Our goal is typically twofold:

1. To reduce our accident and incident rate on a continuous basis so that we see an improvement year on year
2. To identify latent exposures which can adversely impact us, and to develop mitigations before they become a problem

To ensure the best possible oversight, we need to make sure that our reporting processes within both our QMS & SMS are effective; to do this, we need to ensure we have good reporting systems and effective data capture.

The data gathered through internal and external audits, together with other information, will provide a sound indication for the management as to whether we are achieving our objectives.

Surveys can also provide a significant insight into the actual perception felt by the staff, and measure the effectiveness of the communications processes.

Caution

It is important to ensure we set effective targets that can be used to measure improvement and that we do not finish up with targets that have the potential to damage our safety culture.

For example, consider that our target is, in fact, a reduction in the number of reports over a given period of time, say, for example, a 10% reduction over the next 12 months, which could in fact lead to a negative reporting culture where staff are encouraged (indirectly by the process) not to document findings, hazards, or issues.

What do we need to report?

To assess our performance, we have to develop metrics that are consistent and may be used as a benchmark to enable us to monitor and focus our attention in the most deserving areas:

- Quality / Safety Surveys
- Quality / Safety Reviews
- Hazard and occurrence reports (together with the reporting rates)
- Information extracted from investigations
- Audit reports with findings and Root causes identified
- Risk registers
- Minutes from Safety meetings

Note

It is important that our Quality & Safety monitoring and measurement take place in a controlled and consistent manner. In turn, this requires an acceptable level of documentation to ensure a fully standardized approach.

Management of Change

Any change may be a precursor to a future adverse event; therefore, it is necessary to include an analysis that may include RCA techniques.

Examples of change includes:

- Organisational change (example – restructuring, a new manager or director)
- Operational change (example – new aircraft, service provider or it systems)
- Physical change (example – new facility or relocation)

Sofema Aviation Services www.sassofia.com offers training in Quality and Safety System management and auditing processes, for details, please email team@sassofia.com