HAI/OCTAVIO CALDERON IMAGE
maintenance technician leaving a tool on an aircraft. But what latent factors are present? Do you have a tool control program? Was the technician trained in that program? Was he or she distracted, fatigued, or pressured to complete the task quickly? Most aviation accidents have a chain of contributing factors, and it’s worth looking at how disrupting any of these will break that chain. Finally, create SMART (Specific, Measurable,
Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) goals to address the factors that will best mitigate the risk, either by making it less likely to happen or decreasing the severity of the consequences. For example, if bird strikes are identified as a hazard, then you could direct pilots to avoid routes over landfills known to attract birds, making a bird strike less likely. You could also direct pilots to wear helmets with visors, making the consequences of a strike less severe. Tis step will most likely
Keep Reporting Simple, Nonpunitive
Te emphasis on hazard reporting is one thing that sets an SMS apart from other safety sys- tems. Keep the report format simple—a single- page form, for instance. It could be as simple as writing down your thoughts after a flight or some maintenance work, or simply when things could have been done better. “It’s important to keep reporting simple, since it’s easy to overlook the small things when
Te hazard is the problem. Te more you know about that hazard and the risks it carries, the better equipped you are to create and implement strategies to mitigate those risks. Industry observers say that a large number of reports doesn’t mean the company is plagued with safety problems; rather, a significant amount of reporting likely means the operator maintains a healthy safety culture. For a single operator without a staff, reporting
consists basically of self-evaluation. Chop recalls auditing a one- man, one-helicopter operation where the SMS was done manually with spreadsheets. “He developed goals and did his own risk assessment both pre- and post- flight,” he says. In one self-evaluation
involve other staff members: you may need to create train- ing, change policies and pro- cedures, or purchase protective equipment. While those may cost time and money, the costs are nothing compared with the liability exposure, expense, and potential loss of life associated with an accident.
3. How do you know it worked?
Because in Step 2 you created SMART goals to address risk factors, you can look at the resulting data and see if your risk-reduction goal was met. If you didn’t see the results you were expecting, adjust your strategy and try again. Tis step is called risk assurance. Te structure of SMS has a lot in common
with that of total quality management programs, in that it’s not a “one-and-done” exercise. Just like quality, safety is not a destination but a cycle of continuous improvement. Another benefit of SMS is that it makes improving safety into a systematic process, helping you to avoid a purely reactive, ad hoc approach.
SMS may seem complicated, but it really boils down to this: operators need to systematically and continuously collect information about safety hazards, implement strategies to reduce the identified risk, and then track results and adjust strategies as necessary to ensure that the identified level of risk is reduced. Operators execute their SMS through their safety culture, policy, risk management, assurance, and promotion activities.
you’re focused on running a business, things that can bite you later,” says Rick Kenin, an HAI Board member and COO at Boston MedFlight, a Part 135 air ambulance company. Requiring too much information can make
busy employees feel bogged down in paperwork. Most important, staff need assurances that they won’t get in trouble for reporting unsafe conditions and that management will value their reports. “Consistent reporting is encouraged,” says
Chris Chop, chief pilot and president of Aviation Safety Partners as well as an IS-BAO (International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations)– certified auditor for fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, in describing how reporting should be presented. “And it’s nonpunitive unless the incident was willful.” While getting a new hazard report on your
desk can be hard to view as a positive thing, remember that the report isn’t the problem.
Chop reviewed, the sole operator noted the times he was in a hurry and had used the manufac- turer’s abbreviated start
checklist rather than the long one. Tis allowed him to better understand the risks and factors that
determined which checklist to use. “He tracked each use and frequency and
evaluated the risk,” says Chop. “So you can do it. It’s all about what you want to report and manage.”
Safety Culture and Management Buy-In Are Key
Te success of an SMS hinges on a strong company safety culture and buy-in throughout the company, from the line worker to the CEO or owner. Chop credits the success of his company’s SMS to his management’s commit- ment, noting that Aviation Safety Partners’ leaders consistently promote the program. “Both sides need to build trust [in the system],” he says. Ideally, under SMS the entire company
functions as one big safety team where everyone is empowered to voice safety concerns, with no fear of retribution unless the hazard was
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