Saturday, June 6, 2015

Doing the Right Thing...Repeating Safety Tasks That Work

If it Works, Do it Again!
In a airline or airport with hundreds or thousands of workers, company knowledge and experience is difficult to disseminate, especially when one considers:

  • Language barriers;
  • Tight knit groups or organizational silos;
  • High turnover in management (every three to five years);
  • Conflicts between management groups;
  • Security, politics, organizational management structure;
  • Little or no documentation on corrective/preventive actions; and
  • Information ownership (not willing to share information).

How does a new manager know what worked in the past when confronted with a safety issue?

Effectively managing airline airport corrective preventive actions
How can airline and airport managers avoid repeating the same mistakes when dealing with issues, whether they are:

  • Safety;
  • Security;
  • Quality;
  • Compliance; or
  • Environmental?

SMS Pro can help. SMS Pro is a premier aviation safety management software suite designed for professional safety managers. SMS Pro allows airlines and airports to leverage their most valuable asset - the collective expertise of its employees and contractors.

Show Me What Works For My Safety Hazard

Imagine the perfect world where manager are confronted with problems and manager have instant access to corrective/preventive actions that have worked in the past. Imagine the time, energy and money saved by repeating corrective or preventive behavior that works! How can this information be beneficial?
Corrective preventive actions at airlines airports

Training Time for New Managers is Reduced

When new managers come to an airline or airport, they have little organizational knowledge of what has been tried in the past and whether these corrective/preventive strategies have been effective. When confronted with challenges, managers are helped resolve issues by using SMS Pro. SMS Pro shows them what has worked in the past and the level of effectiveness for proposed corrective/preventive actions.

Managers Not Relying on Memory to Deal With Safety Hazards

Airline and airport managers with plenty of experience often need to access to information relating to past experiences from dealing with corrective/preventive strategies. Our memories are imperfect. I have a hard time remembering what I ate for lunch yesterday, much less remembering how I dealt with a safety hazard last year, or two years ago. SMS Pro can help. SMS Pro offers immediate, real time information to airline and airport corrective/preventive actions.

Managers Reacting Consistently & Accurately & Promptly
Best airline airport software uses to deal with corrective preventive actions

With a list of corrective/preventive actions that have worked in the past for particular types of issues, airline and airport managers can be more consistent when dealing with similar types of issues. This list allows managers to quickly choose what has historically proven effective and apply the same strategies to new issues. Instant access to past information allows managers to delegate tasks quickly and to justify their corrective/preventive strategies to top management.

How Do SMS Pro Corrective/Preventive Actions Work?

Corrective/preventive actions are simply tasks. Some airlines and airports call them "Work Orders," CPAs or CAPAs. When creating a new CPA, SMS Pro offers managers the option to apply previous CPAs to address similar issues. CPAs are rated as to whether their performance satisfies intent. Most SMS Pro safety managers and department heads understand this feature because they see it whenever they accept or reject the performance of a corrective action.
adding airline airport corrective preventive actions relying on past performance

Show Me What DOES NOT Work For My Safety Hazard

If you are following along with the above logic, you will immediate recognize that with accurate, real time information regarding corrective/preventive actions, you can avoid making the same mistake over and over applying corrective/preventive actions at your airline or airport.

More information about aviation SMS software can be found at:




About NWDS - founded in 2003 by six software engineers, NorthWest Data Solutions (NWDS) provides custom computer programming and systems design services. NWDS creates many types of software, including e-commerce, financial, defense, engineering, logistics, aviation and more. In 2007, NWDS developed SMS Pro™ a web based SMS application that supports an organization's overall SMS through safety reporting, safety documentation, safety risk management and safety assurance. SMS Pro™ is currently used by aviation organizations in the U.S., Canada, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East to help manage their SMS programs. NWDS continues to support SMS Pro™ and add new functionality. NWDS offers custom contract programming services in the U.S. and Canada and is managed by Chris Howell, one of the founders. Their headquarters is in Anchorage, Alaska. For information on NWDS visit their website at www.nwds-ak.com and www.asms-pro.com to learn more about SMS Pro™.