Best Strategies to Ensure Safety Assurance within an EASA Safety Management System (SMS)

Sofema Online (SOL) considers the best processes to ensure safety assurance within an EASA Safety Management System (SMS).

Introduction – What is SMS – Safety Assurance?

Establishing and maintaining an EASA-compliant Safety Management System (SMS) is essential for aviation safety. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) sets rigorous standards to ensure airlines and other aviation organizations maintain high safety levels

• EASA – Safety assurance – all planned and systematic actions necessary to afford adequate confidence that a product, a service, an organisation, or a functional system achieves acceptable or tolerable safety.
• FAA – Safety assurance – Processes within the SMS that function systematically to ensure the performance and effectiveness of safety risk controls and that the organization meets or exceeds its safety objectives through the collection, analysis, and assessment of information.

Safety Assurance Activities Include:

• Organisational arrangements and systematic processes for continuous surveillance and recording of the organisation’s safety performance.
• Evaluation of the safety management processes and practices.
• Used as a means to demonstrate that organisational arrangements and processes for safety achievement are properly applied and continue to achieve their intended objectives.

Note: Safety Assurance should be intrusive and enquiring and not simply an administrative “box-ticking” exercise.

According to the ICAO Doc 9859 – Safety assurance includes the following activities:

• Safety performance monitoring and measurement to validate the effectiveness of safety risk management.
• Measuring the outcomes of activities that operational personnel must engage in for the delivery of services by the organisation.
• Management of change – the aviation service provider organisation shall develop and maintain a formal process to identify and manage the changes within the organisation which may affect established processes, procedures, products, and services.
• The management of change should ensure that required safety performance is achieved by reducing or eliminating the safety risks resulting from the changes in the organisation, the provision of services, or the operational environment.
• Continuous improvement of the SMS – the aviation service provider organisation shall develop and maintain a formal process to identify the causes of sub-standard performance of the SMS, determine the implications of sub-standard performance in operations, and eliminate such causes.

SMS Safety Assurance Components include:

• Safety Surveys – Carried out as a matter of routine, to recommend improvements where needed, to provide assurance to managers of the safety of activities within their areas, and to confirm conformance with applicable parts of their safety management systems;
• Safety Monitoring – shall ensure that methods are in place to detect changes in systems or operations which may suggest any element is approaching a point at which acceptable standards of safety can no longer be met, and that corrective action is taken;
• Safety System Records – shall be maintained throughout the SMS operation as a basis for providing safety assurance to all associated with, responsible for, or dependent upon the services provided, and to the safety regulatory authority. Safety records include all documentation produced and maintained throughout the operation of the SMS processes, including the risk assessment and mitigation documentation.

Consider the following challenges and best practices related to Safety Assurance:

• Managing and analyzing vast data to identify trends, risks, and areas needing improvement can be challenging.
• Implementing a safety culture where employees proactively report hazards and incidents may meet resistance due to fear of penalties.
• Ensuring adequate resources (personnel, financial, technological) are available for SMS implementation is often difficult for smaller organizations.
• Proactively identify hazards through comprehensive risk assessments. Employ predictive analytics and historical data to determine potential safety issues.
• Develop clear safety performance indicators and regularly monitor them. Compare performance with targets and identify gaps.
• Establish a non-punitive reporting system to encourage employees to report safety concerns without fear of retribution.
• Foster a culture that encourages continuous improvement. Regularly review the SMS, involve stakeholders, and update policies and procedures as needed.
• Train staff on the importance of safety and encourage open communication regarding safety issues.
• Leadership must prioritize safety and provide the necessary resources for the SMS. This commitment should be communicated to all levels of the organization.
• Integrate the SMS with quality management systems to leverage existing processes and create synergies.
• Ensure that all personnel are trained to understand the SMS and their role in ensuring safety. Conduct regular training and refresher courses.

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Next Steps

Sofema Aviation Services (SAS) www.sassofia.com and Sofema Online (SOL) www.sofemaonline.com provide Safety and Risk Management Training in Classroom, webinar or online. Please see the websites or email [email protected]