Steve Bentley CEO of Sofema (www.sassofia.com) looks at the challenges and obligations related to the auditing of SMS systems.

SMS is a business system just like any other, so as part of our Compliance Auditing obligations we will be looking at the following elements as suitable for our auditing activities.

a) Management
b) Documentation
c) Competence
d) Training

Presentation Introduction – The Aviation Quality & Safety Management Symposium - Holiday Inn Sofia Bulgaria – Tues May 14th & Wed May 15th 2019  

If you are engaged in Aviation Quality & Safety Management this is your one "must attend" event of the year.

Here is your opportunity to engage with a professional who has decades of experience and is able to rise to the challenge of any Airport Security issue and to share an understanding regarding best practice solutions.

For event details please see the following link:

https://sassofia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/General_Updated_3.pdf 

Introduction

Related to SMS Quality Assurance has 2 distinct roles:

Presentation Introduction – The Aviation Quality & Safety Management Symposium - Holiday Inn Sofia Bulgaria – Tues May 14th & Wed May 15th 2019

If you are engaged in Aviation Quality & Safety Management this is your one "must attend" event of the year.

Presentation by Adam Sider

Adam has held multiple key positions such as, OCC manager, Director – Quality Assurance and Director – Flight Operations Center

In addition he played a significant role in establishing and setting up flight dispatch and OCCs for international and local airlines operating over 1600 flights a month, in addition to providing full mentorship programs.

With this extended experience, I have achieved expert working knowledge within flight dispatch, safety & quality, DGR and training.

Presentation Introduction – The Aviation Quality & Safety Management Symposium - Holiday Inn Sofia Bulgaria – Tues May 14th & Wed May 15th 2019

A presentation on effective measurement of safety system performance. Davit Mazmishvili, M.Sc.Eng CEO at Aviation Innovative Solutions Group has a broad technical knowledge of airline operations, an experienced aircraft commander and training pilot hands-on experience, in setting up the Safety Management System, Emergency Response Plan, and Aviation Security Management Systems.

If you are engaged in Aviation Quality & Safety Management this is your one "must attend" event of the year.

Here is your opportunity to engage with a professional who has decades of experience and is able to rise to the challenge of any Airport Security issue and to share an understanding regarding best practice solutions.

James Pike Managing Director of JP International Training Ltd will be presenting on the subject of Auditing Airport Security with the focus on understanding and address the various challenges

Presentation Introduction – The Aviation Quality & Safety Management Symposium - Holiday Inn Sofia Bulgaria – Tues May 14th & Wed May 15th 2019

If you are engaged in Aviation Quality & Safety Management this is your one "must attend" event of the year.

Here is your opportunity to engage with a professional who has decades of experience and is able to rise to the challenge of any Airport Security issue and to share an understanding regarding best practice solutions.

For event details please see the following link:

This Subject is presented, considered and discussed during the forthcoming Aviation Quality & Safety Management Symposium 2019 May 14 & May 15 at the Holiday Inn Sofia. 

The acceptance of the CEO, the Safety Manager and, executive team depends on a thin line between a real mistake and negligence or unacceptable conduct.

Without an effective and thriving safety culture, there will never be a fully functioning SMS.

If you are engaged in Aviation Quality & Safety Management this is your one "must attend" event of the year.

Find out how you can improve and develop your current Flight Data Monitoring System by attending The Aviation Quality & Safety Management Symposium 2019 Holiday Inn Sofia Bulgaria on May 14^th & 15^th

‘If you are engaged in Aviation Quality & Safety Management in an EASA Environment this is your one ‘must attend’ event of the year’

Introduce your OPS Team to Aerosight Flight Data Monitoring Software

▪ See a Presentation and Understand the benefits of the Software
▪ Update regarding Challenges Facing Quality, Safety & Security Business Areas
▪ Network with Industry Colleagues

A Discussion Paper by Steve Bentley Group CEO of Sofema Aviation Services www.sassofia.com

Clearing up the Basic Stuff

SMS is not QMS by another name they are both separate and both significantly important QMS together with Quality Assurance (QA) strives to deliver a fully compliant product or process, whereas SMS considers the risk associated with any & all business risks. SMS is both subjective & forward looking. A fully functioning Safety Management System contributes to the viability of the organisation by addressing safety risk.

SMS should focus on real-time performance monitoring and reporting together with effective data analysis – a major challenge being to consider how to capture the required data across the business in a valid way.

Sofema Aviation Services www.sassofia.com considers the steps necessary to deliver an effective Organisational Aviation Safety Management System (SMS)

For Any Organizational Project to be successful it must have ownership, an agreed timeline and sufficient resources to accomplish.

The Importance of Manpower Commitment

Note 1 – How does the organisation ensure there is sufficient manpower – what is the mechanism to assess – who is responsible and how does the Accountable Manager know he has this correct.

Note 2 – How does the AM ensure sufficient financial commitment to the delivery of a successful SMS – how is this represented and measured?

Within the Aviation Safety Management System it is necessary to develop effective methods of both Top Down & Bottom up Communication.

How to measure the current status of the communication effectiveness?

Consider a Communication Audit!

A communication audit is a thorough evaluation of the organization’s ability to deliver information to every level with the organisation.

Essential the communication audit looks at both the internal mechanisms as well as the external communications for example:

a) With Contract Organizations – Data Exchange Methods!
b) With Sub Contract Service Providers (Direct Oversight)
c) Delivering information to the Front Line
d) Dealing with the challenge of the Iceberg or Ignorance

Sofema Aviation Services www.sassofia.com considers the major challenges

Introduction

Without doubt an Effective Aviation Safety Management System (SMS) provides industry with a key driver to manage the various elements, which together can support the lowering of the exposure and lead to a reduction of incidents and accidents.

The crux of implementing an effective safety management system (SMS) is not just in defining it, but effectively implementing it throughout the business with everyone acting as a stakeholder and engaging with the organisations processes.

SofemaOnline (www.sofemaonline.com) takes a look at fire safety.

Understanding simple rules can help us to do the right thing when we are faced with a Fire Emergency.

Ensuring Fire safety means understanding the set of practices which are intended to reduce the exposure to the risk of Fire under any circumstances.

Fire safety measures include all activities and behaviours which are intended to prevent the possibility of an uncontrolled fire.

Practical guide to Fire & Safety Risk Assessment

What is Fire Safety Risk Assessment?

Essentially it is the process of considering any aspect within the workplace which could cause harm to people or premises from fire. To determine both the possibility of a fire occurring together with the potential dangers from fire.

What do we Meaning by Risk?

“Fire Risk” or “Potential” can be defined as the Likelihood of a fire occurring multiplied by the Severity of the fire.

The potential of a fire hazard depends on the “opportunity for development” of a fire which originates from the hazard and then develops the potential consequences related to the loss or injury of both life & property.

Considering the relationship between Aviation Quality and Aviation Safety, together with the relationship between Quality Assurance Auditing and Safety Assurance Auditing in Aviation

Often it is apparent there is some confusion between the specific functions of the two different undertakings namely a quality assurance management system and that of a safety assurance management system.

So consider that Quality is essentially looking at compliance, and Safety is looking at Risk.
In essence Quality Assurance is determining gaps based on non compliance with either the regulatory requirements or organisational requirements.

The Focus of this blog is to consider the inter-relationship between Maintenance Error Management Systems (MEMS) – (typically using the Boeing Maintenance Error Decision Aid as a primary tool) and Safety Management through Human Factor Learning within the context of a viable Safety Management System.

What is the Purpose of MEMS?

The rationale behind a MEMS System is to identify any situations which may “promote” the potential for error. In addition to facilitate (using the organisational framework) the risk based decision making process which will lead to stronger defences.

Sofema Aviation Services (www.sassofia.com) considers the challenges to be found during the implementation & delivery of an effective Maintenance Error Management System (MEMS) within an EASA Part 145 Aircraft Maintenance Organisation (AMO)

Tensions between the desire to ensure safety behaviours and the organisations economic objectives (Production versus Protection) deliver real challenges which have a direct bearing on safety culture.

What is an Aviation Maintenance Safety Culture?

Introduction

The Current Portfolio of SAS “TTT” - training courses currently on offer include Ramp Safety / HF TTT - Maintenance Instructor TTT, Human Factors TTT, Internal Auditor TTT, Safety Management System TTT, Fuel Tank Safety (FTS) & Electrical Wiring Interconnect System (EWIS) TTT and Maintenance Error Decision Aid (MEDA) TTT.

Correct Understanding is Important

Let's have a clear understanding here because it is important to understand that a 3 or 4 day training does not “Deliver” a trainer and clearly we would be “not correct”  if we were to believe this to be so.☺

The reality is that this course as well as other activities is part of a systematic process of building soft skills and competence across a range of topics which support the organization.

It is not possible to separate the Safety Management System from the need to manage Ramp HF in the most effective way. In fact the more integration the better in terms of understanding and managing the exposure.

All the elements which are considered as part of our Aviation Ramp Safety & Human Factors Exposure may typically be accommodated and addressed as part of the delivery of the SMS system.

If we are able to study and take appropriate action in respect of the human factors issues, we will be able to better prepare to deal with human factors issues and behaviours in our daily routine.

Driven by ICAO obligations European Countries (as well as the rest of the world) are required to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of ICAO Annex 19.

Airports are specifically mentioned within the requirements related to the need for a State Safety Program as well as the need to demonstrate compliance with the SMS obligations.

Steven Bentley MD of Sofema Aviation Services believes it is time to recognise QAS as a component of our organisations' SMS.

Where Should an EASA Compliant Quality Assurance System “Sit” in relation to the Organisations SMS?

Introduction

Historically (and growing up in the workplace through the 1970’s I can attest to the fact) there was no formal Quality Assurance within European Aviation Operations.

Of course we had Quality Control and the Role of Flight Operations Director and within Maintenance the Role of “Chief Inspector”.

As the Joint Airworthiness Authority’s influence grew the concept of an independent assessment of conformity became the acceptable way of demonstrating compliance.

Introduction

Effective safety reporting of hazards by operational personnel is an important cornerstone of the management of safety. Therefore, an operational environment in which operational personnel have been trained and are constantly encouraged to report hazards is the prerequisite for effective safety reporting.

The ICAO requirements require that aviation service providers develop and maintain, within the scope of their SMS, a formal process for collecting, recording, acting on and generating feedback about hazards in operations. The process shall be based on a combination of reactive, proactive and predictive methods of safety data collection. 

Best Practice Considerations

Consider the following as best practice objectives regarding the delivery of an optimize and effective Safety Management System.