Blogging Anniversary

Blogging Anniversary

1 year anniversary for our contributor birdseye59604

One year ago I submitted my first blog, and it has been a year of unbelievable fun. In a few simple words the Safety Management System  (SMS) has become a friend to establish parameters, controlling variables and discover losses.  In a short summary each one of the blogs was telling a story to make aviation safer.

Accountability is the frame making an organization
stand out in a crowed.

The first blog was about SMS as a tool beyond trial and errors. After major aviation accidents everyone wants facts and solutions. SMS is a friend to guide for addressing facts and solutions and capture processes. Or  in other words, how we manage what we do before combinations of hazards becomes an accident. 

Unless hazards are managed and controlled, the solution to eliminate hazards may be a roll-the-dice-management. Effective hazard management it to mitigate the effect of hazard data collected.

An Accountable Executive (AE) is the CEO of accountability.  In an SMS Enterprise everyone have a role of  accountability. SMS is managed by principles of accountability. Accountability is excellence in customer service.

One blog described the school system as an opposition to SMS where accountability may not be compatible with learning, but punished to instil learning behaviours.  SMS is being described as the money and time blame game, and that hazard management is not common sense. Compare SMS to Non Destructive Testing (NDT) where NDT is testing of material defects or fatigue. Apply SMS to managing the medical condition Diabetes with Plan-Do-Check-Act. Find out what the residual risks are when a problem is resolved with a perfect solution.

The blogs continued on with Corrective Action Plans (CAP) where an established process is applied when dealing the cards and to read the signs when arriving at the fork in the road. Size and complexity is applicable to any organization and it becomes a task to make it fit. When an Enterprise are training personnel the training is not completed with a final exam, but with the test of being in a just culture. In addition, these blogs are about circles of training, Best Practices (BP), applying the correct CAP and what happens when the AE is fired. SMS makes safety your business when regulations are performance based. SMS is wildlife management,  management of minor and major hazards and to apply the triangles of Quality Assurance (QA).  SMS is about Moneyball, managing parameters and applying a monetary values to results. It's about training environment and the elements of a Safety Management Plan.

At the end of the day, SMS is about zero tolerance to compromise aviation safety. SMS is to do what it takes to ensure safety, accept accountability, to chose the right and ensure excellence in customer service.

BirdsEye59604

Non Punitive Policy

Non Punitive Policy

NOTE: This post is from one of our frequent contributors to this blog, "Birdseye59604."

A non-punitive policy is not a "get out of jail free" card or an organizational excuse to deliver inferior quality job performance.  A non-punitive policy represents accountability and excellence.                                   

A Safety Management System (SMS) includes a non-punitive policy as a tool to collect operational data and establish an open communication door. It is possible that an organization drifts away from quality and fall into a trap that there is not enough time to do the job right, but that there is enough time to do the job twice. A non-punitive policy is a tool to discover operational drift and quality of service, since customer service is variable with operational decisions made by employees.

In a non-punitive environment there is a just-culture, or a safety culture of how to apply a job performance tool to instil employee accountability.  

Without a non-punitive policy human behavior cost is a hidden cost.

Simplified;  a just –culture are categorized into 3 areas;

a)   Human behavior, or Human error as a negative input

b)     At-risk behavior

c)     Reckless behavior

Human error is when a person applies an action that is different than the normal procedure.  E.g. an airport vehicle operator has a plan of action to stay between the marked boundary lines, but unintentionally moves across an assigned line.  Crossing this line is a reaction of a person in response to an external or internal stimuli.

At-risk behavior is when a person makes a decision to deviate from a procedure. E.g. an airport operator has a procedure in place to stay between the marked white lines when travelling from one point to another point. However, the vehicle operator makes a decision to deviate from the marked boundary lines and take a different route.      

Reckless behavior is when a person makes a decision to put someone or something in harms way. E.g. an airport vehicle operator crosses the boundary lines, speeds towards equipment or people and then makes a sharp turn to avoid contact.

Accepting at-risk behavior leads to behavioral drift. Two stop signs on a two way road implies it's a one way street. 

With a non-punitive policy in a just-culture a possible Corrective Action Plans (CAP) applied to these human, organizational and environmental factors, are to console human error, coach at-risk behavior and punish reckless behavior.

When CAPs are completed, apply a cost factor of time spent on organizational behavior reports to analyze how human factor incidents affects  the profit margin. Without a non-punitive policy organizational behaviors are unknown and hidden costs.

Reckless behavior  is to use a vehicle not suited for the job or condition.

In a just-culture employees know their duties, roles and responsibilities and are able to make choices which delivers high quality customer service.  

BirdsEye59604