SMS Checklist

Every aviation system tasks come with one or more checklists attached, except for the safety management system (SMS). Manufacturing aircraft comes with checklists, operating an aircraft comes with checklists, designing an aerodrome comes with checklists, conducting an audit come with checklists, and applying for an airport certificate comes with checklists, but there are no checklists requirements to operate a safety management system. 

There are several justifications for the use of checklists to operate one or multiple systems. A computer completes a checklist when starting up, and another checklist when shutting down, an autopilot performs checklist tasks prior to engage, and artificial intelligence performs compatibility checks prior to engagement. A baker uses a checklist in the form of recipes, and a clothing manufactures uses checklists in form of patterns. When completing trivial tasks such as opening a hangar door there are three tasks, open, stop and close, or when doing tasks that are completed by gut feelings, there are no need for checklists. Whatever the checklist format is, and whatever the process for completion is, a checklist does not replace operational knowledge, but is an additional layer to verify complex tasks. A complex task has four or more tasks to be completed within a short timeframe. The brain may recall up to three items over a short-term period, and on a good day may be able to recall as many as seven tasks. A complex task is to recall an ATC clearance. A seven-step clearance may read, decent to 9000, turn left 285, cross xe beacon at 7000, after crossing turn left 215, maintain 5000 direct KAXUG, reduce speed to 210. An acceptable process is for pilots to build their checklist while flying and read back to ATC clearance received. When writing down a clearance with a pen or pencil, the connection between the brain and the movement of the pencil and written text establishes ownership of the clearance and easier to recall while flying. As a trivia task, recite the clearance backwards without a checklist.

Awareness is the knowledge and understanding that something is happening or exists. Awareness is also to “see what you are looking at”. Awareness is to collect data by the five senses, sight (vision), sound (hearing), smell (olfaction), taste (gustation), and touch (tactile perception). Awareness is different than paying attention, since awareness is system comprehension, while paying attention is process comprehension. Both play a role for the safe operations of an airport and aircraft, but processes are short-term operations, e.g. landing checklist, and systems are long-term operations, e.g. flight planning. Awareness is based on data collected. Data collected is formatted into a media to communicate information, information is absorbed by the mind to instill knowledge, and with knowledge a person comprehend systems, and system interactions, also known as awareness. 

When relying on memory it is expected that information will be forgotten or distorted over time. Short-term memory loses information quickly and has a small capacity and is stored in long-term memory by task repetition or by studying information over time. Learning how to ride a bicycle is a repetitious task to be stored in long-term memory, and if a task or knowledge are unused for a while it becomes difficult for the brain to recall. Common terminology to pick up old tasks and habits is to shake off the rust. It does not take long for a person to ride a bicycle again after several years of not using the skill. A checklist is not useful when learning how to ride a bicycle, but it is useful for putting the bicycle together. 

Distractions are significant interferences with the short-term memory. A distraction is when a crew member, passenger, or ground crew want your attention while receiving a clearance. However, a distraction is also more than being interrupted, it is to receive continuous new information. In a 7-item ATC clearance, information number seven is a distraction to the first clearance task.   

There are several techniques available to flight crew for improving their memory capability. One tool is the repetition and rehearsal learning tool, by becoming an actor and repeat a line over and over again. One disadvantage of this tool is that it does not relate what is learned to any operational task. Pilots may rehearse an approach checklist until they can do it forward and backwards, but the tool defeats its purpose unless pilots go through the motions of the task. The purpose of a checklist is not to memorize the checklist, but it is a trigger-list to verify operational knowledge. 

Another type of rehearsal that is common among pilots is to review essential procedures, or immediate tasks at hand. Some of these rehearsals are pre-takeoff review, emergency after departure review and departure procedure clearance review. Going through these situations visually prepared the crew to perform well during a critical phase of flight. 

Taking time to organize information into building blocks that make sense also helps to remember task flow. A cockpit layout is laid out in an organized flow to make sense when performing tasks. An old airplane, the PBY-5A has the circuit brakers behind the captain’s chair and using left and right as a standard to identify circuit brakers. During an emergency when a generator needs to be shutdown, the left generator is actually the right circuit braker when viewing the panels. Clear communication is essential in airport and aircraft operations. On 11 February 1978 an aircraft crashed during a missed approach. A snowplow operator was requested to clear the runway, and communication was interpreted as to clear the runway for snow. Just as the aircraft touched down, the crew noticed the snowplow on the runway, and initiated a go-around. Organizing information is also to organize text and word to be unique for expected tasks. 

An exceptional way to learn is to teach someone else. Teaching forces a person to research in details to learn more, and comprehend systems, and to take ownership of what was learned. Without ownership teaching becomes just another task to be checked off in the checkbox for the purpose of completion. Teaching is not telling, it is not explaining, and it is not to show, but it is to transfer knowledge and skills from one person to another person who is prepared to receive the transfer. In other words, teaching takes place at the knowledge level of the student. A commonly used method when teaching is to demonstrate a task, supervise the same task, and the final step is to monitor the task before candidates practices on their own.    

Associate a mental image with each item of information is another tool recall from memory. An effective cockpit checklist follows the flow of the cockpit in an S-shape, T-shape, W-shape or whatever else has been established. The old-style aircraft instrument panes are placed in a T-shape flow and placed in an order of priority during flight. The artificial horizon is placed on top as a tool to collect data for roll and pitch, and the directional gyro is placed just below as a tool to collect date for yaw. With roll, pitch and yaw information, pilots have all the tools they need to apply information to maintain controlled flight of an aircraft. Creating images is a great tool and makes it possible to operate a vehicle on the street of a country with a language unknown to the driver. 

A helpful tool is to use mnemonics, since only one item needs to be recalled as a trigger to recall several other items on the task list. For aircraft towing operators, a mnemonic used is “CLEAR”. Congested Area, Line of Towing, Equipment, Accountable Crew, and Ready. Effective mnemonics to use are when the single item recall is associated with the task to be performed. 

Everyone is prone to forgetting no matter how good their memory is, or how well tasks or information are learned. Test yourself and recite the first sentence of the first paragraph without going back for a review first. Skills and knowledge are stored in the brain, but it takes learning to recall on demand. Recalling details is difficult when a person is anxious, pressured for time, or experiences an inflight emergency. A tool to assist flight crew or aircraft engineers in recalling procedures is to establish the written text in a shortform format. As an example, a checklist only needs to reference landing gear in an approach checklist to trigger the flight crew to lower the landing gear. For aircraft engineers a reference to landing gear might be to perform a static landing gear operational check. 

There are three rules when flying an airplane: Rule 1 fly the airplane, rule 2 fly the airplane, rule 3 fly the airplane. 

Contributing factors for accidents are when pilots’ attention, or process, is diverted from the task at hand, and their awareness, or system, is distorted by expectations. There is a difference between situational awareness and awareness. Situational awareness is the ability to identify, process, and comprehend the critical elements of information about what is happening to a flight crew with regards to their current flight. More simply, situational awareness is knowing what is going on around you while awareness the mental act of processing information into knowledge. On March 19, 1993, an aircraft on a night approach to an airport in mountainous area struck a mountaintop while on approach. The flight crew were distracted by an industry standard expectation that when they have visual contact to the runway environment, the approach is unobstructed, and they are safe to land. Their awareness was distracted by visual references to the ground and runway. 

A safety management system checklist is a checklist of operational tasks. Each task is already assigned with a regulatory compliance factor attached. An SMS checklist is therefore not about regulatory compliance, but it is about SMS policy compliance that safety is paramount. 

There are six components of a safety management system, seventeen elements, and several expectations attached to a safety management system. It is an unmanageable task to recall from memory all expectations attached and their references to regulatory requirements. An SMS checklist of tasks should be designed and developed for each element and performed daily. When the checklists are built and placed into operations, these daily rundown tasks become integrated part of regular operational tasks. 

A safety policy checklist contains tasks to identify how safety is paramount and what daily tasks are involved for personnel to maintain an acceptable level of safety. A non-punitive safety reporting policy checklist that contains the conditions under which immunity from disciplinary action will be granted as a tool to clarify the prerequisites for non-punitive reporting. This particular regulation states the responsibility for an operator to clarify when immunity from disciplinary action will be granted but does not require an operator to clarify when immunity from disciplinary action will not be granted. 

When checklists are completed for all elements, each checklist is assigned to a daily quality control process, e.g. airside personnel conducts FOD control, runway condition reports, and aeronautical obstruction assessments. In many instances, flight crew and airside personnel conduct SMS related tasks regularly, and the only difference is that these tasks are documented in the form of checklists. The SMS checklist for design and developing operational checklist are found in the SMS reference handbook, where objectives, goals and processes establishes regulatory compliance tasks. 

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