Safety Management System
(SMS)
Lesson Outline
What can we learn from the Wright Brothers?
What is the SMS?
What is ATO Safety Culture?
How is the SMS Organized?
What can we learn from the Wright Brothers?
Collect, find, and fix works. The Wright brothers chose to test large samplings of data in a methodical way, leading them to the best possible solution – achieving flight! They used the same systematic process as we use today:
Gather Data
Analyze the Data to Find
Possible Causes and Solutions
Fix the Problems
It's all about the data!
The Wright brothers spent years collecting data and continually analyzing their information to find and identify problems. To fix those problems, they modified their flying machines and succeeded.
Collect, find, and fix will only work if we have large amounts of accurate data. And, the more data we have, the more thorough our analysis will be.
Watch the video below to understand how important it is for us to receive large amounts of accurate data in order to locate problems and develop solutions to fix them. We can't fix what we don't identify!
What is ATO Safety Culture?
The collective perception and value of safety in the ATO is known as our Safety Culture. It is the common thread of safety that is shared at all levels in the FAA and reflects our real commitment to safety. Our strong Safety Culture ensures we keep certain values as a priority, such as:
Training
Performance
Information Sharing
By sharing lessons learned from investigations and experiences, both internally and from other organizations, we continuously promote strong safety values.
We're the most successful aviation system in the world, and our Safety Culture represents our strong values and our commitment to safety that also make our system the safest in the world. The key elements that make up our Safety Culture are listed within the table below.
Safety Culture - Then and Now
WB: Wright Brothers
Select tabs to view examples of the Wright brother's Safety Culture.
QC: Quality Control
Select tabs to view examples of the Quality Control's Safety Culture.
What is the SMS?
Today we apply the same systematic process the Wright brothers used in their data analysis throughout our safety management system. But what exactly is a management system, and most importantly, how does this apply to the way you do your job?
At a global scale, a management system is a framework of policies, processes and procedures used by an organization to satisfy a range of objectives. It's a formalized and proactive approach of doing business that's aimed to reduce risk through standard practices. In the FAA, our Safety Management System (SMS) is a formalized and proactive approach that takes those basic principles and applies them to system safety.
The Air Traffic Organization (ATO) SMS is an integrated collection of principles, policies, processes, procedures, and programs used to identify, analyze, assess, manage, and monitor safety risk. To say it another way, it is a formalized and proactive approach to system safety.
Through your work, the SMS directly supports the mission of the FAA, which is "to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world."
Changes brought about by the SMS:
Old
Reactive
Examine individual events
Look for a single fault
Gather small amounts of data
Penalize for incidents
If there are no incidents, there's no problem
New
Proactive
Examine the system as a whole through
individual events
Look for patterns
Strategically gather large amounts of accurate data
Learn from incidents
Consistent development of requirements, performance, standards, & guidance based on risk
As a result of the proactive and positive processes of the SMS, there are numerous benefits including:
Encourage stakeholders to participate
in solving safety challenges.
A positive safety culture that
can help improve system safety.
How is the SMS Organized?
The FAA's Safety Management System is a formalized and proactive approach to system safety. It is organized into four major components that work together to manage the SMS effectively and to foster a positive Safety Culture.
The Safety Management System is a formalized and proactive approach to system safety.
In the lessons to follow we will focus on identifying Quality Assurance processes and identifying Quality Control processes and effective activities.
The four components of the Safety Management System (SMS) combine to create a systemic approach to managing and ensuring safety. These components are:
SMS Orders
SRMGSA
Safety Guidance
FAA/ATO Safety Orders
SMS Manual
SMS Training
Lessons Learned
Workshops
Safety Communications
Identify Operating Hazards
Voluntary Safety Reporting Program Data
Safety Risk Monitoring
Partnership for Safety
Investigations
Data Analysis
Audits and Evaluations
Identify Hazards
Analyze, Assess, Mitigate, and Accept Risk
Develop Monitoring Plan
Joint Orders
The following orders collectively define the ATO Safety's SMS and govern how ATO conducts its Safety System. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the ATO and SMS orders below.
- ATO SMS
- JO 1000.37 - Air Traffic Organization Safety Management System
- Defines the policy, application, and supporting documents of the SMS.
- Applies to every level of the ATO.
- JO 1030.1 - Air Traffic Organization Safety Guidance (ATO-SG)
- Contains the safety guidance process.
- Disseminates new and revised SMS guidance.
- JO 1000.37 - Air Traffic Organization Safety Management System
- SMS Orders
- JO 7210.634 - Air Traffic Organization (ATO) Quality Control
- Outlines the processes and steps utilized to ensure the quality of products and services at the Service Delivery Point level on an ongoing basis
- Quality Control Monitoring, Service Reviews, Compliance Verifications, Quality Control Programs, Technical Operations, Quality Control Programs
- JO 3400.20 - Individual Performance Management (IPM) for Operational Personnel
- Ongoing interaction that manages operational personnel technical performance, Stand-alone process, Completed by a manager and operational personnel
- JO 7200.20 - Voluntary Safety Reporting Programs (VSRP)
- ATSAP, VSRP for: Terminal Services, En Route, Oceanic Services, Systems Operations Services Employees
- JO 7210.632 - Air Traffic Organization Occurrence Reporting
- Occurrence Reporting Requirements, Notifications, Data Retention
- JO 7210.633 - Air Traffic Organization Quality Assurance Program (QAP)
- Safety Data, Risk Analysis, Identifying System Trends, Conducting Assessment, Communication
- JO 7210.634 - Air Traffic Organization (ATO) Quality Control
You’ve completed Lesson 1! Please take a moment to review the lesson summary below before completing the Summary Review Questions.
Select each tab to the left to review the topics covered in this lesson.
Summary Review Questions
Review Question #1
What are the four components of the ATO SMS?
Review Question #2
The four types of processes in a proactive safety system include Quality Control, Individual Performance Management, Air Traffic Safety Action Program (ATSAP)
and what other process?
Review Question #3
Which of the following best completes the definition? The SMS is:
Review Question #4
Which order explains the responsibilities of ATO Safety and other offices within the ATO for conducting risk analysis, identifying system trends, and conducting assignments?
Review Question #5
"Improved Accountability for Safety," and, "Fosters a Positive Safety Culture" are two examples of what?