FAA SMS Considerations – General Principles of Safety Risk Management

Review by Sofema Online (SOL) www.sofemaonline.com looking at the process which drives Safety Risk Management (SRM).

Introduction related to general principles of safety risk management:

» All system operations represent some degree of risk.
» Recognize that human interaction with elements of the system entails some element of risk.
» Keep hazards in proper perspective.

Important Note - Do not overreact to each identified risk, but make a conscious decision on how to deal with it.

» Weigh the risks and make judgments according to your own knowledge, inputs from subject matter experts, experience, and program needs.
» It is more important to establish clear objectives and parameters for Comparative Safety Assessment related to a specific program than to use generic approaches and procedures.
» There may be no "single solution" to a safety problem. (There are usually a variety of directions to pursue for an effective resolution)

o Each of these directions may produce varying degrees of risk reduction.
o A combination of approaches may provide the best solution.
o Engage designers with safety goals and how they can be achieved.

Opinion for your consideration - There are no "safety problems" in system planning or design. There are only engineering or management problems that, if left unresolved, may lead to accidents.

Determination of Severity

» The determination of severity is made on a “worst credible case/condition” in accordance with MIL-STD-882, and AMJ 25.1309.
» Many hazards may be associated with a single risk. In predictive analysis, risks are hypothesized accidents, and are therefore potential in nature. A severity assessment is made regarding the potential of the hazards to do harm.

Risk Management Decision-Making Considerations

» For any system safety effort to succeed, there must be a commitment on the part of management.
» There must be mutual confidence between program managers and system safety management.
» Program managers need to have confidence that safety decisions are made with professional competence.
» System safety management and engineering must know that their actions will receive full program management attention and support.
» Safety personnel need to have a clear understanding of the system safety task along with the authority and resources to accomplish the task. Decision-makers need to be fully aware of the risk they are taking when they make their decisions. They have to manage program safety risk.
» For effective safety risk management, program managers should:

o Ensure that competent, responsible, and qualified engineers be assigned in program offices and contractor organizations to manage the system safety program.
o Ensure that system safety managers are placed within the organizational structure so that they have the authority and organizational flexibility to perform effectively.
o Ensure that all known hazards and their associated risks are defined, documented, and tracked as a program policy so that the decision-makers are made aware of the risks being assumed when the system becomes operational.
o Require that an assessment of safety risk be presented as a part of program reviews and at decision milestones.
o Make decisions on risk acceptability for the program and accept responsibility for that decision.

Safety Order of Preference

Priority 1 - Design for minimum risk

» If the identified risk cannot be eliminated, reduce it to an acceptable level through design selection.

Priority 2 - Incorporate safety devices.

» If identified risks cannot be eliminated through design selection, reduce the risk via the use of fixed, automatic, or other safety design features or devices. Provisions shall be made for periodic functional checks of safety devices.

Priority 3 - Provide Warning Devices

» When neither design nor safety devices can effectively eliminate identified risks or adequately reduce risk, devices shall be used to detect the condition and to produce an adequate warning signal. Warning signals and their application shall be designed to minimize the likelihood of inappropriate human reaction and response. Warning signs and placards shall be provided to alert operational and support personnel of such risks as exposure to high voltage and heavy objects.

Priority 4 - Develop procedures and training.

» Where it is impractical to eliminate risks through design selection or specific safety and warning devices, procedures and training are used. However, concurrence of authority is usually required when procedures and training are applied to reduce risks of catastrophic, hazardous, major, or critical severity.

Next Steps

Sofema Aviation Services www.sassofia.com & Sofemaonline www.sofemaonline.com offer Safety Management System Training as Classroom, Webinar or Online. Please see the websites or email team@sassofia.com