What you need to know about sms

The Safety Management System was originally designed for large manufacturing companies that typically had safety departments in place, so the transition to SMS protocols and procedures was relatively simple. When ICAO issued the SMS mandate in 2006 for specific aviation service providers, (airlines, airports and aircraft manufacturers) that group also had well established safety cultures, which should have made the move to SMS also relatively simple. 

Unfortunately, SMS implementation for the airlines, airports and manufacturers  was deferred and delayed, while the FAA figured out the best way to regulate the SMS. Part 121 finally received their regulation in 2015, airports in 2023 and part 21 manufacturers, part 135 and 91.147 operators not getting their regulation until 2024 with the expectation of full implementation being a 3 year process.

Not surprisingly, it was part 91 corporate operators who fly internationally, who were early SMS adopters out of necessity because ICAO member states (193) made it clear at the time, they would enforce the new mandate regardless of an FAA regulation. That is when we began planning and implementing SMS programs specifically for corporate flight departments,  which are fundamentally identical to SMS for larger operators such as airports and airlines with the main difference being the physical size of the operation, the number of hazards identified and the number of employees needing to be trained. 

After nearly 20 years of planning and implementing SMS, the results have been mixed, with some departments doing better than others in terms of utilization and achieving the goals of the program. The vast majority of small to medium sized part 91 flight departments and many part 139 airports are minimally staffed, which means their SMS is managed as an ancillary role on a part time basis, guaranteeing low data collection and analysis, which limits the overall value of the SMS. 

The solution for small operators is to radically simplify the SMS protocols, procedures and especially the reporting process, which requires a steady stream of data (FRAT/FOQA/SOR/KPI) and that requires full participation from all members of the staff. That data stream needs to occur each day, so it's important you digitize your forms and use smart phones as a primary reporting platform. That information is then sent directly to your on site SMS coordinator who will review, analyze and mitigate as needed. The entire process is documented, monitored and regularly reviewed to ensure the SMS is effective.

Your onsite SMS coordinator will then spend about one hour per day, reviewing, tracking, monitoring for trends and sharing that information with everybody. To chip away at complacency, you should also be sending out a safety bulletin monthly at a minimum and hold regular safety committee meetings, which can all be done in-house with the right team, but it does require some time and effort. 

For those operators who needed assistance, we developed customized support programs that eliminated the time and effort required to achieve a successful SMS. That program includes the following deliverables:

1. Ensure SMS training for all personnel (initial and recurrent)

2. Establish a reporting platform (smartphone)

3. Digitize SMS form to include, FRAT, FOQA, SOR, KPI, AAR

4. Send out a weekly Safety Officer Bulletin (SOB) 

5. Schedule safety committee meetings quarterly and review

6. Investigate all Safety Occurrence Reports* and determine root cause

7. Generate corrective action, reports, recommendations as required

8. Liaison with onsite SMS-M to ensure compliance and effectiveness

9. Gatekeeper for department's ASAP when implemented

10. Provide quarterly IEP protocols and can perform annual SPA on request

* SOR includes SOP deviations, near hits, errors, suggestions, concerns, etc...

That's what a professionally managed SMS looks like and it really is a full time job.

As you can see, to fully benefit from an effective SMS you'll need to work at it, which means somebody in your organization will need some specialized training and the desire to build your program.  The problem for most operators has always been data collection, generating reports and getting full participation, which can be a full time job. For the regulated groups (121, 135, 139, 21, 91.147), SMS is a full time job, which is why we have developed support options that remove the time consuming aspects of generating reports, corrective actions, investigations, training and other administrative requirements.