Introduction
Safety Management System is a tool of management for the oversight of safety by an organization that is carried out following an approach that is both organized and orderly. Additionally, the Safety Management System approach represents a formal, top-down approach that is adopted by businesses and organizations for the management of safety risks. It includes an approach that is systematic regarding the management of security and considers the necessary structures of the organization, accountabilities, policies as well as procedures. According to Russel (2016), the notion that the implementation of a Safety Management System is complicated, time-consuming, and expensive is wrong and only means that things are not getting done well. Through this essay, I provide a detail of the key components of an Aviation Safety Management System to include the aspect of planning, reporting, investigating, and safety assurance.
General Aviation Security
The provision of adequate general aviation security is a problem that may get complex depending on the size of an airport or airline, how diverse the users are, and terrorism which is unpredictable. Therefore, the recognition of the complexity of airport safety programs is necessary to achieve a Safety Management System approach that caters for all the elements of aviation security (Rankin II, 2010). A Safety Management System that is effective allows an organization concerned with the provision of services or products to ensure that there is safety in the production. Therefore, for the air transportation sector to experience growth as desired by the operators and stakeholders, new efforts and measures are necessary for the level of aviation safety to experience an improvement (Gillen & Morrison, 2015). The adoption of the Safety Management Systems approach is needed because it facilitates the detection and correct problems that relate to safety before accidents and other incidences take place.
The nature of aviation safety has also had to evolve to keep pace with the new approaches used that the terrorists use for attacks as explained by Spruston (2002). Such developments mean that it is not possible to avoid security and safety measures for general operations of the aviation industry. Additionally, it is evident that such security requirements need to reflect the level of threat that the air transport industry faces so that operational realities are taken into account. Also, because of the financial costs related to the implementation of aviation Safety Management Systems, significant changes should be adopted so that funding does not get to unsustainable levels (Spruston, 2002). The number of individuals and cargo requiring air transportation continues to grow. This growth translates to a greater need for the implementation of the Safety Management Systems that are change oriented to accommodate the dynamism that faces the aviation industry.
Aviation Safety Management Systems (SMS) Framework that I would put in place.
The SMS framework that I would put in place is the one designed by the International Civil Aviation Organization for the safety of the aviation industry. The International Civil Aviation Organization is responsible for the designing and implementation of Safety Management Systems across the world and covers topics such as theories of basic safety, concepts of system security, and the processes involved in the implementation of the SMS (Leib & Lu, 2013). The primary goal of the International Civil Aviation Organization is to ensure that there is the integration of systems of safety management and a positive working culture of security across the various organizations within the world. Notably, the organization aims at the provision of the definition of risk, safety performance, levels of risk that are acceptable, the responsibilities of the individual, and the requirements for compliance with regulations. Further, the organization's framework aims at providing the meaning of safety education, the management of risks, systems of hazard reporting, audits and monitoring, and risk analysis and investigation that interact to play a role in aviation safety (Leib & Lu, 2013). The International Civil Aviation Organization framework is also important because it takes into account the different processes for the harmonization of existing legislative approaches undertaken by various countries for the provision of aviation safety.
According to Uhuegho, Gabriel, & Bond (2013), the implementation of a safety framework has to consider the unique cultures, practices, and styles of operations that are available in each state so that the Safety Management System is flexible and reliable as it is based on the needs of a given country. Additionally, I would use this framework because it provides for the reliance on the flexibility for the measures of quality management. Such flexibility ensures adaptability that is necessary when dealing with deficiencies that emerge as a result of the new demands that stem from the current requirements of a Safety Management System that are effective. Additionally, the framework has components and elements that ensure a precise definition of roles so that systems get streamlined in an efficient manner with clear boundaries on what each stakeholder performs. Roelena & Klompstra (2012) stated that there is a movement from the active monitoring of the aviation industry by many countries as a result of role confusion. The reasons implicated for such confusion of functions include a large number of inspectors needed to carry out the duty of aviation monitoring and the confusion over who should get responsible for aspects of safety.
Additionally, the need for large organizations for the enforcement of air security is another factor that is considered as contradictory to the culture of security that is critical in Safety Management Systems (Roelena & Klompstra, 2012). With such role confusions, it becomes difficult to implement and maintain a system of safety management. It also becomes hectic to develop measures that are useful for the purpose of serving as proper indicators for safety. It is hard to measure “Performance” because each organization has its unique set of performance indicators and the reliability of safety data is relative. There are also inconsistencies when interacting Safety Management Systems with other indicators of safety such as quality, occupational safety, and the protection of the environment. Also, apart from only putting emphasis on the importance of a culture of security within an organization, there need to be clear definitions of the components of the culture of organizational safety (Roelena & Klompstra, 2012). The International Civil Aviation Organization framework on safety provides for the understanding of the elements of a safety culture that makes it a useful framework for the aviation sector. In conclusion, the aim of the Safety Management Systems framework is to promote safety through an active culture of security. Such means that businesses and organizations need to move from a system of being reactive to that of being predictive to reduce accidents and enhance performance.
Planning for Safety Management Systems.
The process of planning for the implementation of the Aviation Safety Management System requires the writing and communication of the desired statements of policy and communication them with the employees and other relevant stakeholders. Further, the goals for the implementation of the safety systems need to get clearly communicated after which training and indoctrination for the implementation get done for those involved in the process (Lewis & Christopher, 2008). The training follows a process of identified training requirements for the safety of systems. An organizational chart also is developed to determine the individuals that get charged with specific responsibilities from the top management to safety committees and the lower level employees. Additionally, the process of planning involves the development of a schedule for the implementation as well as the drafting of anticipated financial and material costs. The implementing team then describes how the SMS program will get incorporated into the operations of the aviation industry.
The key components of the International Civil Aviation Organization Framework.
The ICAO framework consists of four components for the implementation of Aviation Safety Management Systems. Each component, in turn, has specific elements that facilitate the implementation of Safety Management Systems as stated by Ostrowski, Valha, & Ostrowski (2014). The components are; safety policy and objectives, safety risk management, safety assurance, and safety program.
1. Safety Policy and Objectives
Safety policy and objectives in a Safety Management System for the aviation sector refers to a documented commitment to safety by the airline and its operators. Additionally, safety policy forms the foundation for the establishment of the other components of the security framework as explained by Wiff (2016). This segment outlines the organizational safety objectives as well as the accountabilities and responsibilities of the employers concerning aviation safety. On the other hand, the elements of this component are; management commitment and responsibility, safety liabilities, the appointment of key security personnel, coordination of emergency response planning, and Safety Management System documentation. According to ICAO (2015), the element of commitment and responsibility requires that safety policies are available. The security policy should reflect the commitment by the organization to issues to do with the management of safety. The security plan also contains an explicit statement about the availability and provision of the resources that are fundamental to the implementation of the Safety Management Systems.
The element also provides for the procedures of reporting safety incidences, the conditions that warrant disciplinary action, and the communication and endorsement by the various stakeholders in the aviation industry. The policy also requires regular reviews to ensure that its relevance does not get compromised. A coherent set of safety objectives that can get linked to the performance indicators also comes to play in this component as stated by (ICAO, 2015). Safety Accountabilities entail the identification of executives or leaders that get charged with the ultimate responsibility and accountability to carry out the implementation and maintenance of the Safety Management System (Adjekum, 2014). Additionally, the appointed leaders and executives have the role of ensuring that there is control of the financial and other resources for the implementation of the safety management. Also, the organization identifies the accountabilities of all staff with managerial responsibilities as well as junior employees concerning the safety performance of the SMS. After such responsibilities get established, they then get communicated and documented for purposes of decision making (Adjekum, 2014). The appointment of key safety personnel element has ensured that qualified individual get recruited to supervise the daily operations of the Safety Management System.
The element of coordination of emergency response planning is concerned with having a plan of emergency response that is congruent with the size, nature, and complexity of the aviation industry in question. The procedures of coordinating response have to get distributed and communicated to the concerned personnel for efficient implementation. The element of SMS documentation directs that the aviation industry maintains a library for the documentation of hazards both in paper and electronic forms. Part of the documentation requires that the industry stakeholders or the providers of the services develop a plan of implementation that is accompanied with enough resources that also include works with appropriate skills. The system of record and documentation is essential for the provision of processes for control that ensure proper identification, legibility, storage, protection, archiving, and easy retrieval.
2. Safety Risk Management.
The Safety Risk Management Component also referred to as SRM component of the Safety Management System serves the purpose of describing the system. Such system descriptions entail the identification of hazards, their analysis, assessment, and control. Hazard identification will ensure that employees are empowered to voluntarily report threats that the aviation industry faces. Follow up actions are then carried out and where applicable risk evaluation processes are undertaken (Lu, Schreckengast, & Jia, 2011). Additionally, risk analysis tools that are objective in nature will get used to identifying and manage the risks in the safety risk assessment and mitigation element. After the risks identified get mitigated, periodic measures are implemented to monitor the effectiveness of the corrective measures instituted.
Risk Investigation
In the field of civil aviation, the investigation and assessment get based on the likelihood that an air accident may occur. The investigation is based on two indicators that are the rate of accidents and the rate of fatalities as explained by Janic (2000). The investigation also considers the impact that policy has on different groups such as the users, service operators, aviation, and non-aviation workers as well as the general public. Two approaches get used to investigate the risk; the causal approach that focuses on the system failures that may result in aviation sector accidents and the approach of statistical modeling that looks at the occurrence of air accidents over time (Janic, 2000). There is a wide scope of risks that the aviation sector encounters such as design factors, risks of procedures and operating practices, communication, as well as personnel factors. Further risks stem from factors within the organization, factors relating to the environment of work, regulatory and oversight issues, and the provision of adequate security.
Risk Reporting
The reporting of risks involves the workers in the aviation sector as well as the clients of the industry. The users of the Safety Management System submit the issues of concern for corrective actions to get instituted. The safety officers responsible for the receipt of complaints then review the potential risk, assess, classify, recommend corrective initiatives, create alternative solutions, and assign individuals to deal with the risk. The organization’s heads of department are responsible for evaluating the likely effectiveness of the suggested control measures after which reports get prepared. The provision of solutions to the reported issues is communicated to the users of the Safety Management Systems after which further corrective actions get instituted as required. According to Wilf-Miron (2003), the process of reporting risks entails the assessment of the risk, classifying the issues that need immediate or delayed responses, recommending measures for mitigation, and tracking the costs. The assignment of leaders and setting deadlines for the completion of corrective actions the follow the tracking of costs.
Safety Assurance
Safety assurance involves all the measures that are planned in a systematic manner that is necessary to ensure that product or service users have adequate confidence that the levels of safety are acceptable or can get tolerated. Security assurance is a process of formal management contained in the Safety Management Systems that makes the customers confident that the product or service of an organization meets the recommended standards of safety (Karanikas, 2014). The recommendations by International Civil Aviation Authority stipulate that safety assurance activities must get adhered to and implemented by the providers of aviation services. Therefore, the providers of air travel services are tasked with the continuous surveillance and recording of the performance of the organization regarding safety. The application of safety assurance, therefore, plays the role of indicating how the approaches towards the achievement of security get designed as well as their level of effectiveness (Karanikas, 2014). The implementation of safety assurance measures also ensures that pilots, air traffic controllers, maintenance technicians, and managers in the aviation sector benefit from the tools of Safety Management Systems. Safety Assurance ensures that leaders in the air transport sector can track the trends, carry out statistical analysis, and quantify the areas that are in need of measures to improve safety.
According to Wiff (2016), organizations can ensure that operations are safe or surpass the safety standards set so that clients benefit from the services of the aviation sector. Safety assurance has three main elements; Safety performance monitoring and measurement, the management of changes, and the continuous improvement of the safety Management Systems (Ostrowski, Valha, & Ostrowski, 2014). Safety performance monitoring and measurement deals with the identification of indicators for the safety performance present within the organization. The indicators for the performance of safety should prove relevant to the policies of safety that the organization uses for the implementation of its operations. Additionally, the safety performance indicators need to get constituted following a consultative approach that makes it possible for corrective or follow-up activities if the organization does not meet targets (Ostrowski, Valha, & Ostrowski, 2014). The organization also needs to conduct periodic assessments of the indicators. The management of changes component stipulates that the organization has a procedure that reviews changes within the aviation sector such as facility or equipment demanded of the sector. The organization must additionally conduct reviews to monitor the presence of new aviation-safety-related processes meant to identify risks and come up with such measures after they get effected into aviation activities.
Further, there should be a procedure for the review of necessary facilities, equipment, operations, or processes within the airline industry. The organization then adopts changes that are external such as regulatory or standards of practice within the field as well as best practices and the advancement of technology. The Continuous SMS improvement element has to do with the presence of internal audit activities and assessment of the safety Management system. The plan of reviewing the organization has to account for its consideration of risk assessment procedures that exist within the organization. The indicators of safety performance adopted by the sector must also get audited to determine how current they are and how effectively they serve their roles (Ostrowski, Valha, & Ostrowski, 2014).
Safety Promotion Program
The last component of the ICAO framework that I would implement is the safety promotion program that serves to hold the Safety Management System together. The program includes the training, communication, and all the factors that are necessary for the establishment of a positive culture of safety within the organization (Wiff, 2016). For example, airlines would have manuals that give detail on the operations that get carried out on a daily basis and how such activities enhance safety for in the aviation sector. The safety promotion program contains two elements; training and education and security communication (Lercel et al., 2011). The part of training and education provides for the presence of the knowledge of Safety Management Systems to make the personnel familiar with what the system entails. The training also makes it easier for the staff to implement the system. The aviation industry team leaders require the education to familiarize themselves with the system so that they can adequately assess for and provide solutions for any risks that may occur.
Additionally, evidence that the organization has conducted education regarding Safety Management Systems for both the leaders and the junior employees. The element of safety communication, on the other hand, mandates the organization to take part in the sharing of information relating to security in the aviation sector. The information should get shared with relevant stakeholders that are both internal and external as well as the regulatory bodies. Lercel, et al. (2011) stated that there must be evidence of the existence of a clear channel for communicating the matters related to safety to the employees. The accessibility of the information also needs to get guaranteed.
Conclusion
The implementation of a Safety Management System that is effective requires a safety culture that is both dynamic and active in nature. For the system to get implemented by any organization within the aviation sector, a safety culture and components for the promotion of the system such as effective communication must be in place. The elements that form an effective Safety Management System include Safety Policy and objectives, safety risk management, safety assurance, and a safety promotion program. Bothe the leadership and employees must have the commitment to facilitate the adoption of a new security approach for success to get achieved during implementation. Organizations need to view the Safety Management System as a daily activity in the operation of businesses.
References
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