21 Goals To Run Your SMS

21 Goals To Run Your SMS

By Catalina9

There are many effective ways to run a Safety Management System (SMS) and selecting the 21 goals that works for your enterprise is in itself a humongous task. When building your SMS, the first task is to decide on your expected outcome of the Safety Management System. A goal achievement task is a prerequisite for developing your SMS policy and is a written plan of action. SMS guidance material is accompanied by 95 expectations. These are expectations for the SMS to conform to both regulatory compliance and for safety in operations. Regulatory requirements are to develop a safety policy, safety management plan, documents and recordkeeping, safety oversight, training, emergency response and quality assurance with a vision of an outcome. In operations the outcome is an action where we don’t manage risks, but lead personnel, manage equipment and validate operational design for improved performance above the safety risk level bar. Operations is leadership motivation. Human factors strongly impact operational expectations with special cause variations. It’s therefore much more difficult for operational expectations to conform to the visions of regulatory compliance expectations.

Pick your goal achievement door and run with it.

If the only purpose of a Safety Management System is to be safe, there is no room for improvement of operational processes. When selecting the 21 ways to run your SMS, the SMS project plan becomes one single plan with 21 goals to achieve.

The first goal achievement plan for a successful SMS is to develop a safety policy where safety paramount. Safety becomes paramount when operational processes are linked to the SMS safety policy. 

The second goal achievement plan for a successful SMS is to develop a just culture within your enterprise. Everyone believe they work within a just culture, but there are four specific tests that must be passed to document a just culture.

1.    Trust – there must be trust within your organization;

2.    Learning – there must be an ongoing learning environment within your organization;

3.    Accountability – there must be forward-looking accountability within your organization; and

4.    Information Sharing – there must be information sharing between all personnel.

SMS is reporting within a confidential environment.

The third goal achievement plan for a successful SMS is to develop a confidential reporting system. This is a reporting system where only one or a few selected management personnel review incoming reports. In addition, none of these reports are shared with any third-party, vendors or customers.

    

The fourth goal achievement for a successful SMS is to develop a non-punitive reporting policy. This is not a get-out-of-jail-free card, but a policy that is based on organizational behavior and acceptance of how leadership motivation is reflected in personnel behavior. A report received pursuant to the non-punitive reporting policy initiates a review of expectations and training. It’s therefore incumbent on the person involved to submit a report as soon as capable of reporting. The second element of a non-punitive reporting policy is that SMS does not accepts reporting by anyone of errors or omission.  

The fifth goal achievement for a successful SMS is a comprehensive training program for all processes. In the old days of aviation, the pre-SMS days, training was a sign of lack of skills. Incidents were classified as pilot-error, the pilot was fired, and problem solved. However, incidents and accidents kept up, even as new pilots were hired. The purpose of initial training and update training is to learn new skills, learning about just culture environment, introduction to accountability and comprehension of systems. While recurrent and refresher training is reinforcement of current knowledge, just culture, accountability and comprehension of systems. Training is based on data. Data is turned into information, information turned into knowledge and knowledge turned into comprehension of one system, or several interacting systems.  

Roles within the SMS are pre-defined.

The sixth goal achievement for a successful SMS are personnel roles within a Safety Management System. Everyone plays a role, but outside of an SMS environment very few comprehend their roles. Roles are defined and comprehended by senior management, while other personnel are acting on directions and descriptive tasks. The most difficult task within the new SMS world, is for senior management to accept their roles in project solutions leadership motivation personnel as opposed to a hierarchy where their actions are protected by their titles.

The seventh goal achievement for a successful SMS are personnel responsibilities within a Safety Management System. Everyone has responsibilities, but outside of an SMS environment very few comprehend what they are. Most personnel in a the old-fashion hierarchy expects their responsibilities to be whatever they are told t do by a supervisor, or whatever their prescriptive job description states. In an SMS world, everyone has roles within a just culture system.

The eighth goal achievement for a successful SMS is a clear commitment to safety by the enterprise. Items 1-7 is a prerequisite for a clear commitment to safety. Except for items 19-20 & 21, the other goals may be arranged in any random order.

The ninth goal achievement for a successful SMS is that the safety policy is implemented at all levels in the organization. The same SMS safety policy is applicable to the AE/CEO/President as to any other personnel within the organization. A simple quality assurance test of the SMS is the AE’s involvement in hazard reporting. 

The tenth goal achievement for a successful SMS is that the safety policy is communicated to all personnel. During the pre-SMS days, communication was a one-way street, where it was assumed that information communicated was read, accepted and comprehended. Within an SMS world, communication is a two-way street of checks and balances. 

A Safety Management System is supported internally and externally.

The eleventh goal achievement for a successful SMS is to include vendors, suppliers and other third-party contractors. All third-party operations affect the safety of your customer. Safety must always be viewed from the point of view of a customer. In sales, the saying is that the customer is always right. In SMS, the customer is also always right. Customers are right in that they must be ensured, without doubt, a safe travel from the time they board an airplane until the time they deplane at their destination. Customer safety involves both airlines and airports.

The twelfth goal achievement for a successful SMS is to establish conditions under which punitive disciplinary actions would be considered for both organizational personnel and vendors. Avoid the trap to include illegal activity, negligence or wilful misconduct. The answer to conditions under which punitive disciplinary actions is “none”.  Accept with accountability that when there are issues, these issues are due to human factors, organizational, supervision or environmental factors. When there are concerns within an organization, the first task to identify the problem is for the AE/CEO/President to take a look into the mirror. Often, lack of performance is due to lack of leadership motivation.

Comprehension of systems interactions is a successful SMS.

The thirteenth goal achievement for a successful SMS is that the person managing the SMS comprehend the concept of a Safety Management System. The person managing SMS may be a third-party consultant, third-party confidential advisor or any person who fulfils the required job functions and responsibilities. There are no certificate requirements for a person managing the SMS to be SMS qualified and it becomes a judgment call by the AE of who is the best qualified. Item 21, Quality Assurance, is also an audit of the qualifications of the AE and SMS Manager.

The fourteenth goal achievement for a successful SMS is that all personnel comprehend their authorities, responsibilities and accountabilities. This is not confirmed by a quiz or test, but by monitoring the SMS.

The fifteenth goal achievement for a successful SMS are effective communication processes. Communication is clear when there is a voluntary action initiated by the communication process and that operations conform to the SMS safety policy.

The sixteenth goal achievement for a successful SMS is a Management Review of the Safety Management System. In order to conserve the integrity of a Safety Management System a professional Management Review Facilitator is brought in to run the review.  

The seventeenth goal achievement for a successful SMS is an emergency response plan for both airlines and airports. An airline Emergency Response Plan is evacuation of passengers and crews, while an Airport Emergency Response Plan is for the safety of passengers and crews after they have evacuated the aircraft.

The eighteenth goal achievement for a successful SMS is a process for the dissemination of safety information throughout the organization, to vendors, suppliers, other third-party contractors and customers.

The nineteenth goal achievement for a successful SMS is monitoring of the SMS and of operational processes. This is achieved by applying the Daily Rundown system including project solutions leadership motivation.

The twentieth goal achievement for a successful SMS is to operate within a quality control program. Included in any action there is a conclusion with a quality control element.

Monitoring of drift is crucial in a successful SMS

The twenty first goal achievement for a successful SMS is to operate within a quality assurance program.

Your goals are achieved by making a written goal achievement project plan, recording of processes, analysis of the outcome and applying processes that conform to the expectation of outcome.

Catalina9