Safety Mnagement System in Aviation

Safety Management Systems in Aviation

Capt. ELhadi Y. Nour

AM 700

June /23/2010

Introduction to SMS (Safety Management System):

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAQ)'s definition of SMS is "an organized approach to managing safety, including the necessary organizational structures, accountabilities, policies and procedures" (ICAO, 2006, 1-2).

Safety cultures:

One of the most challenging elements of SMS is the creation and nurturing of a safety culture, in which every person, from CEO to new-hire, understands his or her role in maintaining a safe operation, and actively participates in controlling and minimizing risk. ERPs (emergency response plans, as ICAO designates them) are very well developed and extensive, and by regulation regularly tested.

The ICAO Safety Management Manual states that the purpose of an ERP is to ensure that there is (ICAO, 2006, p. 11-1):

Orderly and efficient transition from normal to emergency operations, delegation of emergency authority, assignment of emergency responsibilities, authorization by key personnel for actions contained in the plan, coordination of efforts to cope with the emergency, and safe continuation of operations or return to normal operations as soon as possible. An ERP to control the organizational response to the emergency in such a way as to minimize the risk for all facets of the operation. An ERP is a control mechanism.

The ICAO document defines the following sections as constituent elements of a well-designed ERP:

Governing policies. An ERP should have explicit references to the regulations governing emergency response in the organization's operational environment, and should contain the company policies and procedures that determine how the organization will respond to the emergency.

Organization. Emergency response is a process, and ideally should be created using the same discipline as applies to...