Santa’s Streamlined
Mission Service
By Catalina9
When Santa implemented a Safety Management System,
he wanted to name the safety system with a name that anyone in the organization
could relate to, and a name that his customers could relate to. Everyone likes
safety, but after a few years of research Santa found that the name safety did
not specifically define his objectives, so he called the SMS the Streamlined
Mission Service. Streamline is the design and a shape that presents very little
resistance to a flow of air or water, helps increasing speed and ease of
movement. A safety system should come with an easy flow. A mission is an assignment
carried out for a purpose with in-motion and kinetic energy. A safety system
must have a purpose. Service is helping or doing work for someone, and a safety
system is to take actions to protect persons from exposure to hazards above
acceptable risk levels. Hazards are not only the exposure to physical hazards,
but also financial hazards. Santa’s Streamlined Mission Service is the perfect
name that everyone around the world understands. Every year since Santa’s SMS
start-up, seven years ago, he developed one principle annually for a successful
SMS. Santa would like to share his seven secrets of a successful SMS as a gift
to the world of aviation safety.
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| Santa does on delivery every single yeat that cannot fail |
Over several centuries Santa have delivered gifts to
the world during the winter holiday season. Santa delivers in the north were
extremely cold, while other places, in the southern hemisphere were extremely
hot. This caused performance issues for the reindeers and with Santa himself.
Especially for the red-nose reindeer who always took the lead. Rudolf-The-Red-Nose
knew all the runs, and how to keep up with on time deliveries. Everyone
expected their gift on the same day and at the same time. This stress often
caused roof-top incidents and chimney demolitions. Santa’s SMS was the perfect
tool to ensure customer service and on time deliveries. That’s why he developed
the seven secrets for a successful SMS, and this is the first time he shares
his secrets.
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| An effective meeting room is an empty meeting room |
Santa applied the six SMS components, plus a 7th
secret ingredients that he had discovered must be included for his SMS to be
successful. Santa began to systematically apply his SMS recipe. Mrs. Santa told
him that for SMS to work, he must apply the same concept as cooking. If there
are too many chefs in the kitchen doing their own thing, it becomes a mess. In
addition, if one of the ingredients are left out of the recipe, the meal does
taste the way the system predicted.
A secret for a successful SMS is to design
operational practical components as objectives and within the objectives
establish goals, or elements as building blocks for the objective. The six
operational components are:
1) Safety Management Plan;
2) Document Management;
3) Safety Oversight;
4) Training;
5) Quality Assurance; and
6) Emergency Preparedness.
During the infant days
of Santa’s SMS he was of the opinion that there could only be one system, one
policy and one objective. This caused huge complications after audits with
Corrective Action Plans. Santa’s auditor made all findings system findings,
which demanded that the system had to be changed. One of the system findings
even changed out the reindeers with snowmobiles. During a training session with
the snowmobiles Santa found out that they would literally run out of gas before
the trip was completed. As his comprehension of SMS developed by his planning,
doing, checking, deciding and actions he realized that a Streamlined Mission
Service system involved a million systems, policies and objectives.
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| Complex systems are built with simple systems |
Within the objectives Santa developed elements, or
goals to be achieved for the plan to function. These goals were in themselves
mini-systems working independently, but also in coordination with other goals.
Within the Safety Management Plan, Santa developed seven systems. These systems
were the Safety Policy, Non-Punitive Reporting Policy, Roles and
Responsibilities and Elves Involvement, Communication, Safety Planning,
Performance Measurements and Management Review. Within the document management
Santa developed the Identification and Maintenance of Applicable Regulations,
SMS Documentation, and Records Management systems. Within Safety Oversight he
developed Reactive Processes, Proactive Processes, Investigation and Analysis
and Risk Management. Training came with Training and Awareness, Quality
Assurance with one Quality Assurance system and Emergency Preparedness with
Emergency Preparedness and Response System.
At first Santa was not sure if Emergency
Preparedness should be a part of the Streamlined Mission Service (SMS) system,
but after careful consideration he decided that it should be included. The main
reason to implement the plan was that emergencies had been the prerequisite for
developing the SMS plan in the first place. He realized that if he had not
experienced one singe emergency over the centuries of delivering gift, there
would not have been a reason to implement SMS.
After audits and inspections, all Santa had to do
now when assigning root causes and developing corrective action plans, was to
select one of the mini systems, repair that system and put it back into the
SMS. Santa had simplified CAPs and Root Cause analysis to a point where it made
sense to operations. It was just like fixing a copier that get papers stuck in
the middle of the process. One of the systems within the copier does another
action than expected and stops all copying. Now the little tv-screen tells you
what system malfunctioned and all you need to do is to repair that system, or
additional systems as required. When completed you input that system again and
the copier starts up again where it had left off.
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Santa’s complex delivery schedule
works because of thinking outside the box.
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The seventh step for a successful SMS is the most
important and SMS cannot function without this. It’s the Elves Factors, or
often called Human Factors. Human Factors is not to be confused with Elves
Error, Elves Failures, or Reindeer Errors. Human Factors, or Elves Factors, is
the behavior itself. Think about this for a second what it actually means when
a Root Case states that “the pilot failed to do an action”. Did the pilot
disappear into a different dimension or evaporate out of the system? No, the
pilot did none of this. The pilot completed one action, and often another
action that what was expected. Pilots do these things to reach a common
Enterprise goal, and it’s called short-cuts. Pilots do these short-cuts to
satisfy the goals established by their boss. Whenever there is a business
conflicts between safety and return on investment, the ROI wins.
Anyway, the seventh secret to a successful SMS is
the power of personal achievement. The most important task for success is to
fully complete a task. Without a goal achievement plan, the task may be
drifting away from its original goal and produce an unexpected output.
The steps for personal achievements and SMS goals
are;
1)
Step number one, decide exactly what it is you want in each part of your SMS
system. Become a “meaningful specific” rather than a “wandering generality.”
2)
Second, write it down, clearly and in detail. Always think on an SMS paper.
A goal that is not in writing is not a goal at all. It is merely a wish and it
has no energy behind it. Write the reasons for your goal.
3)
Third, set a deadline for your SMS goal. A deadline acts as a “forcing
system” in your subconscious mind. It motivates you to do the things necessary
to make your goal come true. If it is a big enough goal, set sub-deadlines as
well. Don’t leave this to chance. There are no unreasonable goals, just
unreasonable deadlines. Set a deadline that is within reach of your goal.
4)
Fourth, make a list of everything that you can think of that you are
going to have to do to achieve your SMS goal. When you think of new tasks and
activities, write them on your list until your list is complete. This list must
be picked up daily and write down new items and erase non-essential items.
5)
Fifth, organize your SMS list into a plan. Decide what you will have to
do first and what you will have to do second. Decide what is more important and
what is less important. And then write out your plan on paper, the same way you
would develop a blueprint to build your dream house. Build on the Plan, Do,
Check, Decide and Act concept.
6)
The sixth step is for you to take action on your SMS plan. Do something.
Do anything. But get busy. Get going. Goals often fails because an action was
not initiated. The secret is to pick one item to do and more and other action
tasks will become clear to you. The first task is not to necessary pick the
right task for the output, but for your mind to begin working on your goal.
7)
Do something every single day that moves you in the direction of your
most important goal at the moment. Develop the discipline of doing something
365 days each year that is moving you forward. You will be absolutely
astonished at how much you accomplish when you utilize this SMS formula in your
life every single day. Move off the “some-day” island.
A goal must be so simple and specific that a fifth
grader can be explained to another fifth grader who then implements the goal.
This does in no way, shape or form belittle anyone, but is for the subconscious
mind to accept the goal, which is literally competing with a million other
goals. Human, and the human mind is built to take the path of least resistance.
When you program your goal into your subconscious mind it will accept a simpler
goal before accepting a complex goal.
Write your goal down. You may write it
electronically, or click a checkbox for documentations, but for the purpose of
achieving your goal, write it down on a piece of paper with a pen, or pencil.
This reinforces the goal in your own mind.
Set a deadline for your goal. If there is a
regulatory inspection scheduled, the deadline will most likely to achieve your
goal prior to the inspection. If the goal seems complex for timeline available,
delegate some of the building blocks of the goal. Apply the A-B-C-D-E- formula
for prioritizing your goal and the building blocks of the goal.
“A” stands for “very important;” something you must do.
There can be serious negative consequences if you don’t do it.
“B” stands for “important;” something you should do.
This is not as important as your ‘A’ tasks. There are only minor negative
consequences if it is not completed.
“C” stands for things that are “nice to do;” but which
are not as important as ‘A’ or ‘B,’ tasks. There are no negative consequences
for not completing it.
“D” stands for “delegate.” You can assign this task to
someone else who can do the job instead of you.
“E” stands for “eliminate, whenever possible.” You
should eliminate every single activity you possibly can, to free up your time.
Make a list of what you need to do. One simple
reason to make a list is that you then don’t need to remember a million things
to do. All you need to remember is to pick up the list, read the items and pick
one priority item to action. You may enter a list electronically for
documentation, but you should write your list on a paper with a pen or pencil.
From you list make a project plan, or project
solution. SMS is Project Solutions Leadership Motivation. A project plan is
specific and detailed. Imagine if a blueprint for an office building would just
draw the building to scale and then ask a contractor to built it. A project
solution plan is to describe the solutions. If there are 15 electrical outlets
in one room, they are not only specifically placed, but they are also
specifically designed for use. An SMS plan is no difference. Be specific and
describe solutions, not wishes.
Now, put your plan into action. Your project
solution will include an initial priority action. Begin with that action now.
When one action step is completed, move to the next one immediately. Initiate
the step today for your subconscious mind to work on the plan for tomorrow.
Write down on paper your first few action steps tomorrow.
Do something every day that moves you towards your
goal. Drift is a common distraction to reach a goal. Drift happens when a
person makes a minor change in direction of the goal to reach the goal faster.
All a person wants to do is to help the boss to reach the goal faster. A person
who drifts has no intentions to sabotage the goal, but just the opposite; to
reach the goal more efficient. When drift occurs, the goal eventually becomes
blur and unexplainable to why certain actions are required.
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| Merry Christmas My Friends |
The Streamlined Mission Service system has worked
well for Santa, and unless your Enterprise has a larger customer base than the
7.53 billion Santa is delivering to in one single day, your Enterprise will
also have a successful SMS by implementing the 7 simple principles.
Catalina9
