Safety Policy Expectation
Another great insight from Helena1320
There is an expectation
that the organization has a safety policy that is agreed to and approved by the
accountable executive. An accountable executive is the person who is
responsible for operations or activities authorized under the certificate and
accountable for meeting the requirements of the regulations. Without
accountability for meeting the regulatory requirements an airport, or airline
is applying a reactive safety management system where it becomes a simple task
to point fingers at the last link in the chain of an accident. It takes
initiative, effort and planning for accountability to be effective with
proactive operations and includes all links in the chain of event.
The very specific reason for the accountable
executive to approve and agree to the safety policy is to establish a safety
management system where senior management accept accountability, which then
trickles down to all personnel. Personnel do not have safety authority and
authority to question safety unless this authority is given by senior
management. Everybody talks safety, but very few actually know how to implement
it. Safety is the analyses and “plan-do-check-act”
of regular day-to-day processes
"Everybody talks safety, but very few actually know how to implement it."
Definition of
accountability is often incorrectly applied as the definition of
responsibility. Although accountability and responsibility cannot be applied
independently, or one without the other, they cannot be interchanged with each
other. Responsibility is a description of authority, while accountability is
operations of that task, or the action of carry out that task of authority.
Accountability the behavioral action as expected by responsibility.
The difference between
responsibly and accountability could be described as the responsibly and
accountability of driving down a two-lane highway. Opposing traffic, going
60MPH towards each other are only separate by an imaginary wall of a yellow
line. This is not a logical separation of two vehicles approaching within just
a few feet of each other at 120MPH. If applying logic to this, it could be
categorized as an insane solution and not practical. However, when applying the
variable of accountability into the equation it works. The responsibly to stay on the correct side
of the yellow line remains with each driver, whether they are driving or not.
When the expectation
of a safety management system is that the accountable executive has agreed to,
and approved the safety policy, the airport, or airline, set the bar of where
in the organization accountably is expected. With the accountable executive
accepting responsibly for accountably it has been established that the bar is
set at the senior management level. Accountability is a tool to identify
hazards and operational practices, which if left unattended, could lead to an
accident.
Helena1320
