SMS Safety Culture works well when well nurtured
SAFETY CULTURE is not established by tacking a poster on the wall. Getting everyone to sign an SMS PLEDGE does not create the necessary commitment. Mandatory attendance at SAFETY DNA classes may lead to a level of CONSCIOUSNESS with the half-life of hydrogen 86 yoctoseconds. Sincere MESSAGES SIGNED BY THE BOARD AND/OR C-SUITE create impressive documentation (that’s lawyer speak) but little retention after reading the precatory words.
The below article from IATA’s Mark Searle makes these points, based on his work with an airline a CAA and now the international NGO. His SMS gospel is required reading for all airline personnel—no not just the suits, but also every woman and man who works anywhere in an air carrier organization. That is merely the first step. SMS is a discipline which requires top-to-bottom INVOLVEMENT, 24/7/365 SURVEILLANCE and an almost religious-like BELIEF BY everyone in the importance of awareness.
For any safety organization, the inculcation of SMS can be daunting. Setting the breadth and depth of your first program is not intuitive; SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS who have installed the processes, policies and papers know how to set the right parameters. This ILO/ICAO/IATA/FAA endorsed (mandated) state-of-the-art, proven risk reduction paradigm must have complete comprehension as its foundation. Internal advocates may not have the credibility to convince your team of SMS’ value; “teachers” with prior experience can speak with more authority.
Your certificate may have implemented SMS a while ago. It is advisable to assess the strength of your organization’s SMS faith. Safety Culture cannot be measured by a blood test or x-ray scan. A Safety Culture Assessment can help identify where, who and what needs be done to bring your organization’s DNA to an acceptable, if not proficient standard.
Safety Leadership must be part of airline DNA
Monday 21st August 2023
Safety Leadership, a key pillar of IATA’s Safety Strategy, has been developed to include a Charter to support industry senior management in evolving a positive safety culture within their organizations.
Guiding principles of the Charter include:
- Fostering safety awareness with employees, the leadership team, and the BOARD.
- Guiding the integration of safety into business strategies, processes, and performance measures.
- Creating an atmosphere of trust, where employees are encouraged and feel confident to report safety-related information.
- Establishing an environment where all employees feel responsibility for safety.
“The Safety Leadership Charter is a toolbox to support industry leaders and ensure every employee, within their circle of influence, knows the role to play in safety,” says Mark Searle, IATA’s Global Director, Safety. “Whatever the job, safety must be in the DNA of everybody.”
The Charter should prove especially useful for new entrants to aviation, or those that have had a lot of movement in personnel due to the pandemic, but all aviation stakeholders can benefit from adhering to the principles it contains.
Searle says that the research is clear and that when safety principles are fed from the top there is less chance of an accident or incident.
Consistent messaging
Getting the safety message from the boardroom to the frontline is the key to success and is achieved by consistent messaging through the tiers of an organization.
“Sometimes a management message gets reinterpreted to fit daily routines,” Searle says. “Or it conflicts with other messaging, such as ‘reduce costs.’ But leaders must be clear and consistent and ensure that the message is correctly passed on so those on the frontline know what needs to be done.”
When done with clarity and regularity, a more mature safety culture emerges throughout the organization and creates a SAFETY DNA that remains constant no matter the daily pressures.
In other words, says Searle, safety must be the VALUE BY WHICH ALL EMPLOYEES LIVE. “It doesn’t matter what your job title is or even if you work in an office far away from physical operations,” he adds. “Safety must be a conscious thought at all times.”
Being a signatory to the Charter—and the early adopters will formally sign at the forthcoming World Safety and Operations Conference taking place in Hanoi, Vietnam, 19-21 September—is only the beginning, however. Meaningful action and constant assessment must follow no matter the level of safety maturity.
“The evidence for the success of the Charter will be in safety results,” suggests Searle. “There is no point having all the right elements in place without measuring their effectiveness.”
Monitoring safety
He suggests conducting the “I-ASC” (IATA Aviation Safety Culture) survey will provide crucial insight into employee attitudes, identify areas of weakness and generate opportunities for improvement to enhance safety performance. It also provides organizations with the means to meet ICAO and national requirements to measure and continuously improve their safety culture.
“Safety is mission critical and improving the safety culture underpins every ounce of effort in this area,” says Searle. “The Charter will support all industry players but especially those that don’t have safety leadership on their radar as a vital component in risk management.”
Searle concludes that safety is more than a top priority. Rather, IT IS A CORE VALUE THAT NEVER CHANGES. And while the primary focus is on airlines, he notes that, “the Charter is not exclusive to airlines, and we would be delighted if other stakeholders are interested.
“Safety leadership is something every aviation company and every aviation employee, must embrace,” he adds.
I read with great interest your article on SMS. While I was with the SMA Program Office most of the time for my last six years in the agency, we preached that SMS involved everyone. Although Part 5, addressed only aviation, what you have stated is Safety Management is a corporate concern. What you wrote was what we were trying to instill. A new entrant should use SMS processes as it is developing their systems. This not only works to instill safety management in the company, but it helps to identify where the potential hazards and risk are.