System Analysis

 System Analysis

By OffRoadPilots

A System Analyses is Safety Risk Management (SRM) and is the highest achievable level of a successful Safety Management System (SMS). Systems analysis is the process of studying a system and its interacting systems. System analysis projects are fundamental to define problems or issues, discover opportunities for incremental improvements, and to publish directives or operations plans. System analyses are what makes the SMS a common-sense approach to incremental process changes

When applying safety risk management an SMS enterprise conducts system analyses for implementation of new systems, revision of existing systems, development of operational procedures, and for identification of hazards or ineffective risk controls. When conducting a system analysis, an SMS enterprise considered function and purpose of the system, the system’s operating environment, an outline of the system’s processes and procedures, personnel, equipment, and facilities necessary for operation of the system maintain processes to identify hazards within the context of the system analysis. 

 

The context of a system analysis is the circumstances that form the setting for an event or observation in terms of which it can be comprehended and assessed. A system analysis is more than checkbox completion, is a comprehensive task to analyze details of how each system interacts with other systems within the analysis. A system analysis includes analysis of common cause variations but excludes special cause variations from the analysis. A common cause variation is a variation required for the system to function as intended. Common cause variations are controlled and managed for the process to produce a desired output. The difference between an intended output and desired output is that an intended output is a process where common cause variation is without control action, and a desired output is a process with a control action applied. 

The vast majority of issues come from common causes of variation, due to the way processes are managed on a day-to-day basis. If special causes of variation are present, a root cause analysis mut be conducted to identify the issue and for a process to change course of action. The only effective way to separate common from special causes of variation is through the use of SPC control charts. A process is in statistical control when only common cause of variations are present and this is determined by examining SPC control charts. When there are no points above or below the upper and lower control limits and without trends, then a process is said to be in statistical control.

 

For a system analysis to be effective and make a difference, an identified hazard is within the context of the system analysis. The context of an analysis is the area, or segment of operations affected by the event or observation. A new gate assignment at an international airport may affect flight operations, dispatch, and maintenance, while a new parking location for a single engine freight carrier, the pilot might be the only context of a system analysis. 

 

Within a safety management system there are five generic features to characterize a SMS. There is a comprehensive systematic approach to the management of aviation safety within an organization, including the interfaces between the company and its suppliers, sub-contractors, and business partners. There is a principal focus on the hazards of the business and their effects upon those activities critical to air operations or airport safety. In addition to the safe operations of aircraft or airport, there is full integration of safety considerations into the business, via the application of management controls to all aspects of the business processes to safety critical areas. It is crucial for the success of an SMS that there are active monitoring and audit processes to validate that the necessary controls are in place, and to for a continued commitment to safety. The fifth characteristics of an SMS is the use of quality assurance principles, including improvement and feedback mechanisms or tools. 

An SMS enterprise must operate with a process to identify hazards and associated risks, analyze risks, and develop new risk controls that affect multiple processes, or hazard owners, within its organization. A final risk acceptance may be made at a management level above the process owner, by a committee, or by the accountable executive. Processes may be decided by the process owner, while policies are decided on management level. A comprehensive system analysis requires technical knowledge of areas within the context of the analysis and how identified hazards affect those areas. 

 

A system analysis is an invaluable tool when maintaining a safety management system. At the time of the SMS phase-in implementation, operators were required to conduct a gap-analysis, which is very different from a system analysis. System analyses are ongoing and applied at stages parallel to the process flow. Processes in an SMS system is to operate pursuant to a safety management plan, maintain documentation management, safety oversight, training, quality assurance and emergency response preparedness. For each one of these SMS sub-systems, or components, a system analysis is conducted and applied to air operations or airport operations prior to a complete system analysis of the SMS. 

 

Audits are prerequisites for a full SMS system analysis. Audit results are unbiased, they are based on facts and paint a true picture of operational processes. Each system, or sub-system audited, becomes an independent system analysis. At the conclusion these systems are combined and will paint a picture of flaws in the operations, or paint a picture of an operation where common cause variations are managed and controlled.   

 

 

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