Flight operations SMS

Citation

(2001), "Flight operations SMS", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 73 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2001.12773eac.006

Flight operations SMS

Flight operations SMS

From Captain Brian E. Johnson, Head of Flight Operations Inspectorate (Aeroplanes) of the CAA, came the paper on flight operations safety management systems, which describes how an SMS sets out a company's safety policy and how it will manage safety as an integral part of its overall business. JAR-OPS states that an operator shall establish an accident prevention and flight safety programme, which may be integrated with the quality system, including programmes to achieve and maintain risk awareness by all persons involved in operations.

The CAA Safety Regulation Group (SRG) published in 1999 an introductory document regarding SMS, and a working group was formed with representatives from various bodies. The final document issued by the group concerns the principals of managing aviation safety. "safety management" is defined as the systematic management of the risks associated with flight operations, related ground operations, and aircraft engineering or maintenance activities to achieve high levels of safety performance. It is an explicit element of the corporate management responsibility which sets out a company's safety policy and defines how it intends to manage safety as an integral part of its overall business. To achieve its objectives, a demonstrable board-level commitment to an effective formal safety management system must exist, and every level of management must be given a safety accountability. Implementation of an SMS involves evolution rather than revolution and should lead to one of civil aviation's key business goals – "enhanced safety performance aiming at best practice and moving beyond mere compliance with regulatory requirements".