What is the goal of the Aviation Safety Management System (SMS)?

Well, quite simply, it is to:

a) Identify hazards or exposures across every area and facet of the business (ideally considering also financial exposure)
b) Assess the risk in respect of each hazard and how it is currently perceived or how it may be perceived in the future to the organisation, department or person (This is an extremely subjective activity and requires a strong degree of competence)
c) To develop appropriate mitigations to deliver an improvement which will take the risk to the lowest level possible (ALARP) using organisational tools to test or measure proposed solutions so that they are cost-effective

Therefore, the aim of information collection is to maximise the data set to allow for a wide possibility of hazard capture. Quite simply, the more data we are able to collect, the more effective may be the hazard-risk assessment-mitigation process.

But consider one caveat, and this concerns the difference between quantitative & qualitative data collection.

Airline X provides an iPad and SMS app to the Cabin Crew for completion on each and every sector—in this case, the data collection will be “huge”—but how much value will it add?

Airline Y has a strong and positive safety culture, so it encourages all the Cabin Crew to report any hazards they see, and not only in the cabin, but in any area with which they come into contact.

So the data collected from Airline Y, although it is less, may actually be of higher value.
In practice it is not a black-and-white story; it is a very complex story; however, it is one in which the focus should be on honest and genuine reporting rather than mechanistic reporting, which is of a potentially lower value.

One of the challenges we face is that it is easier to deal with (or accept) the quantity of data for analysis, as it is easier to build a business case for change. Qualitative data, by its nature, is far more subjective, so it creates something of a challenge to interpret and understand.

However, the ability to analyse qualitative data in a way that allows us to understand the risks faced by the organisation and develop a working methodology that allows us to assess and measure the risks that are faced can be of immense benefit to the organisation.

Sofema Aviation Services offers online and classroom-based Safety Management System training courses for aviation organisations, airports, and regulators. For more information, please email us at team@sassofia.com