SMS SUPPORT OPTIONS

The majority of corporate operators we've worked with over the past 18 years are looking to improve their operation every chance they get, and simplifying and automating their SMS has proven to be  the most cost effective place to start. 

This program was designed for small to medium sized corporate departments who want to fully benefit from an effective SMS, but have neither the staff, training or the time to do the level of work that requires.  Our SAFE program provides the following deliverables:

S- SMS administration and management

A- Advocacy and ARP management

F- Flight Operational Quality Assurance

E- Continuous SMS education

The SAFE program is the equivalent of hiring a full time experienced SMS manager who ensures your program conforms to the standard, but more importantly, provides a  long list of benefits only an effective system can provide. 

For a complete description of the program, click on the picture above.

The U.S. recognizes the ICAO requirement for States to establish regulations requiring certain service providers to implement SMS and has issued CFR's for part 121, 135, and part 91.147 operators. 

For part 91 corporate operators, the FAA recommends SMS, but does not regulate the program. To meet the ICAO SMS mandate, operators have voluntarily adopted and implemented SMS following the standard without FAA oversight or approval/acceptance. 

To date, part 91 operators "self-declare" that their SMS conforms to the industry standard without any formal approval from the FAA. 

Parts 135 and 91.147 operators must submit a declaration of compliance to the FAA that they meet the requirements of part 5, which is then assessed during the FAA's routine surveillance.

We can provide a third-party declaration of conformity/compliance or assist you develop your own internal evaluation program and show you how its done.

For a complete description of the program, click on the picture above.

The single most important thing you need to achieve an effective SMS is a deep understanding of how SMS works. 

The SMS standard is complicated and confusing for a reason, it was written by the "standards" industry, who gives new meaning to the phrase, attention to detail. 

For the vast majority of operators with staffing constraints, that complexity leads to low participation, underutilized and ineffective data collection and analysis, which ultimately results in a failed SMS.

The solution is simple enough., drastically simplify your SMS. How exactly do you do that? For starters, use your smart phone as your primary reporting tool. Next, train your team to know what is reportable and what their responsibilities are. 

We recommend you develop a one page digital form that has KPI/SPI/FRAT/FOQA information that you'll need for your data collection and analysis responsibilities. 

Our training programs are designed specifically for small to medium sized flight and maintenance operators with minimum staff.  Knowledge is key in simplifying your program so that it delivers true benefit and value. 

Part's 135, 139, 121 and 91.147 are now required by regulation to adopt and implement an SMS appropriate to their size and scope of operations. 

In terms of implementation options, operators have three basic choices to choose from:

1. Self-implementation
2. Collaborative program
3. Turn-key program

Since 2006, we've assisted hundreds of small to medium sized departments make the transition to SMS by providing initial training, manuals and framework setup. That process gets the program implemented quickly and minimizes disruption and distractions to normal flight operations, while ensuring your SMS conforms to the standard and complies with the regulation.

Our collaborative program gets you to the starting line in about 124 hours. From there, you'll spend the next 12 to 24 months learning how to manage your SMS for maximum effectiveness with the caveat, the process never ends and evolves as your knowledge and SMS effectiveness increases.

You don't need to reinvent the wheel here, SMS is a performance based and standardized set of procedures, which gives operators maximum flexibility in how they achieve the goals and objectives of the program, which is ultimately, continuous improvement.

One of the most important components of your SMS is Safety Promotion, which keeps the focus where it belongs, on training and hazard awareness.

Using our weekly Safety Officer Bulletin service takes the burden of creating interesting, timely and concise safety training material off your plate and is the most cost effective way we know of to chip away at complacency. 

One subscription covers your entire operation, no matter how many employees you have. 

This service will also update your existing SMS manuals or provide them if you're just starting out. 

You will also have access to our FRAT/FOQA program where we provide you the digital form that you complete and send to us via your smart phone or ipad/computer for analysis and documentation. 

As with all of our programs, we are always available to assist you, answer your questions and provide any level of support you require.

Part 135, 121, 139 and 91.147 are required by regulation to adopt and implement SMS, a process that can take up to 1300 hours to  plan, document and train your people to establish the basic framework of SMS, that's three years without any guarantee's  your program will be compliant or conforming to the standard.

You can start from scratch internally, all the material, guidance and protocols is readily available and is absolutely free, but the challenge for most operators during the implementation process is knowing what the standard requires and then customizing your program to achieve  an efficient and effective SMS.

We can absolutely guarantee with our assistance, you will achieve SMS success in a few short weeks, versus years trying to figure it out by trial and error.

Keeping your SMS simple and easy to use will improve your operation by an order of magnitude that will manifest itself in better performance, better morale,  better  cost efficiencies, which can all be quantified, measured and monitored.