Promotion of Safety Policy

Promotion of Safety Policy

Another great insight from Helena1320

There is an expectation that the safety policy is promoted by the accountable executive. Without promotion a safety policy is ineffective, but when actively promoted by accountable executive, who is senior management of an airport, or airline, the safety policy becomes personal and the most important safety document in the organization. A safety policy must be clear, policy specific, overview of organizational structure and include a commitment to continually improve safety.

Accountability is to apply the intent of a safety tool. 

A Safety Management System is from the top-down safety management system, with roles and responsibilities for top management and all personnel.  One of the top management roles is the safety role as accountable executive with a responsibility to promote the safety policy.

The reason why it is important who promotes the safety policy is to establish an organizational commitment to safety. The policy must be promoted by someone who has organizational authority to promote and who has safety authority respected in the organization. Often the accountable executive is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the airport, or airline. If the airport, or airline is operated by a government, the accountable executive may be the highest ranking non-elected person, or even an elected political person. However, if the organization is of a large size and complexity, the CEO may be too far removed from reality for an effective role as accountable executive. Statements and policies from a political elected person, or a highest ranking non-elected person, who has been assigned role as an accountable executive, may be viewed as nothing else but political statement without any powers to impact personnel at other organizational levels. The success of a safety policy is viewed from the ground up.

Respect is a result of accountability 

   

When the expectation is that the accountable executive promotes the safety policy, the intent is for the highest organizational role to be responsible for safety. One of the requirements to qualify as accountable executive is that the person has control over financial and human resources. The regulations, or expectations do not state, or imply that the accountable executive has to be the person who allocate, or distributes funds, or the person who assign human resources. The only requirement is that the person

has to be in control of these items. In a large organization, a person at one or more levels below the CEO may be the person who has control over financial and human resources. This is the person who then should be appointed as the accountable executive for this position to be an effective safety tool.

When the accountable executive at an accountable organizational level promotes the safety policy it becomes an authorial document that other personnel will accept and further accept their own accountability role within the organization of an airport or airline. Accountability is not just at the top management level, but at all levels in the organization. Everyone are accountable to their own job description, accountable to the intent of their job performance and accountable to aviation safety.

Helena1320