SMS Meaning
What is Safety Management System?
If we speak about SMS meaning, according to ICAO Annex 19, Safety Management System (SMS) is:
A systematic approach to managing safety, including the necessary organizational structures, accountability, responsibilities, policies and procedures.
Well, in other words, this is the System which focuses on safety. It refers to the manuals, procedures, and regulations, and to the technologies used to minimize and manage risks associated with the operation of aircraft and the overall aviation industry.
The final goal is to prevent someone’s death or injury, to protect the assets and to save money in a long run.
SMS is the formal, top-down, organization-wide approach to managing safety risk and assuring the effectiveness of safety risk controls. It includes systematic procedures, practices, and policies for the management of safety risk. (FAA Order 8000.369)
SMS Framework (ICAO Annex 19)
1. Component 1: Safety Policy and Objectives
The first component of the SMS framework focuses on creating an environment where safety management can be effective. It is founded on a safety policy and objectives that set out senior management’s commitment to safety, its goals and the supporting organizational structure.
2. Component 2: Safety Risk Management (SRM)
The SRM process systematically identifies hazards that exist within the context of the delivery of its products or services. Hazards may be the result of systems that are deficient in their design, technical function, human interface or interactions with other processes and systems.
3. Safety Assurance
Safety assurance consists of processes and activities
undertaken to determine whether the SMS is operating according to expectations
and requirements. This involves continuously monitoring its processes as well
as its operating environment to detect changes or deviations that may introduce
emerging safety risks or the degradation of existing safety risk controls.
4. Safety Promotion
Safety promotion encourages a positive safety culture and helps achieve the service provider’s safety objectives through the combination of technical competence that is continually enhanced through training and education, effective communication, and information-sharing. Senior management provides the leadership to promote the safety culture throughout an organization.
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