Two Telling Testimonies about SMS’s SAFETY BENEFITS
SMS is THE universal standard of aviation safety, as attested by the below, but not all regulated and not all regulators have adopted this risk reduction and prevention methodology. However, from two different perspectives (a manufacturer and a global airline association) and two different frames of reference (micro and macro), PRAISE IS STRONGLY PRONOUNCED!!! Let’s look at the convincing bill of particulars.
The Boeing DEFICIENT safety culture has been criticized by the FAA, the NTSB, Congress, and the media. The critiques have found a lack of SAFETY leadership from its Board to its C Suite and through management. Whatever the source of this grievous absence, the post accident prescription was a need to restore and/or elevate Boeing’s safety culture.
FIRST AND FOREMOST, someone in Renton, WA or is it Chicago, IL or Arlington, VA finally got it. They found Al Madar (see credentials below) who helped define SMS, who knows how to maximize its identification of risks, who can and did set the regimen’s efficient and efficacious parameters (policies, procedures, propagation) and who found other apostles of SAFETY CULTURE. FLIGHTGLOBAL’s interview of Madar highlights proof that the SMS fervor has been established from the top of wherever the headquarters is today all the way through to the women and men who install wiring, stock inventory, QC every engineering paper, conduct flight tests, design software, and do the myriad of other steps betwixt design conception to aircraft delivery. The compelling demonstration of a new BOEING?
President & CEO, Boeing Commercial Airplanes at Boeing, carefully reads EVERY SMS Report, a fact which everyone in the Boeing food chain knows!!!
The B-737 Max hangar lead mechanic on the overnight shift is aware that making certain that the required number of rivets are properly installed is a BIG DEAL. Schedule and cost are still concerns, but SAFETY IS FIRST!!!
On a more macro basis, the global airline association is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA). Its press release recounts the program’s history, its acceptance by the association’s member carriers as well as other airlines, adoption of IOSA as a standard by many CAAs, the refinement of the audit’s criteria, the enhancement of IOSA’s promotion of PREVENTATIVE ACTIONS through SMS and quantification of the 20 years of aviation safety enhancement. The numbers should eliminate unbelievers’ doubt of SMS’s efficacy.
Culture is key for Boeing’s ‘safety management system’
By Greg Waldron27 September 2023Save article
A senior Boeing official contends that a true safety culture relies on employees feeling comfortable providing feedback to senior management.
Since 2020, Al Madar has been Boeing’s vice-president of operational safety and strategy, and deputy chief aerospace safety officer.
Source: BillyPix
Boeing revamped safety focus in wake of Max crisis
His mission has been to help Boeing set up its safety management system (SMS) – a formal framework intended to embed a safety focus throughout the company and to help ensure safety shortcomings are addressed.
Madar is well suited to the position, having formerly chaired the Federal Aviation Administration’s SMS Rule Making Committee. He also spent years at American Airlines, where he set up an SMS for that carrier.
“What you need to do with a safety management system is to make sure you understand that how you envisioned the aircraft being operated, is really how it’s being operated,” says Madar.
Madar, who spoke with FlightGlobal at the recent IATA World Safety & Operations Conference in Hanoi, says SMS applies across aircraft systems, procedures and training. The key is having an “assurance loop” that conveys feedback and provides insight into issues.
SAFETY HAS BEEN A TOP PRIORITY FOR BOEING IN RECENT YEARS following the 737 Max crisis, which the company is only now putting behind it. Following the accidents, Boeing broadly revamped its safety focus, including by establishing an SMS, which the FAA approved in 2021.
“SMS looks simple, and it is in many respects, but… how you comply with it, and having the discipline to follow all the procedures, is what makes it really powerful,” says Madar.
This is WHERE CULTURE IS IMPORTANT. Employees need to feel comfortable reporting issues, and an essential element of an SMS system is a confidential reporting system where employees can file reports without fear of reprisal.
According to Madar, Boeing’s head of commercial airplanes Stan Deal reads every report that comes up through the SMS.
“WHEN STAN’S READING THE REPORTS…IT SENDS A VERY STRONG SIGNAL. WE’VE SEEN OUR REPORTS DOUBLE YEAR OVER YEAR, SO IT’S REALLY GROWING BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS AND PEOPLE ARE GETTING THE MESSAGE.”
Recognizing 20 Years of Safety Improvements with IOSA
Hanoi, Vietnam – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) marked the FIRST 20 YEARS OF THE IATA OPERATIONAL SAFETY AUDIT (IOSA) at the IATA World Safety and Operations Conference taking place in Hanoi, Vietnam.
“Over the past two decades, IOSA has made a major contribution to improving safety, while reducing the number of redundant audits. While it is a condition of membership in IATA, more than 100 non-IATA member airlines also see the value of participating and we welcome others. Likewise, while more than 40 governments use or are intending to use IOSA in their safety oversight programs, many more do not,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Operations, Safety and Security.
The safety data confirm that in aggregate, airlines on the IOSA registry have a lower accident rate than airlines that are not on the IOSA registry. Since 2005, the all-accident rate for airlines on the IOSA registry is 1.40 per million sectors, compared with 3.49 per million sectors for non-IOSA airlines. In 2022, IOSA registered carriers outperformed those not on the registry by a factor of four (0.70 accidents per million sectors vs. 2.82 accidents per million sectors).
Reflecting the strong safety performance of airlines on the IOSA registry, IATA entered into IOSA’s third decade with a call for:
- Regulators to recognize the significant contribution to safety that IOSA makes as the global standard for airline operational safety and to incorporate IOSA into their own safety regulatory oversight programs.
- Airlines not yet on the IOSA registry to join. Currently, some 417 operators are on the IOSA registry, of which 107 are non-IATA members.
A History of Continuous Improvement
IOSA was launched in September 2003 with Qatar Airways as the first airline to be audited and join the IOSA Registry. IOSA has been a requirement for IATA membership since 2006. It is also a condition of membership in the three global airline alliances, as well as a number of regional airline associations. It is used by regulators in numerous countries to complement their safety regulatory oversight programs, and as the primary means to verify operational safety for many airline codeshare arrangements.
The audit assesses an airline’s conformity with the IOSA standards and recommended practices (ISARPs). These are based on the internationally agreed standards and recommended practices set down and maintained through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
IOSA was developed in cooperation with aviation regulatory bodies, including Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transport Canada.
Last year, IATA began evolving IOSA to a risk-based model under which audits are tailored to the operator’s profile and focusing on high-risk areas. The new approach also introduces a maturity assessment of the airline’s safety-critical systems and programs.
“IOSA is the globally recognized standard for airline operational safety auditing. Now we are taking it to the next level by tailoring the audit activity to the operator’s profile and focusing on high-risk areas. As IOSA evolves to deliver greater value for the operator and the industry, we hope additional airlines will see the value of this important safety program and strongly urge more governments to make it a formal part of their safety oversight,” said Careen.
IOSA by the Numbers
- 417 operators on the IOSA registry
- Over 4,000 IOSA audits conducted
- 922 standards in the IOSA Standards Manual (ISM)
- The ISM is in its 16th Edition
- 14 countries include IOSA in their regulations.
- Approximately 27 regulators have signed MoUs with IATA to use IOSA
- APPROXIMATELY 15,000 REDUNDANT AUDITS HAVE BEEN AVOIDED THROUGH AUDIT REPORTS/QUESTIONNAIRE SHARING
