Questions Remain
There are two conclusions about voluntary helicopter SMS that can be drawn so far in this article. First, the member demand that led to the creation of the HAI SMS Program proves that many operators want to improve safety management at the companies on their own initiative. Second, if the helicopter industry doesn’t implement fully-featured SMS programs on their own initiative, the federal government may do it for them.
This is where things get tricky: the degree of sincere devotion to high voluntary SMS standards varies from operator to operator. In turn, this raises questions. How viable is voluntary SMS? Is it enough to satisfy the FAA?
The answers to both questions depend on the sincerity and commitment of the helicopter industry to high voluntary SMS standards and results – and their willingness to keep supporting them year in and year out.
“For an SMS to succeed, there has to be real buy-in by company leadership,” said Eric Hamp, director of operations at Blue Hawaiian Helicopters in Kahului, Hawaii. “This means the CEO plus the process owners – that is, the people in a position to set SMS standards and procedures and ensure that people adhere to them.
“The SMS I’ve seen that seem to be successful are the ones where those in charge actually understand and embrace the whole process,” Hamp added. “This includes being properly trained in safety to make sure that they know what needs to be in place and what needs to be done on an ongoing basis.”
El Aero’s Duncan warned, “Any SMS program is only as good as the people who use it; anyone can ‘game’ the system if they want to. In order for an SMS to work properly from the beginning, you have to have good people to start with.”
This being said, voluntary SMS systems implemented by companies that have spent the time and money to do this fully can
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deliver real results. “When a mature safety system is in place and the safety culture is positive, you can see a quantitative reduction in near-miss incidents and/or accidents,” said Chris Martone, a helicopter pilot with Chevron. “This reduction more than makes up for the budget that is allotted to run the program.”
Ah, budget: the question of money is one that dogs the efficacy of voluntary SMS. “I’ve heard people talk about SMS by saying things like ‘You’ve got to track how much money you’re saving when you implement it,’” Hamp related. “This is something you come across when you go to some of the seminars or read some of the sales pitches for SMS. They’re like, ‘Oh yeah, it’s gonna save you money.’ Unfortunately, I think that kind of appeal takes away from the essence of what SMS is trying to accomplish. I do think that it will ultimately save you money, but you just need to believe that’s going to happen after you’ve attacked all of your risks.”
The Bottom Line
One can only hope that the HAI SMS Program and other industry efforts are enough to justify voluntary SMS implementations. If not, Washington may well be happy to step in. “The FAA has indicated that they’re on the way to expanding SMS requirements for passenger-carrying operations for Part 135 operators and perhaps some others as well,” said Hill. “But we like to encourage folks to embrace SMS implementation long before a regulatory body requires them to do so. That is why we came up with the HAI SMS Program.”
Farsighted helicopter operators who need SMS support would be wise to give the HAI SMS Program serious consideration. If Hill is right and the FAA eventually enforces the implementation of SMS, such helicopter operators will be ready for the change. And even if the FAA doesn’t, having a fully fledged SMS in place is a responsible, intelligent action for a helicopter operator to take.
For more on the HAI SMS Program, go to
https://rotor.org/ resources/sms-program.
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