There are many misconceptions and misunderstandings regarding Aviation Safety Management Systems (SMS) and Quality Management Systems (QMS).

The following is intended hopefully to clear up this misunderstanding:

QMS and SMS - Offer many common methods and techniques, but provide different outcomes and objectives:

Sufficient competent resources are critical to the success of both the CM system and the SMS. It is also important to realize that essentially the role of both QMS and SMS is to provide a service to the management team to understand both the non-conformities and risks that they face within the business areas.

QMS Objective is Compliance Focused - EASA Quality systems are focused on demonstrating continuous compliance (quite different in fact from the goals and objectives of the ISO audit system which focuses on continuous improvement).

SMS Objective is Aviation Safety Focused - The primary purpose of the SMS is to be able to measure and improve the organisations safety performance, and therefore to be able to reduce the exposure to perceived risk across the business.

SMS is forward-looking with proactive techniques and QMS is looking at “now” with prescriptive techniques.

There should never be a conflict between the QMS & SMS both systems should be seen as complementary and the synergy between the two recognized and embraced to drive positive outcomes. 

Please consider that just because a product meets for example compliance with ISO 9001- 2008 or even ISO 9001-2015 objectives does not automatically mean it is safe. (Just as not having an accident can be taken as meaning that we will not have an accident in the future.) In reality, the key aspect becomes our ability to measure risk and exposure. 

Quality systems audits consider gaps related to compliance with both external regulations and internal organisational processes and procedures. The quality systems do not usually investigate incidents or accidents or consider risk assessment.

A high level of Competence is required within both the QMS and SMS in particular within the SMS related to the challenging area of Hazard Identification, Safety Risk Analysis, System Evaluation, and Mitigation Proposal.

Typically an SMS is described as a business-like approach to managing safety. SMS applies a systematic approach to organisational safety and promotes a formal and structured approach to dealing with risk and exposure across the business.

SMS provides a mechanism that connects the different elements of the business with a shared focus on both identifying exposure and focusing on safety by delivering the most effective process and procedures.

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