SMS Checklist

 SMS Checklist

By OffRoadPilots

Every aviation system tasks come with one or more checklists attached, except for

the safety management system (SMS). Manufacturing aircraft comes with

checklists, operating an aircraft comes with checklists, designing an aerodrome

comes with checklists, conducting an audit come with checklists, and applying for

an airport certificate comes with checklists, but there are no checklists

requirements to operate a safety management system.

There are several justifications for the

use of checklists to operate one or

multiple systems. A computer completes

a checklist when starting up, and

another checklist when shutting down,

an autopilot performs checklist tasks

prior to engage, and artificial

intelligence performs compatibility

checks prior to engagement. A baker

uses a checklist in the form of recipes,

and a clothing manufactures uses

checklists in form of patterns. When

completing trivial tasks such as opening

a hangar door there are three tasks,

open, stop and close, or when doing

tasks that are completed by gut feelings,

there are no need for checklists. Whatever the checklist format is, and whatever

the process for completion is, a checklist does not replace operational knowledge,

but is an additional layer to verify complex tasks. A complex task has four or more

tasks to be completed within a short timeframe. The brain may recall up to three

items over a short-term period, and on a good day may be able to recall as many

as seven tasks. A complex task is to recall an ATC clearance. A seven-step clearance

may read, decent to 9000, turn left 285, cross xe beacon at 7000, after crossing

turn left 215, maintain 5000 direct KAXUG, reduce speed to 210. An acceptable

.process is for pilots to build their checklist while flying and read back to ATC

clearance received. When writing down a clearance with a pen or pencil, the

connection between the brain and the movement of the pencil and written text

establishes ownership of the clearance and easier to recall while flying. As a trivia

task, recite the clearance backwards without a checklist.

Awareness is the knowledge and understanding that something is happening or

exists. Awareness is also to “see what you are looking at”. Awareness is to collect

data by the five senses, sight (vision), sound (hearing), smell (olfaction), taste

(gustation), and touch (tactile perception). Awareness is different than paying

attention, since awareness is system comprehension, while paying attention is

process comprehension. Both play a role for the safe operations of an airport and

aircraft, but processes are short-term operations, e.g. landing checklist, and

systems are long-term operations, e.g. flight planning. Awareness is based on data

collected. Data collected is formatted into a media to communicate information,

information is absorbed by the mind to instill knowledge, and with knowledge a

person comprehend systems, and system interactions, also known as awareness.

When relying on memory it is expected that information will be forgotten or

distorted over time. Short-term memory loses information quickly and has a small

capacity and is stored in long-term memory by task repetition or by studying

information over time. 

Learning how to ride a bicycle is a repetitious task to be stored in long-term memory, and if a task or knowledge are unused for a while it becomes difficult for the brain to recall. Common terminology to pick up old tasks and habits is to shake off the rust. It does not take long for a person to ride a bicycle again after several years of not using the skill. A checklist is not useful when learning how to ride a bicycle, but it is useful for putting the bicycle together.

Distractions are significant interferences with the short-term memory. 

A distraction is when a crew member, passenger, or ground crew want your

attention while receiving a clearance. However, a distraction is also more than

being interrupted, it is to receive continuous new information. In a 7-item ATC

clearance, information number seven is a distraction to the first clearance task.There are several techniques available to flight crew for improving their memory

capability. One tool is the repetition and rehearsal learning tool, by becoming an

actor and repeat a line over and over again. One disadvantage of this tool is that it

does not relate what is learned to any operational task. Pilots may rehearse an

approach checklist until they can do it forward and backwards, but the tool defeats

its purpose unless pilots go through the motions of the task. The purpose of a

checklist is not to memorize the checklist, but it is a trigger-list to verify operational

knowledge.

Another type of rehearsal that

is common among pilots is to

review essential procedures,

or immediate tasks at hand.

Some of these rehearsals are

pre-takeoff review,

emergency after departure

review and departure

procedure clearance review.

Going through these

situations visually prepared

the crew to perform well

during a critical phase of

flight.

Taking time to organize information into building blocks that make sense also helps

to remember task flow. A cockpit layout is laid out in an organized flow to make sense when performing tasks. An old airplane, the PBY-5A has the circuit brakers behind the captain’s chair and using left and right as a standard to identify circuit brakers. During an emergency when a generator needs to be shutdown, the left generator is actually the right circuit braker when viewing the panels. Clear

communication is essential in airport and aircraft operations. On 11 February 1978

an aircraft crashed during a missed approach. A snowplow operator was requested

 to clear the runway, and communication was interpreted as to clear the runway

for snow. Just as the aircraft touched down, the crew noticed the snowplow on the

runway, and initiated a go-around. Organizing information is also to organize text

and word to be unique for expected tasks.

An exceptional way to learn is to teach someone else. Teaching forces a person to

research in details to learn more, and comprehend systems, and to take ownership

of what was learned. Without ownership teaching becomes just another task to be

checked off in the checkbox for the purpose of completion. Teaching is not telling,

it is not explaining, and it is not to show, but it is to transfer knowledge and skills

from one person to another person who is prepared to receive the transfer. In

other words, teaching takes place at the knowledge level of the student. A

commonly used method when teaching is to demonstrate a task, supervise the

same task, and the final step is to monitor the task before candidates practices on

their own.

Associate a mental image with each item of information is another tool recall from

memory. An effective cockpit checklist follows the flow of the cockpit in an S-

shape, T-shape, W-shape or whatever else has been established. The old-style

aircraft instrument panes are placed in a T-shape flow and placed in an order of

priority during flight. The artificial horizon is placed on top as a tool to collect data

for roll and pitch, and the directional gyro is placed just below as a tool to collect

date for yaw. With roll, pitch and yaw information, pilots have all the tools they

need to apply information to maintain controlled flight of an aircraft. Creating

images is a great tool and makes it possible to operate a vehicle on the street of a

country with a language unknown to the driver.

A helpful tool is to use mnemonics, since only one item needs to be recalled as a

trigger to recall several other items on the task list. For aircraft towing operators, a

mnemonic used is “CLEAR” Congested Area, Line of Towing, Equipment,

Accountable Crew, and Ready. Effective mnemonics to use are when the single

item recall is associated with the task to be performed.Everyone is prone to forgetting no matter how good their memory is, or how well tasks or information are learned. Test yourself and recite the first sentence of the first paragraph without going back for a review first. Skills and knowledge are stored in the brain, but it takes learning to recall on demand. Recalling details is difficult when a person is anxious, pressured for time, or experiences an inflight

emergency. A tool to assist flight crew or aircraft engineers in recalling procedures

is to establish the written text in a shortform format. As an example, a checklist

only needs to reference landing gear in an approach checklist to trigger the flight

crew to lower the landing gear. For aircraft engineers a reference to landing gear

might be to perform a static landing gear operational check.

There are three rules when

flying an airplane: Rule 1 fly the

airplane, rule 2 fly the airplane,

rule 3 fly the airplane.

Contributing factors for

accidents are when pilots’

attention, or process, is diverted

from the task at hand, and their

awareness, or system, is

distorted by expectations. There

is a difference between

situational awareness and

awareness. Situational

awareness is the ability to

identify, process, and

comprehend the critical elements of information about what is happening to a

flight crew with regards to their current flight. More simply, situational awareness

is knowing what is going on around you while awareness the mental act of

processing information into knowledge. On March 19, 1993, an aircraft on a night

approach to an airport in mountainous area struck a mountaintop while on approach. The flight crew were distracted by an industry standard expectation that when they have visual contact to the runway environment, the approach is unobstructed, and they are safe to land. Their awareness was distracted by visual

references to the ground and runway.

A safety management system checklist is a checklist of operational tasks. Each task

is already assigned with a regulatory compliance factor attached. An SMS checklist

is therefore not about regulatory compliance, but it is about SMS policy

compliance that safety is paramount.

There are six components of a

safety management system,

seventeen elements, and

several expectations attached

to a safety management

system. It is an unmanageable

task to recall from memory all

expectations attached and

their references to regulatory

requirements. An SMS

checklist of tasks should be

designed and developed for

each element and performed daily. When the checklists are built and placed into operations, these daily rundown tasks become integrated part of regular

operational tasks.

A safety policy checklist contains tasks to identify how safety is paramount and

what daily tasks are involved for personnel to maintain an acceptable level of

safety. A non-punitive safety reporting policy checklist that contains the conditions

under which immunity from disciplinary action will be granted as a tool to clarify

the prerequisites for non-punitive reporting. This particular regulation states the

responsibility for an operator to clarify when immunity from disciplinary action will

be granted but does not require an operator to clarify when immunity from

disciplinary action will not be granted.

When checklists are completed for all elements, each checklist is assigned to a

daily quality control process, e.g. airside personnel conducts FOD control, runway

condition reports, and aeronautical obstruction assessments. In many instances,

flight crew and airside personnel conduct SMS related tasks regularly, and the only

difference is that these tasks are documented in the form of checklists. The SMS

checklist for design and developing operational checklist are found in the SMS

reference handbook, where objectives, goals and processes establishes regulatory

compliance tasks.

OffRoadPilots