Safety Management System in Aviation - Essay Example

Safety Management System Safety Management System A safety management system provides a systematic and comprehensive process for identifying and controlling safety risks (Hudson, 2001). It provides a method for hazard identification and contains procedures to control risks to guarantee the safety of passengers and workers. According to ICAO, all airlines, airports, civil aviation authorities, and air traffic controllers worldwide should have an SMS (Stolzer, Halford, and Goglia, 2008). While the eradication of accidents and severe incidents is sought-after, a one hundred per cent security rate is unachievable. An SMS provides procedures and efforts to minimize the occurrence of incidents and accidents (Rodrigues, Cusick and Wells, 2012). Aviation organizations have shifted safety management from a reactive basis to a proactive, organizational-based focus. This aims at reducing the number of aircraft accidents and incidents. The implementation of an SMS enables these organizations identify risks within the airline and device methods to eliminate the risk factors. Active failures and latent conditions must be eliminated to reduce the number of incidents and accidents (Kritzinger, 2006). The first step in introducing an SMS to an organization is drafting an implementation plan. The plan contains the stages required before the SMS is fully functional and the improvement procedures (Calleja and Leon, 2011). Safety Policy- safety is the first priority in all activities within the airline. The management is committed to drafting, implementing, and improving policies and processes to ensure that all activities maintain a high level of safety performance. Safety planning objectives and goals- the airline aims at protecting the workers, customers, and visitors. The Head of Aviation safety will supervise the implementation of the SMS. This includes purchasing the SMS software, hardware, and the appointment of the safety manager. The software and hardware should utilize a maximum of $1.5 million. The safety manager and other workers in the safety department should be appointed within one month after the endorsement of the plan. The safety manager will report directly to the Head of Aviation Safety. System Description- the safety manager will document a description of the SMS and other related systems. This will include identifying all components and their functions. The documentation should be clear and precise and should be submitted within two months. The description will be used during staff training and in safety conferences. The documentation should also contain safety rules and regulations in the airline. Gap analysis- the safety department will conduct an analysis to identify the implemented policies, procedures, and processes and compare them to those indicated by ICAO. The deficient requirements will form one basis of the SMS implementation. The analysis should be conducted within a period of three months. The findings should be documented and presented to the chief operations officer within the three months. SMS components- the SMS will contain the following components: safety Policy and Objectives; Safety Risk Management; Safety Assurance; and Safety Promotion (Mol, 2003). 1. The safety policy should describe the commitment of the senior management. It should also define the methods, processes, and the organizational structure needed to meet the safety goals. The senior management will also elect safety committees to oversee the implementation and maintenance of safety measures. 2. Safety risk management involves identifying potential risks and devising ways to eliminate them or minimize their effect (Krause, 2003). All operational departments within the airline will identify hazards affecting the safety in their operations. This should be completed within one month and should include collecting, recording, and analyzing potential hazards. Employees in every department will be actively involved in this process under the supervision of the department heads. The safety committee will carry out a risk appraisal to establish the severity and probability of the occurrence of the hazard. This process will be completed within two months. The committee will analyze and eliminate or mitigate dangerous hazards, and identify the acceptable hazards. 3. Safety Assurance- the airline will conduct safety surveys biannual safety surveys. The survey will include checklists, questionnaires and confidential interviews that will be conducted by the safety committee. Members of the CAA will conduct an annual audit of the SMS in terms of compliance to international standards, adequate staff, and competency of workers. The safety committee will evaluate the SMS after every two years to identify areas that require improvement. The safety department will also conduct a safety survey after the implementation of organizational change to determine its effects on safety. 4. Safety promotion- all staff members will undergo a mandatory safety training for a period of two weeks. The head of Aviation safety will draft the training program, which should be completed within five months. Operational staff should understand the safety policy and the fundamentals of the SMS. Managers and understand the safety process, hazard identification and risk assessment. Senior managers should understand the regulatory requirements in their organizations, and the safety standards in the airline (Soekkha, 2003). Safety Roles and responsibilities- the Head of Aviation safety will be in charge of all safety measures in the airline and will chair the safety committee. The safety manager will supervise the implementation of the SMS and will oversee the assessment of the risk management process. Senior managers will be responsible for risk assessment and the implementation of safety measures in their departments. All employees will be responsible for their safety and the safety of colleagues in the work place and should follow the safety measures. Safety communication- this is an essential foundation for developing and maintaining a safety culture (Florio, 2010). Communication will occur through safety policies and procedure, newsletter, presentations and safety notices. Safety notices will be erected in all areas warning the workers and the general public of potential hazards within the area. This will ensure that employees are aware of the SMS and have knowledge of safety procedures in case of an accident. Senior managers will conduct occasional informal meetings with workers in their departments. Safety reporting policy- the CEO is accountable to the management board for safe operation of the airline. The CEO will report the causes of major incidents and accidents within the airline. The chief operations officer will report to the CEO regarding any accidents in the departments. The Head of Aviation safety will report accidents and incidents to the COO and will ensure safety procedures are implemented. The managers will report to the head of aviation safety regarding safety activities in the departments. All workers in the airline should report any incidents or accidents to their supervisors or the managers. Gap Analysis ICAO has a checklist that contains the requirements for an effective SMS. The gap analysis will be conducted by comparing the implemented procedures against the requirements in the ICAO checklist. The airline does not have a feedback process that notifies contributors about the reception and progress of their reports. All workers in the airline have to report incidents and accidents to the management. According to ICAO, the contributors should receive feedback regarding the results of the analysis of their report (Franklin, 2006). The safety manager should discuss the outcome of the analysis of a safety report with the contributors. The airline management does not measure the effectiveness of safety training sessions. ICAO gap analysis checklist requires the top management to incorporate a process of measuring the effectiveness of training (CCPS, 2011). Managers of every department will issue a written test to their staff after training. The most important tools in an SMS are risk assessment, responsibility and authority, and the safety policy. Risk assessment identifies potential hazards that can lead to accidents or dangerous incidents within the airline. The management team eliminates potential hazards or mitigates the results of their occurrence to acceptable levels (Lu, Wetmore and Przetak, 2006). The management is also mandated to identify new hazards that threaten the safety of people in the airline. Responsibility and authority creates accountability for incidents and accidents that occur. This eliminates blame game and provides a platform for effective investigations within the airline. Authority defines the communication channel to be followed when reporting accidents and incidents, and when communicating changes in the safety plan. The safety policy contains the commitment of the management in providing safety to staff and passengers. It ensures that the management upholds the safety policies and procedures outlined in the SMS. Safety training of employees creates a safety culture that guarantees the success of a safety management system. Employees understand the safety philosophy, policies, practices, procedures, roles and responsibilities in the organization (Patankar, 2011). Employees develop a positive attitude and character, become competent and understand the safety procedures. Safety culture determines the values and beliefs held by employees in relation to safety (Hopkins, 2005). Risk assessment and responsibility requires the participation of all employees. The safety policy guides the character and response of the managers to safety issues. A safety culture makes it the responsibility of individuals to maintain the safety of colleagues by respecting the safety policies and procedures. Risk management technique would be implemented by establishing a committee that would continuously check the operations of the airline to identify potential hazards. The committee would write a monthly report detailing identified hazards, probability of occurrence, effect on the occurrence, and mitigating techniques. This would ensure that risk management is well implemented in the airline. Human factors technique would be implemented by training employees on mechanisms to identify hazards and the importance of following the SMS. The airline would reward employees who propose efficient methods of eliminating hazards. Pilots and technical workers will undergo training on decision making techniques in order to reduce accidents and incidents caused by human errors. A Safety management system provides a procedure for identifying and controlling risks in the workplace. ICAO has developed a checklist that identifies hazards within an airline. These guidelines can be used to assess the effectiveness of the safety policies and procedures. In order to create a safe work environment, all employees must respect and follow the safety policies and procedures. An SMS is implemented in various stages and requires constant revision and implementation. Aviation authorities have established requirements that guarantee the safety of passengers and workers. The implementation of these requirements in the SMS reduces the occurrence of incidents and accidents. References Calleja C, D., & Leon, P. M. D. (2011). Achieving the single European sky: goals and challenges. Alphen aan den Rijn, Kluwer Law International. CCPS. (2011). Guidelines for auditing process safety management systems. Hoboken, NJ, Wiley. Florio, F. D., 2010. Airworthiness: An Introduction to Aircraft Certification. 2nd ed. Missouri: Elsevier. Franklin, M., 2006. Performance Gap Analysis: Tips, Tools, and Intelligence for Trainers. Virginia: American Society for Training and Development. Hudson, P. (2001). Safety Culture - Theory and Practice. Ft. Belvoir, Defense Technical Information Center. Hopkins, A., 2005. Safety culture and risk. The Organizational Causes of Disaster. Australia: CCH Australia Limited, Sydney. Jakhu, R. S., Sgobba, T., & Dempsey, P. S. (2011). The need for an integrated regulatory regime for aviation and space: ICAO for space? Wien, Springer. 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AH Zeist. Stolzer, A. J., Halford, C. D., & Goglia, J. J. (2008). Safety management systems in aviation. Aldershot, Hampshire, England, Ashgate. Read More