Airlines Top Management Commitment to Safety

A system is a set of things working together as a mechanism or interconnecting network dedicated to a particular output simply put a system is a collection of parts (or sub-systems) integrated into a larger corporate system to accomplish an overall goal.??

An airline is a system! It includes an organizational management system that includes corporate governance, strategy, structure, systems, resources, and capabilities.?

Normally, there are many systems such as safety management, quality management, security management, flight operations management, cabin operations management, aircraft maintenance management, dispatch management, cargo operations management, ground handling management, and support systems such as training management, etc.?

What is the overall goal of the airline system?

Airlines’ goals can be both a short-term and long-term strategy. For example, the goal of an airline as a system is to effectively manage and control all operational aspects of an airline to ensure its safety, success, profitability, and high level of customer loyalty.

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What is a?safety management system?

The goal of a safety management system should be to proactively control safety in every aspect of the airline operation.?

An effective safety management system depends on such factors as the size of the airline, the safety culture in which the airline resides and the airline's organizational structure and culture, the safety objectives of the airline's services, environmental factors, the other objectives the airlines want to achieve such as meeting the international and national regulatory requirements.

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Note: Culture defines what desirable and acceptable behavior is and how decisions should be made regarding safety issues.??

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The Importance of?Safety Management System

Airline management needs to understand the importance of a safety management system; having an effective safety management system, and strengthening safety culture – An organization’s safety culture can be strengthened by making visible the commitment of management and actively involving personnel in the management of safety risk.?

When management actively endorses safety as a priority, it is typically well-received by personnel and becomes part of normal operations.

A strong safety culture aids in employee retention and ensures product quality and customer satisfaction.

??Also, it impacts the airline's reputation by setting a good example for other airlines in the aviation industry.

Without an effective safety management system:?

- Raise insurance costs;?

- Less productivity;?

- Lack of operational efficiency;?

- Damage to the airline's reputation, if the accident happened.

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Airlines Management Commitment to?Safety

Management commitment to safety is the commitment from managers, particularly executive officers, to ensuring their employees and anyone impacted by their operations are not exposed to unacceptable safety risks.?

In the aviation safety management system, Management Commitment is defined by a safety policy statement - signed by the accountable executive- which reflects the airline's commitment to safety through clear statements about providing necessary financial and human resources for safety policy implementation.?

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Also, the safety policy includes a non-punitive reporting statement and types of behaviors that are unacceptable relating to the airline activities. Furthermore, a circumstance under which disciplinary action would not apply to reported safety issues.?

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Note: A safety policy documents what an airline will do to manage safety or, to put it another way, how an airline will approach safety in its operations. It shall be posted in a visible location accessible by all airline employees; and periodically reviewed to remain relevant.

The top management has the responsibility to ensure that the written safety policy statement has wide buy-in from the managers and employees. In my recent poll on LinkedIn, I asked “Does your Top Management attend Safety Management System Training Courses?”. Only, 19 aviation professionals voted; the post recorded 1,753 impressions over one week, the result was 42%?No, and 58%?Yes!?

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Everyone in the airlines, executive officers, senior directors, directors, and managers, not just the front-line operation personnel, must attend SMS training to understand their roles and responsibilities concerning safety and why the system, including the organizational aspects of the SMS.

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When airline employees understand the intent of the safety management system and commit to it, they are more likely to comply with that intention rather than simply follow safety rules when it is convenient to do so.?

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Training is not enough; leadership is the key to achieving high levels of safety. It means that leadership of the airline’s safety functions should not just be a rotational assignment for leaders and managers. An airline that has a few losses appoints leaders of the safety functions who are passionate about safety and the role they play in preventing losses. There should be a career path within the airlines that allows those who are qualified and committed to prevent losses from rising in the safety management system.?

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Civil Aviation Regulatory Oversight?

The State safety program is an integrated set of regulations and activities aimed at improving safety.

?States are responsible for conducting oversight programs to ensure that airlines implement an effective SMS and that the airline safety management system objectives match the part of the State safety program safety goals.

?The fact is that when there is no CAA oversight on the safety management system, and there is a conflict of interest, the airline management will not commit to safety, and this will lead to a loss of trust in airline management by front-line personnel and a loss of trust in safety at all.

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Airline’s Top Management SMS Training

According to ICAO, there should be specific safety training for the accountable executive and senior managers that includes the following topics:

a) specific awareness training for new accountable executives and post holders on their safety management system accountabilities and responsibilities;

b) importance of compliance with national and organizational safety requirements;

c) management commitment

d) allocation of resources;

e) promotion of the safety policy and the SMS;

f) promotion of a positive safety culture;

g) effective interdepartmental safety communication;

h) safety objective, Safety performance target, and alert levels; and

i) disciplinary policy.

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The Summary

?When airline management shows little commitment to safety policy, the safety management system is phony, and the employees lose faith in participation.

I hope in the future, CAA extend the safety stake-holders list in the AOC to include financial and human resources directors, especially in third-world countries. I will discuss this in another article Insha Allah.

Operating an aircraft, is not like driving a car! Driving a car needs safety but operating an aircraft needs safety management system.

Please share your thoughts in the comments. LIKE AND SHARE!

Happy new year. Maged!

References

1,2 Ref. ICAO Doc 9859, 2018, Safety Management Manual (SMM), 1.1.7 (a), 9.6.4.8.

3- Designing an Effective Safety Management System (SMS), Prof. Nancy Leveson

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