The Senior Manager’s Role in

SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

May 2016
This paper was prepared by the Safety Management International Collaboration Group (SM
ICG). The purpose of the SM ICG is to promote a common understanding of Safety
Management System (SMS)/State Safety Program (SSP) principles and requirements, facilitating
their application across the international aviation community. In this document, the term
“organization” refers to a product or service provider, operator, business, and company, as well
as aviation industry organizations; and the term “authority” refers to the regulator authority,
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), National Aviation Authority (NAA), and any other relevant
government agency or entity with oversight responsibility.
The current core membership of the SM ICG includes the Aviation Safety and Security Agency
(AESA) of Spain, the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) of Brazil, the Civil Aviation Authority
of the Netherlands (CAA NL), the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand, the Civil Aviation
Authority of Singapore (CAAS), the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) of Australia, the
Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile (DGAC) in France, the Ente Nazionale per l'Aviazione
Civile (ENAC) in Italy, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the Federal Office of Civil
Aviation (FOCA) of Switzerland, the Finnish Transport Safety Agency (Trafi), the Irish Aviation
Authority (IAA), Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB), the United States Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) Aviation Safety Organization, Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) and
the Civil Aviation Authority of United Kingdom (UK CAA). Additionally, the Civil Aviation
Department of Hong Kong (CAD HK), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and
the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority (UAE GCAA) are observers to this
group.
Members of the SM ICG:
• Collaborate on common SMS/SSP topics of interest
• Share lessons learned
• Encourage the progression of a harmonized SMS/SSP
• Share products with the aviation community
• Collaborate with international organizations such as ICAO and civil aviation
authorities that have implemented or are implementing SMS and SSP

For further information regarding the SM ICG please contact:

Regine Hamelijnck Jacqueline Booth Amer M. Younossi
EASA TCCA FAA, Aviation Safety
+49 221 8999 000 (613) 952-7974 (202) 267-5164
regine.hamelijnck@easa.europa.eu jacqueline.booth@tc.gc.ca Amer.M.Younossi@faa.gov

Igor Penna Mike Hutchinson

ANAC CASA
+55 613 3144 826 +03 9518 2774
igor.penna@anac.gov.br Mike.Hutchinson@casa.gov.au

SM ICG products can be found on SKYbrary at: http://bit.ly/SMICG

To obtain an editable version of this document, contact smicg.share@gmail.com.
Introduction
Dear corporate executive,
I hope you take the time to read this document, because it is not just a set of
clichés about process. It explains your role in a system approach to the
management of safety risk that will make your company more competitive, more
resilient and fundamentally change the relationship between your company and
your regulator.
Every step your organization takes in this direction will make it safer and more
competitive. Occasionally, a safety management system will identify a problem
that, if left uncorrected, could have killed the company, but that is not the real
pay-off. That same SMS will constantly identify the thousands of little problems
that disrupt your operation, destroy efficiency and impact the bottom line.
But this is not the only reason why corporate executives need to fully support
SMS in their organizations. They need to lead from the front on this initiative
because that is the only way SMS can become embedded into the corporate
culture and avoid becoming perceived as the management philosophy flavour of
the month. The entire organization needs to believe deeply in the process and
acknowledge that it is the only way to reliably drive down the risk of an accident.
Some shy away from initiating the SMS process because it is not a pre-determined
package, a turn-key mechanism you import and adopt. To be truly effective, it
must be an organic product of your company’s culture that takes advantage of the
positive elements of that culture already in place, but then goes beyond that point
to push higher and deeper into the firm’s operational psyche. This is how SMS
becomes effective and long-lasting.
Moving towards safety management makes business sense, but it requires your
leadership. Please take a minute to read more about it.

William R. Voss
President and CEO
Flight Safety Foundation
What is a safety management
system?
There is a common misperception in aviation about where safety sits in the
organization. Many have traditionally believed that safety happens and belongs
on the flightdeck, on the ramp or in the hangar. Few could argue that the
implications of poor safety decisions or behaviors are evident in line operations
and production and maintenance, but what of the safety ownership? Where
should safety ‘belong’?

An approach to aviation is emerging which puts safety ownership squarely in

the realm of senior management. This is where the risks are weighed against
financial viability, this is where priorities are set and resources allocated. And
importantly management is where the safety culture of the organization is
established.

Within the range of objectives that organizations pursue, regardless of the

nature of the services they deliver, safety must be a priority. It makes sense
from a practical perspective, is a must from a moral and legal perspective, and
there’s a vitally important role for senior managers in its management.

Managing safety makes good business sense and many of the good practices for
safety are also good practices for effective operations and business risk
management. Safety Management Systems (SMS) provide the manager and
their staff with a vehicle for the management of safety. Specifically, SMS
provides a set of beliefs, systematic practices and integrated procedures for
mitigating and monitoring safety risk.
 Safety management systems defined
A safety management system is a businesslike approach to safety. It is a
systematic and proactive process for managing safety risks. As with all
management systems, a safety management system provides for goal setting,
planning, and measuring performance. A safety management system is woven
into the fabric of an organization. It becomes part of the culture; the way
people do their jobs 1.

Structure of a safety management system

The universally accepted framework includes four main components and
twelve elements, representing the minimum requirements for SMS. These
‘capabilities’ apply regardless of the aviation context. The four main
components are:

Safety policy and objectives

Safety risk management

Safety assurance

Safety promotion

It is also important to recognise the impact of the organization’s safety culture

on the effectiveness of the SMS.

What a safety management system is—practically

Managing safety is really about managing safety risk, which means trying to
prevent bad things from happening, or if something does go wrong, or slips
through the cracks, trying to minimise the consequences of the event.
Safety management is about accepting that things will go wrong and about
reactively, proactively and predictively controlling risks to a level that is
acceptable.
It can help you predict potential risks, take appropriate action and measure
how well risk controls are working. It can give you the business information

1
Transport Canada TP 13739 E (04/2001)
 you would want to manage risks in other areas such as finance or
productivity.

What a safety management system isn't—practically

SMS implementation will change the way you operate your business. That is,
your main game will still be operating the business; but SMS provides an
underpinning structure which enables you to manage risks in your operation
and, when implemented effectively, improve the effectiveness of your
operation.

Safety management systems are not Quality Management Systems (QMS),

although they do share many of the same features and capabilities such as
performance targets, reporting, governance and performance monitoring.
The objective of a QMS is the control of processes to achieve predictable and
desirable results that meet with the customer’s and organization’s
requirements. Whereas the objective of an SMS is to monitor and control
operational risks to improve safety performance.

If you have a functioning QMS, then your staff will already be familiar with
reporting and feedback and, most importantly, they’ll already be on their way
to an effective reporting and safety culture—which is vital to the
implementation and sustainability of your SMS.

Finally, SMS is not a manual, a database, or a reporting process; these are all
tools. It is how safety is managed day to day and becomes part of your
organization’s culture. It penetrates into the organization’s processes and
activities and it shapes critical management thinking. It is a vital management
tool where the staff are the eyes and ears, the safety group is the heart and
management is the decision-making ‘brain’ of the system.
Why you should be involved:
a practical perspective
Primarily, your SMS gives you control over the safety risks of your
organization. In aviation, management of safety risk is a core activity. Like
financial management, senior managers need to control how safety risks are
managed. Many countries have regulations which put senior management in
charge of the safety of their organization and hold them directly accountable
for poor safety performance. The best organizations have SMS in place
without any requirement from their authority—because it makes sense and it
works.

Profits are made by taking risks. Senior managers are responsible to the
shareholders and other stakeholders to ensure the business is profitable.
Senior managers are always risk managers, but some managers don’t realise
that risk management is what they do. Risks should only be taken if the
assessed level of the risk is acceptable and defensible. SMS provides a
framework which supports you with your management of risk. Without a
framework, how can you assure yourself, and your stakeholders, that the risks
you take are acceptable? How do you know—objectively—when to ‘go’ or
‘not go’? And how would you defend your operational risk decisions without
such a framework?
An effective safety management system provides many other potential
benefits, including:

 The ability to control the potential risky operations faced by the

organization
 A clear and documented approach to achieving safe operations that
can be explained to others
 Active involvement of staff in safety
 Demonstrable control for the authority, your customers and other
stakeholders that your risks are under control
 Building a positive safety culture
 Reduction or removal of operational inefficiencies
 Decreased insurance costs and improved reputation
 A common language to establish safety objectives and targets and
implement and monitor safety risk controls
 Potential defence from legal action
Effectively, SMS represents a continued evolution in safety. The first 50 years
of aviation safety was based on individual risk assessment. The second 50
years was dominated by safety compliance. SMS leverages the first two and
uses better information gathering and analysis tools to better inform
managers and empower you to manage risk.

No matter how interested individual employees might be, or what assistance

a manufacturer offers, or how insistent a certificating authority might be—
none of these factors will have a significant effect on safety without support
from top management.

John O'Brian
Why you must be involved:
a legal perspective
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has recommended that
member states require SMS for some aviation sectors for many years.
Regardless of which sector you operate in, ICAO—and most likely your
authority—requires you, or will require you before long, to implement an SMS
throughout your organization.

In most countries, senior management are being held accountable by

authorities for safety, as well as financial outcomes. This requires senior
managers to clearly identify what they are accountable for. The responsibility
can be delegated but not the accountability.

Traditionally, authorities have held staff or line managers accountable for

operational non-compliances. This was, in many cases, unfair and
unproductive because the individual held to account did not have the funds
and/or the delegated authority to implement or enforce the necessary actions
for compliance. There is a growing appreciation that the senior manager—and
in particular the Accountable Manager—is often the only person who can
make the difference. The accountability for the safety of your operation rests
squarely with you.

It is also important to keep in mind that you are accountable for every aspect
of your operation, even the safety assurance of third-party goods and services.
You must assure yourself of the safety of these provisions. SMS can help in
this regard by requiring that safety is a consideration in all third-party
contracts.
How you get involved:
a leadership perspective
Lead from the front
The safety management system philosophy requires that responsibility and
accountability for safety be retained within the management of the
organization. Managers are ultimately responsible for safety, as they are for
other aspects of the enterprise.

Regardless of the size, complexity or sector of your organization, you have a

significant role in developing and sustaining your SMS, and, in concert with
this, a positive safety culture. Without the unconditional and ongoing
commitment of senior management, any attempt at an effective safety
program will be unsuccessful. You must not only be committed to your SMS,
you must be seen to be committed.

Walking and talking at the same time

Whether you know it or not, whether you intend it or not, you are a leader.
You are a role model for all the people in your organization. They watch what
you do and imitate your words and your actions. From the top to the bottom,
from the centre to the outposts of the organization, your traits, your attitudes
and your actions will be copied. If you believe safety is important to the
security and prosperity of your organization, and your actions reflect your
beliefs, your staff will invest their own time and efforts and, given time, will
make your beliefs and actions their own.

You can promote your beliefs by publicly announcing your views through staff
newsletters, safety articles and safety bulletins. You can also declare your
commitment to your SMS by publicly rewarding those managers and staff who
demonstrate exemplary safety behavior and/or proactively identify hazards
or suggest safety improvements.
Creating a positive safety culture
Ultimately, the success of an SMS hinges on the development of a positive
safety culture. This will encourage open safety reporting through non-punitive
disciplinary policies and lead to continuous safety improvement. This will be
achieved by establishing and promoting your safety policy supported by your
SMS processes. Creating a positive safety culture will also help identify what
is really going on in your organization and help you understand your risks.

A positive safety culture is the embodiment of effective programs, decision

making and accountability at all levels. Safety culture, first and foremost, is
about how managerial decisions are made, about the incentives and
disincentives within an organization for promoting safety. There is often a
great gap between what senior management believe to be the safety culture
of an organization and what is actually going on.

Inspiring staff with a safety vision

This is key to creating a positive safety culture. Establishing and promoting a

safety vision which staff can aspire to is one of the most powerful actions
senior managers can take. Seeking input from staff adds even more weight.
A message from the top team that ‘safety matters’ affects decisions and
morale of staff. Safety objectives and safety targets support the safety vision.
Each of these endeavours sends a clear message to staff that we’re on board
with SMS and on the road to achieving our safety vision.
Leading safety meetings
One of the best ways to be involved is by leading the highest level safety
meetings. As an Accountable Manager, you are responsible for the safety of
your organization, so it makes sense that you are front and center during
regular executive safety meetings. By making yourself available for these
meetings you can:

 Review your organization’s safety objectives and monitor

achievement of your safety targets
 Stay up to date on the safety health of your organization
 Make timely safety decisions
 Allocate the appropriate resources
 Hold managers accountable for safety responsibilities, performance
and implementation timelines
 Be seen by managers and staff as a person who is interested in, and
in charge of, safety.
What you can delegate and what you can’t
Although named as the Accountable Manager, senior managers often are not
involved in, or have little knowledge of, the systems or the problems faced in
the workplace. Senior managers often delegate the duties and responsibilities
so as to maintain control of the competing ‘top priorities’. Senior managers
can delegate responsibility for day-to-day operation of the SMS—but —senior
managers cannot delegate accountability for the system and important risk
decisions.

You cannot delegate:

 Assuring safety policies are appropriate and communicated—by you

 Assuring necessary allocation of resources—financing, personnel,

training, acquisition, etc.

 Setting of the risk limits and resourcing of necessary controls

Providing the appropriate resources

SMS can, when mature, significantly improve the efficiency of your operation,
potentially saving you time and money—although this is an indirect benefit
rather that a stated aim. The safety management system does need resources
to function effectively. You can be involved - and most effective—in your SMS
by providing appropriate resources, such as: appropriate number of
competent safety people, training, funding risk mitigations, facilities,
communications and publicity.

‘… there is an awful sameness about these incidents … they are nearly always
characterised by lack of forethought and lack of analysis and nearly always
the problem comes down to poor management …‘

Dr Tony Barrell,
former CEO of the UK Health and Safety Executive’s Offshore Safety Division,
(the offshore petroleum safety regulator), who led the development of the
regulatory response to the 1988 Piper Alpha disaster, in which 167 men died
Summary
A safety management system (SMS) is a businesslike approach to safety. It is
a systematic and proactive process for managing safety risks. It needs to be
woven into the fabric of your organisation. It becomes part of your
organizational culture, the way people do their jobs.

You should get involved because it gives you control over the safety risks of
business. In aviation, the management of safety risk is a core activity. Your
SMS will provide you with a better picture of your safety risks and a framework
for the management of those risks.

You must get involved because, regardless of the aviation sector(s) you are in,
authorities require, or will require that you implement an effective SMS. Your
staff and line managers are not always clear on what safety decisions they can
or can’t make. They are not in a position to make significant change happen
but they can highlight issues to you. It is you, the senior manager, who can
make those decisions and make a difference. The SMS will help you stay safe
and provide a powerful vehicle for positive change.

You get involved by: leading from the front with your SMS implementation,
talking positively about safety and ensuring your actions reflect your words,
creating a positive safety culture, inspiring staff with a safety vision and
providing the appropriate resources.