created through deliberate disregard for regulations, policies, and procedures. If an SMS doesn’t gain this level of support, it will be nothing more than a manual on a shelf collecting dust. Management support is also essential for the success of two
other SMS components, safety policy and safety promotion. If deviation from the norms is tolerated or if the message from the company on safety isn’t consistent, then your SMS is doomed. “Top leadership commitment is a must; without it, you’re not
going to get anywhere,” says HAI’s Hill. However, “the larger the company, the more effort it takes to
install an SMS,” Hill continues. He compares the process of imple- menting an SMS to steering a big ship, where changing course takes longer than on a smaller vessel. “Smaller companies, where the chief pilot might also be the
safety manager, director of maintenance, and owner, can get on board more quickly because there are fewer people to train,” Hill notes.
Getting Started Starting an SMS can be a big change for both employees and managers. Hill lists hazard identification as a good place to begin. In addition to employee reports, tools such as surveys, audits,
inspections, and assessments are effective ways to obtain informa- tion about possible hazards. Tere’s a wealth of SMS information out there; visit the Safety Toolbox section at
vast.aero. And, of course, there’s the HAI SMS Program (see “An SMS Deal Too Good to Refuse,” opposite), which HAI offers exclusively to its operator and maintenance-provider members. Te thought of implementing an SMS in your own operation might seem overwhelming. But when you boil it down, there’s no
mystery—or complexity—to it. SMS requires you to: ■ Collect information about safety hazards ■ Implement strategies to reduce the identified risk ■ Track results and adjust strategies as necessary to ensure that
the identified level of risk is reduced. Tis can all be done via an app, Excel, or pen and paper. What’s
important is that you ask and answer those three questions listed at the beginning of this article—and then systematically continue to do so. You can’t eliminate aviation risks entirely, but you can reduce
them to an acceptable level, and that’s the purpose of an SMS. When an accident occurs, failure to manage is no excuse and your lack of an SMS will be noted by insurers and regulators.
DECEMBER 2022 ROTOR 25
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