must provide for the identification of potential hazards and a formal process to assess safety risks posed by these hazards and develop measures to prevent or mitigate these risks.
• Safety Assurance: Successful SMS programs must monitor safety processes and safety-related incidents in order to measure the performance and effectiveness of the SMS. Key performance indicators must be identified, monitored and evaluated on a regular, periodic basis.
• Management of change is another important aspect of Safety Assurance. The SMS should identify changes within the organization that would have the potential to affect established processes and services; it should provide for measures to ensure safety performance before significant changes are implemented; and it should eliminate or modify outdated safety risk control measures that are no longer needed or effective due to changes in the organization's operational environment.
• Finally, a viable SMS must undergo continuous improvement in order to maintain effectiveness in today's dynamic aviation business environment, where organizations must make frequent changes in organization structure and processes in order to remain competitive. The root causes of sub-standard performance of the SMS or any of its control measures must be identified and evaluated for their potential impact on safety, and appropriate changes made to the SMS to counteract their adverse effects.
• Safety Promotion: For an SMS to be successful, it must result in the establishment of a safety-minded culture at all levels of an organization's structure. In order to bring about such a culture change and nurture an awareness of safety-related issues, an organization must develop an adequate safety training program to ensure that all personnel are trained and competent to perform their safety-related duties. Likewise, the organization should implement a formal safety communication process to ensure that all personnel are fully aware of the organization's SMS and to convey critical safety information both up and down the chain of command.

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