SMS Makes Flying Safer

By Didrik Strand offroadpilots@gmail.com

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Accepting or Rejecting Risks

By Didrik Strand offroadpilots@gmail.com
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Accepting or rejecting risks is a fundamental principle in a successful safety management system (SMS). A person managing the safety management system is expected to maintain a process for identifying hazards to aviation safety and for evaluating and managing the associated risks and ensuring that personnel are trained and competent to perform their duties as they apply to the safety management system. This includes training for both the accountable executive and SMS manager, in addition to other airport and airline operations personnel. A level of risk is an inherent element of aviation safety and there are several types of risks to consider when accepting or rejecting risks. One type of risk may take precedence over another type even if it is not directly associated with operations. Risk control strategies are beyond accepting or rejecting a risk, it is to justify control actions based on defined criteria. There are five categories of risks. The total risk is the sum of identified an...
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Strategies for SMS Expectations

By Didrik Strand offroadpilots@gmail.com
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Expectation 1 A Safety Policy is an organizational guidance principle which describe the operational culture and core purpose for airport or airline operations. Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs) requires airports and airlines to operate a Safety Management System which is based on this Safety Policy. In addition to the generality of a Safety Policy, this policy requirement is to establish a clear enterprise commitment to safety. The challenge for airports and airlines becomes to define what a clear commitment to safety is. A clear commitment to safety is not just a statement to be safe, but it is to capture defined expectations for operational processes.  A Safety Policy has the ring of permanent nature. Expectations are defined by Transport Canada in their SMS Document Review Guide (DRG), which was distributed to airlines and airports during the implementations phases of SMS. An airport, or airline that has not established a link to the expectation of a safety policy is assesse...
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Why SMS Does Not Prevent Accidents

By Didrik Strand offroadpilots@gmail.com
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The safety management system was sold to the aviation industry, both airports and airlines, as a system to reduce, or prevent all future accidents.  The following is a quote from a regulator about aviation accidents. “ …as the aviation industry grows and departures increase, the total number of accidents will also increase.”  Even though there has been a reduction in the accident rates, this expectation is based historical data, and a calculated accidents ratio each time one aircraft is added to a random global fleet. There is an expectation within the global aviation industry that adding one aircraft anywhere adds an accident hazard to the industry as a whole, or in other words that every aircraft carries a fraction of an accident hazard onboard. Since the aviation industry lives in a 3D environment there is an inherited risk in flying.  The regulatory body continues to say: “While the current rate of accidents is at an all-time low, it is assumed that any appreciable in...
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