Identifying areas that need special attention helps to ensure safety performance while optimizing resource allocation. Within these areas could emerge hazards, recurring risks, or weaknesses in operational or safety processes.
By aligning resources, setting clear targets, and fostering a proactive safety culture, organizations can address high-priority areas while maintaining oversight of all relevant safety processes. This ensures continuous safety improvement and resilience within the Aviation SMS framework.
• Successfully focusing efforts ensures effective mitigation, compliance, and continuous improvement.
Level of Engagement - Identifying Areas Needing Special Attention
The first step in prioritization is to systematically uncover areas that pose the highest risks, have weak barriers, or exhibit gaps in performance. This process requires the integration of multiple tools, techniques, and data-driven insights.
• Review incident reports, near-miss data, and hazard logs to identify trends and critical areas.
• Use tools like Event Risk Classification (ERC) to evaluate the potential exposure.
Note - Areas with recurring high-risk incidents or low visibility hazards need priority attention.
Safety Performance Monitoring:
• Use Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs) to measure key metrics such as:
>> Number of incidents or near-misses per operation (e.g., ground handling, maintenance).
>> Non-conformance rates in audits.
>> Human error trends (fatigue, workload, miscommunication).
>> Monitor deviations from established Safety Performance Targets (SPTs).
• Use operational and technical data to identify trends, recurring failures, or deviations from SOPs.
• Areas where data indicates elevated risk, such as specific operational phases (e.g., taxiing, maintenance turnaround).
• Internal and External Audits:
>> Regular quality and safety audits help uncover latent hazards, systemic issues, and non-conformities.
>> Prioritize findings that have significant safety, financial, or operational implications.
>> Identify Areas flagged as non-compliant or requiring corrective action during audits.
• Gather frontline insights via anonymous surveys to detect hidden risks or cultural challenges.
• Understand employee perceptions about safety culture, fatigue, and workload pressures.
• Consider areas with poor survey feedback or signs of safety culture weaknesses.
• Conduct regular reviews of safety programs and SMS processes to evaluate their effectiveness.
• Processes with known gaps, delays, or inconsistencies (e.g., hazard reporting systems).
• Use RCA for significant events or recurring issues to identify underlying causes:
>> Physical Causes: Equipment failures, system breakdowns.
>> Human Causes: Training gaps, procedural confusion, fatigue.
>> Organizational Causes: Poor resource allocation and inadequate oversight.
• To prioritise focus on areas where root causes indicate systemic failures that require immediate attention.
• Once the data is gathered, focus areas should be prioritized based on:
>> ERC
>> Identification of recurring incidents or trends requiring systemic improvements.
>> Prioritize areas that are mission-critical, such as:
• Aircraft operations and turnaround.
• Ground operations (e.g., fueling, baggage handling).
• Training programs for safety-critical roles.
• Risk Heatmaps to visually display prioritized focus areas.
• Pareto Analysis (80/20 Rule): Focus on the 20% of issues causing 80% of safety concerns.
Focus on immediate fixes for critical issues while implementing long-term solutions to address systemic risks.
• Resource Allocation and Planning
• Prioritize High-Risk Areas:
>> Allocate resources (personnel, technology, funds) to areas with high-risk or weak controls.
>> Develop a risk-based action plan to address identified priorities.
>> Balance Short-Term and Long-Term Goals:
• Develop targeted training programs for staff to ensure competence in high-risk or priority areas.
• Consider enhanced training for human factors management or emergency response procedures.
• Establish clear Safety Performance Targets (SPTs) for identified focus areas.
>> Example: Reduce ground handling incidents by 20% within six months.
Develop Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to monitor the success of mitigation strategies.
Example: Number of incidents before and after implementing corrective actions.
Implement Feedback Loops:
• Regularly review the outcomes of mitigation measures to ensure they are delivering the expected results.
• Use safety reporting, trend data, and audit findings to adjust priorities and improve focus.
• Develop a Just Culture that encourages frontline staff to report hazards, near-misses, and safety concerns.
• Create user-friendly reporting tools for real-time hazard identification.
• Regularly engage leadership, safety teams, and operational staff to align priorities and efforts.
• Share findings and action plans transparently to ensure all departments understand areas needing special attention.
• Use risk heatmaps and dashboards to visualize focus areas and monitor progress dynamically.
Best Practices to Address Challenges
• Data Overload: Trend analysis and risk prioritization tools should be used to focus on critical data.
• Subjectivity in Risk Assessment: Use Standardized processes (e.g., 5x5 Risk Matrix) and train staff for consistency.
• Resource Constraints Focus efforts on the highest-risk areas using Pareto Analysis.
• Resistance to Change - Promote a Just Culture and emphasize the benefits of proactive safety measures.
• Low Visibility of Certain Risks - Enhance audits and inspections; apply visibility factors in risk prioritization.
Next Steps
Sofema Aviation Services and Sofema Online provide classroom, webinar and online training – see the following example course SMS Hazard Identification & Risk Assessment - 1 Day.
For comments & questions, please email team@sassofia.com.
