SMS Developments and the Management of Change

Do we agree on what we mean we talk about the management of change in connection with our Safety Management System (SMS)?

Essential we are talking about changes within the business which may in some way increase our exposure to risk!

Unfortunately within the business many changes take place which are not considered for the impact that they may create related to increased risk, any lack of communication or in fact even perceived lack of communication (yes perception can lead to negative outcomes) may have negative connotations or worse!

Change Management is an area which deserves more attention than often it receives, the more visibility we provide and the more attention we give to the change then the more likely we will be to address the underlying issues.

Whenever we engage with change management we face a number of hurdles, one of which is the competence of the person, persons or team who are challenged with understanding developing, analyzing and proposing mitigations to improve the organisations accommodation of the change.

Humans have a natural reluctance to change preferring the status quo in which they have become sometimes all too familiar, we need to be mindful of this and take measures to ensure we over any resistance in the most appropriate way possible.

We also need an abundance of commitment not just personally but throughout the management team and in particular within the senior members of the team. If the project – in fact if any project is going to succeed then it is important that we have the appropriate resources, comment and where necessary financial support to see it through.

Competence regarding the specific knowledge attributes which are necessary drivers for the change are an absolute must – careful steps must be taken in the right direction if we are going to be successful in managing the change in the most effective way. An ideal mix would contain change management so called “experts” together with business so called “champions” together with were necessary and appropriate IT experts.

On the journey to practice effective change management we need to ensure that we have both trust and loyalty within the group not just visible but evidenced in deeds, this is also a key component of any trust which impacts culture.

Expect the unexpected because there will be issues and other complications including unforeseen costs which will serve to compromise the implementation process.

Remember that change management is driven by our risk assessment and mitigation process so the outcome is designed and intended to take the organisation or the business process to a better place.

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 office@sassofia.com or online@sassofia.com