Aviation Safety Management Systems (SMS): July 2013

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Integrated Aviation Safety Audit Software for SMS Programs

SMS Pro has had safety auditing software tools for many years. Auditing had never been the primary focus of SMS Pro. SMS Pro was designed to provide Web based hazard reporting and risk management tools to airlines, airports, ATC, MROs (AMOs), flight schools and FBOs.

SMS Pro's aviation safety auditing software contained three modules:

Custom Audit/Inspection Form Creator;
Audit Scheduler; and
Audit Manager.

When performing an audit, all findings and concerns are managed in the risk management framework where corrective actions can be managed appropriately. Corrective action plans are also automatically generated and sent to stakeholders.

New Aviation Safety Auditing Software Features

Safety and compliance managers familiar with SMS Pro will love the new enhancements to SMS Pro. See screenshot below.

Aviation Safety Auditing Dashboard

The new safety auditing dashboard integrates the auditing form creator to the Audit Manager. The Safety Audit Dashboard allows one less menu item (Audit/Inspection Form Creator). Also, one can navigate to the Audit Scheduler.

More details about SMS Pro's aviation safety auditing software can be found at
http://asms-pro.com/Modules/SafetyAssurance/CustomInspectionFormCreator.aspx

How to best help your
Aviation Safety Management System

Become an SMS PRO

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™.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Have You Outgrown Your Current Aviation Safety Management System?

Many airlines and airports are in the same boat. Due to internal or external mandate, they assign safety managers the responsibility of aviation safety management — the process used to manage all aspects of your company's aviation safety program.

Basic Approach to Aviation Safety Management

When tasked with aviation safety management, airlines and airports typically start out with the simplest solution possible...

An Excel spreadsheet listing basic hazard & event information;
A shared network drive that houses all electronic files relevant to safety events and hazards;
Safety managers manually check when corrective actions are due and determines next steps;
Excel and Word files managing audit schedules and checklists.

Can the Above Safety Management Solution Work?

Sure, on a small scale. But eventually your airline or airport will encounter one or more of the following problems...

Too much safety information to reliably track in an Excel spreadsheet;
Lack of searching and reporting makes it difficult to get the right information when you need it;
Shared drive becomes completely unwieldy with too many documents with little structure;
Over-reliance on manual oversight leads to human error impacting important business decisions;
You spend more time fixing the system and creating workarounds than on managing your safety program.

How SMS Pro Works

SMS Pro is a secure, web-based product that NWDS hosts & maintains. NWDS manages all aspects of running the safety management application (hosting, security, backups, software upgrades, etc.) thereby allowing you to focus on your actual aviation safety management program.

SMS Pro's approach to aviation safety management is based on these assumptions:

Your airline or airport is required to have a formal aviation safety management program (SMS);
Your airline or airport has many events and hazards to manage in an ever changing environment;
You need a hazard reporting system that is easy to manage and accessible to all stakeholders;
Each event can have one or many corrective actions that may be managed by different employees;
Each event and hazard must be reviewed on a regular basis;
You perform risk assessments to determine safety events and hazards' criticality
You track safety issues & incidents from the time they are reported until closure and review;
You conduct periodic safety reviews to ensure the safety program is meeting expectations;
You perform periodic safety surveys and publish safety newletters to promote safety; and
You need to demonstrate to auditors the effectiveness of your SMS program.

Available Aviation Safety Management Modules

aviation safety management software solutions for airlines and airports

Depending on the resources your airline or airport allocates to safety management, you may be doing all of the above or a fraction of it. SMS Pro is modular & a la carte so that you only need to pay for the features you need.

How to best help your
Aviation Safety Management System

Become an SMS PRO

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Customize Aviation Hazard Reporting Form Video

Configuring Aviation Hazard Reporting Forms

SMS Pro has several predefined hazard reporting forms for airlines and airports' aviation safety management systems. These predefined reporting forms allow employees and stakeholders to enter reports electronically. Automated email notifications are sent to responsible safety managers. Follow these links to learn more about SMS Pro's hazard reporting software or to watch demo videos on SMS Pro's aviation safety management software.

List of Predefined Aviation Hazard Reporting Forms

Back in 2007, SMS Pro's hazard reporting forms were based on NASA's ASRS forms. The earliest predefined reporting forms included:

Flight Safety;
Air Traffic Control;
Cabin Safety;
Maintenance; and
General Occupational Safety.

SMS Pro later included:

FAA Bird Strike; and
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) reporting form.

Additional Hazard Reporting Forms

Approximately 10% of airlines and airports require custom hazard reporting forms for their aviation SMS programs. Their needs may be unique or employees are comfortable with existing reporting forms. In these cases, NWDS can create custom hazard reporting forms at a very reasonable cost that integrate into SMS Pro's hazard reporting and risk management modules. Contact techsupport@nwds-ak.com for more information.

Configuring Hazard Reporting Forms in Your Portal

Airlines and airports (and occasionally flight schools) want to modify the values in the predefined hazard reporting forms. For example, some of the maintenance values may not be applicable to all operations, especially in Canada or Europe.

To configure hazard reporting forms in SMS Pro, you must possess the SMS Admin role. You are able to modify:

All drop down lists;
Hide drop down lists; and
Other verbiage relating to employees viewing their reported issues.

Video Demonstrating Hazard Reporting Form Configuration

This following video will walk you through the steps to configure the drop down lists in SMS Pro's predefined hazard reporting forms. Hazard Reporting Form Configuration Video

How to best help your
Aviation Safety Management System

Become an SMS PRO