Aviation Safety Management Systems (SMS): February 2014

Friday, February 28, 2014

Emergency Response Notification System for Aviation SMS Programs

Emergency Response Alerts for Airlines, Airports, Flight Schools

Airlines, airports and flight schools need to quickly and efficiently contact emergency response teams

airlines and airport emergency response notification software system for alerts

Contact ERP Teams Quickly With Your Smart Phone

when responding to emergencies or when conducting emergency drills. This emergency notification system fits best in your aviation safety management software system!

Easy to Use Emergency Response Alerting System

emergency response alerting software system for airlines, airports flight schools

SMS Pro's Emergency Response Notification service provides one-way, on-demand emergency messaging to a designated group of emergency response teams across a variety of platforms. Target email, SMS texting and voicemail. Useful to ensure emergency response teams receive their messages whether they have access to their smartphone, desktop, laptop or hone phone. Emergency response alerts are transmitted to the communication device of ERP team leader's choice.

Airlines, airports, flight schools and other aviation service providers can now depend on SMS Pro to facilitate delivery of hundreds of messages across a broad range of recipients within just minutes.

SMS Pro's Emergency Response Notification service is incredibly easy to use, whether you are using your IPhone, IPad, Android or PC. The secure interface ensures only ERP team leaders have instant access to easily trigger the configurable emergency response alerting service.

No Extra Hardware Required for Triggering Emergency Response Alerts

Emergency response team leaders don't need additional hardware or much technical expertise to configure. Emergency response team leaders can pre-configure alerts using their IPhone, IPad, Android or PC. While responding to an emergency, precious minutes count. With very little effort, hundreds of emails, SMS texts and phone calls find their way to your ERP teams, whether they belong to your company or to external service providers.

Emergency response drills and alerting services are made for safety assurance

Once the emergency response notification has been processed, a confirmation email is sent to the initiating team leader to confirm successful transmission. Through the extensive use of configurable groups (ERP teams) and multiple points of contact (SMS text, email and phone messages), you can be assured the highest level of success for contacting your emergency response personnel.

As with all new modules, you must contact SMS Pro's technical support staff to request this module be added to your portal. This module will work nicely with SMS Pro's version controlled Document Manager and the Emergency Drills Management software for aviation SMS programs module.

More information about aviation SMS software can be found at:

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™.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Reduce LOSA Costs - Demo Offline LOSA Software With Threat & Error Management (TEM)

LOSA Provides Many Benefits, But Normally at High Costs

Airlines and other aviation service providers wishing to implement Line Operations Safety Audits (LOSA) have few affordable options when structuring a safety program to address operational errors. LOSA audits are very expensive and can easily exceed $50,000 USD for each series.

How Much Does a LOSA Audit Cost?

Best LOSA software for offline IPad use at airlines

Factors to consider when determining cost include:

Number of collected observations;
Number of observers;
Managing data (from paper to electronic versions);
Data cleansing and verification efforts;
Depth of data analysis;
External observers vs internal observers;
Insurance discounts;
Fees from belonging to the collective (can be avoided by SMS Pro's LOSA); and
Consulting fees.

Best Way to Reduce LOSA Costs

In an effort to reduce costs, and to integrate Threat & Error Management into SMS Pro's risk management framework, SMS Pro has created an Offline LOSA tool for airlines. Airlines do not need to acquire the SMS Pro Web-based SMS software for airlines and airports to use this service; however, there are many benefits to managing LOSA findings in SMS Pro, including tracking corrective actions (http://airlines.safety-management-systems.com)

As of March 2016, aviation LOSA software is no longer a part of SMS Pro. It has been moved out as a separate product. You can learn about the aviation safety software company creating this LOSA software.

Offline LOSA Demo - Suitable for IPad or Laptop

The Offline LOSA software has a client portion that works with IPads, IPhone or Laptop in offline mode for observations. This LOSA software also includes a server component for Data Cleansing and Integrity Checks.

SMS Pro is offering a "guinea pig rate" for the first year: $1,000 USD setup and $100 monthly.
To get a feel for the LOSA client side software, see live demo LOSA site

http://sms-demo2.com/desktopmodules/losa/client/index.html

SMS Pro is selecting airlines wishing to participate in the LOSA pilot program. Three airlines have indicated interest to participate. The objective is to allow the operators to perform and process their observations, and then prepare the needed reports based on these pilot airlines' feedback.

More information about LOSA Audit Suite and SMS Pro aviation safety management system (SMS) software can be found at http://asms-pro.com/Modules/SafetyAssurance/LOSAAuditSuite.aspx

Interested in Participating in LOSA Pilot Program?

Airlines interested in joining the SMS Pro LOSA program are encouraged to contact SMS Pro staff at

http://airlines.safety-management-systems.com/ContactUs.aspx. Be expected to pay $10,000 USD for the first year participation and $3,600 annually thereafter.

Line Operations Safety Audits (LOSA) Training

Airlines needing LOSA training to prepare for LOSA audits can contact Dr. Bob Baron, one of the world's leading LOSA trainers.

If you need explanations of LOSA, see this great article in Skybrary:
http://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/LOSA

For an explantion of Threat & Error Management(TEM), see this Skybrary article:
http://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Threat_and_Error_Management_(TEM)

More information about aviation SMS software can be found at:

How to best help your
Aviation Safety Management System

Become an SMS PRO

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Hazard Reporting: What’s In It For YOU?

Hazard Reporting at Airlines & Airports

Every employee is responsible for operational safety and has a duty to report hazards when they become evident.

Feel free to use this content as desired in your safety newsletters. TACG provides this aviation safety newsletter template as a service to the aviation safety community.

Hazard Reporting Systems Form the Heart of Every SMS Program

airline and airport hazard reporting is the responsibility of each employee

If your company has a Safety Management System (SMS) then undoubtedly you have some kind of structured Hazard Reporting System (HRS). The purpose of an HRS is to allow employees to submit hazard, error, or event reports without fear of reprisal or retribution from management. A Just Culture will need to be established (or maintained) in order for this concept to work. A Just Culture can be defined as a culture of trust and a culture of learning, both of which are necessary for an open, non-punitive HRS to be effective and successful.

Hazard Reports Are Very Valuable to Your Airline or Airport

The reports that you submit serve a very important purpose. They allow safety managers to be informed about things that they may not see themselves; after all, they can’t be everywhere! Therefore, you become “the eyes on the frontline.” And while you might think that some hazard (or event) is trivial and not worth reporting, keep in mind that those seemingly unimportant hazards and events can very well surface to the top of the metaphorical iceberg and become your next incident or accident. In fact, YOU could very well be the “trigger puller” or “enabler” for that incident or accident!

So keep sending in those hazard reports. The small amount of time that it takes to submit them is offset by the safety dividends that will be paid, for both you and your organization. Keep in mind that an SMS is a “system” and YOU are integral to the system!

Dr. Bob Baron is the President and Chief Consultant of The Aviation Consulting Group (TACG). His specializations include Human Factors (HF), Safety Management Systems (SMS), Crew Resource Management (CRM), Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA), and Fatigue Risk Management (FRM). He consults with, and provides training to, hundreds of aviation organizations on a worldwide basis. Projects range from short workshops all the way up to, and including, full safety program implementation at some of the largest airlines and aircraft manufacturers in the world. He also works with various civil aviation authorities and accident investigation bureaus to improve safety at the very highest levels of the aviation system. Please visit the TACG website for more information. www.tacgworldwide.com

Dr. Bob Baron can also travel to your location to provide quality aviation safety management systems software training to best suit your airline or airport's need.

Friday, February 21, 2014

List of Aviation Safety Newsletter Templates for Airlines, Airports & Aviation Maintenance

Free Aviation Safety Newsletter Templates

Feel free to use these safety newsletter templates to beef up your airline or airports safety newsletters.

Safety newsletters should be a regular element to best position your airline or airport's aviation safety management system.

This list of newsletters templates will grow as time passes. Dr. Bob Baron of The Aviation Consulting Group will add fresh newsletter templates every week or two.

Make sure you bookmark this link so you have a resource for a free aviation newsletter topic to format or customize to fit your needs.

List of Free Safety Newsletter Templates for Airlines & Airports

The SMS Four Pillars of Safety

Aviation SMS Software Saves Time & Money

Hazard Reporting: What’s In It For YOU?
What's Lurking Beneath?

More Aviation Safety Newsletter Resources

Aviation Safety Newsletter Template Software - Video
Aviation SMS Software Modules for Airlines & Airports

More information about aviation SMS software can be found at:

How to best help your
Aviation Safety Management System

Become an SMS PRO

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Managing SMS in Non-Complex Organization Using Aviation Safety Software

Tips to Manage Safety in Non-Complex Organizations Using Safety Software

managing aviation sms requirements in non-complex organization

During the summer 2013 aviation safety management software course put on by SMS Pro, a European student brought this Self-Assessment for Non-Complex Organizations. He was concerned about an upcoming audit. He asked how SMS Pro could help their flight operations pass this audit.

Consequently, we took an hour from the class and answered each item as follows.

	Guidance Ref		Compliance Y/ N / Partial	Comments / Reference to compliance
Management commitment and responsibility	5.1	Is there a written safety policy endorsed by the Accountable Manager?		Available in Policies & Procedures module. Also notifies when policy requires review.
	5.1	Does Senior Management continuously promote and demonstrate its commitment to the safety policy?		CEO commitment visible to all when users come to Safety Workspace
	5.1	Has the safety policy been communicated effectively throughout the organisation?		Safety Policy is visible to all in Policies & Procedures module. Users also review Safety Policy when inducted into SMS Pro.
	5.1	Does the safety policy cover the points in this guidance material?		Left to operator to structure policy. Safety Policy templates available by SMS Pro.
Safety accountabilities	5.2	Are the safety accountabilities and responsibilities of the Accountable Manager and other key staff members clearly defined and published for all staff and contractors to see?		Duties & Requirements of Key Safety Personnel module satisfies this nicely.
	5.2	Does the Accountable Manager have full responsibility for the SMS and authority to make decisions regarding the budget?		Left to operator
	5.2	Has the management structure of the organisation been defined?		Organization Chart visible to all employees under Safety Policy menu.
	5.2	Are all staff members aware of their safety roles and responsibilities?		Duties & Requirements of Key Safety Personnel module satisfies this nicely. Lists each role and their responsibility. Must review as part of the SMS induction process.
Appointment of key safety staff members	5.3	Has a focal point/Safety Manager for the SMS been appointed?		Left to operator. Safety manager information visible to all in Safety Workspace.
	5.3	Is there a direct reporting line between the SMS focal point/ Safety Manager and the Accountable Manager?		Left to operator
	5.3	Does the SMS focal point/ Safety Manager have the appropriate SMS knowledge and understanding?		Left to operator. Training is offered by SMS Pro.
	5.3	Does the organisation have a Safety Committee?		Left to operator
	5.3	Does the Safety Committee monitor the safety performance and the effectiveness of the SMS?		Safety committee can monitor the SMS program using Meeting Manager to review issue and document remarks.
	5.3	Does the Safety Committee meet regularly and are the meetings minuted?		Meeting Manager schedules meetings and tracks meeting minutes. PDF archives document meetings.
Emergency response planning	5.4	Has an emergency response plan been developed and is it kept up to date?		Left to operator. ERP documentation is stored in version-controlled document manager.
	5.4	Are the roles, responsibilities and actions of key staff members defined in the ERP?		These roles & responsibilities can be documented in Duties & Requirements of Key Safety Personnel
	5.4	Does the ERP include all the considerations in this guidance material if appropriate?		Left to operator
	5.4	Is the ERP regularly reviewed and tested?		New emergency drills module helps satisfy this requirement.
Safety documentation	5.5	Does the safety management manual or safety documentation in existing manuals contain all the elements as detailed in this guidance material?		SMS Manual Creator has templates of appropriate Safety Manuals. Manuals can be stored in version-controlled document manager.
	5.5	Is it regularly reviewed?		Policy for regularly reviewing safety manager can be kept in Policies & Procedures, which automatically reminds user to review Safety Manual.
	5.5	Is there a system for the recording and storage of SMS documentation and records i.e. hazard logs, risk assessments, safety reports from staff/contractors and safety cases?		Issue Manager addresses everything except safety cases. Safety Case Manager holds all the safety cases.
Hazard identification	6.2	Is there a confidential safety reporting system?		Issue reporting allows for anonymous and confidential reporting.
	6.2	Are safety reports assigned an ‘owner’ and reviewed by the Safety Committee?		Safety reports are automatically assigned a responsible manager who then reviews the report and forwards report to appropriate dept head. Review by safety committee is performed using Meeting Manager.
	6.2	Is there feedback to the reporter?		Automatic feedback occurs when users report issues. They can track progress in multiple ways.
	6.3	Is there a written procedure describing how hazards are identified?		Hazard Identification procedures are stored in Policies & Procedures module
	6.3	Have the major hazards associated with the organisation been identified?		Proactive Hazard Analysis Tool (PHAT) and Hazard Register are used to manage this requirement.
Risk assessment and mitigation	6.4	Is there a risk assessment process in place?		Assessment tab in Issue Manager provides a logical process
	6.4	Is the risk tolerability matrix appropriate and can it be applied consistently?		Configurable risk matrix can be adapted to all organizations
	6.4	Is there a process for deciding any necessary risk mitigation?		Based on assessment, corrective actions are assigned and tracked as necessary
	6.4	Are risk mitigations and controls being verified/audited to confirm the effectiveness?		Issue Validation module alerts managers when issues and associated corrective actions must be reviewed.
	6.7	Are risks being managed to a reasonable level?		Left to operator
	6.9	Are the hazards and risks recorded on a hazard log?		Hazard log is part of Hazard Registry module
Safety performance monitoring	7.2	Have safety performance indicators been defined?		Easily setup and monitored on the Classify tab in Issue Manager. Tracked in various reports modules.
Safety performance monitoring	7.3	Are the safety performance indicators reviewed regularly to identify any trends?		Automated trend alerts notify management of developing trends.
Management of change	7.4	Is there a process to proactively identify hazards and to mitigate risks when significant changes in the organisation occur?		Management of Change module provides a structured process to manage this task.
Incident management	7.5	Are safety investigations carried out after incidents or accidents to establish root cause?		Very robust investigation module with root cause analysis, human factors and final report generation exportable to Lessons Learned Library or as PDF
Incident management	7.5	Are the hazards identified from safety investigations addressed and communicated to the rest of the organisation?		Lessons Learned are generated on the Investigation tab. Lessons Learned can be emailed to everyone in a particular division.
Continuous improvement	7.6	Is continuous improvement in the safety performance being achieved?		The routine (annual) gap analysis demonstrates continuous improvement
Safety auditing	7.7	Are safety audits and surveys carried out?		Audit checklist creator, audit scheduler and audit manager make up the audit suite. Finding and concerns are driven to the risk management framework where corrective actions are tracked. Safety Survey module manages surveys.
Safety auditing	7.7	Is there an independent quality system or third party agency that audits the SMS?		Left to operator
Safety training	8.1	Have all staff been appropriately trained in respect of the SMS and their safety roles and responsibilities?		SMS Induction Manager documents SMS initial training. Workflow ensures users are trained before gaining access to the program.
Communication	8.2	Does safety related information get communicated to all staff members as appropriate?		Newsletters and Message Board communicates safety issues to employees.
Communication	8.2	Does relevant safety information reach external users/customers etc?		Issue Manager allows emailing notifications to civil aviation authorities and others. Vendor Message Acknowledgement has features to communicate to contractors
SMS implementation	9.1	Has a gap analysis been carried out?		Gap analysis module with many models to choose from
	9.2	Is there an SMS implementation plan?		SMS Implementation plan lists and documents the progress of each activity.
	9.2	Does the implementation plan reflect the gap analysis?		Implementation Plan Manager is configurable by operator to reflect gap analysis performance
	9.2	Is the implementation plan on target?		Left to operator

How to best help your
Aviation Safety Management System

Become an SMS PRO

Friday, February 14, 2014

The SMS Four Pillars of Safety

Understanding Four Pillars of Safety Management

Every aviation safety professional must become intimately familiar with the four pillars of aviation safety management.

Feel free to use this content as desired in your safety newsletters. TACG provides this aviation safety newsletter template as a service to the aviation safety community.

Safety Policy - First SMS Pillar

aviation SMS four safety pillars for airlines airports

Safety policy is concerned with the structure and outline of how safe operations will be conducted. Among other things, it involves planning, organizing, compliance with regulations and law, documentation, and emergency preparedness and response. It is at this level that upper-level management must buy-in and continuously support the SMS. Without management buy-in and support, the SMS is bound to fail. Employees are highly influenced by management behavior examples and therefore if employees see management intentionally breaking rules or ignoring policy it is likely the employees will emulate this behavior.

Safety Risk Management - Second SMS Pillar

Possibly the most important component of the SMS, safety risk management is the process by which risks are identified, mitigated, or eliminated before they become a visible (surfaced) accident or incident. This is a proactive (as well as predictive) approach to error prevention and mitigation, which is a paradigm shift from the strictly reactive approach that has been used in the past.

Risk Management SMS Pillar for ICAO compliant safety programs

Risk can be thought of as the consequence of a hazard and is measured in terms of severity and probability. You will develop a Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA) that will be used to identify the hazards that exist in your operation. Hazard identification can be accomplished by a variety of methods that include observations, audits, safety surveys, investigations, and research. Other sources can include factual briefings from frontline personnel, subject matter experts, brainstorming, and analysis tools such as event trees, fault trees, FMECA’s, and so on. Once the hazards are identified you will then need to analyze the data to determine what type of controls may need to be put in place. Risks that have a high severity and high likelihood rating would be the ones you want to address as a priority. On the other hand, risks that have a low severity rating and a low likelihood of occurrence may be classified as acceptable risks that you can just live with.

Safety Assurance and Internal Evaluation - Third SMS Pillar

The well-known Heinrich Ratio states that, for every fatal accident, there will be three to five nonfatal accidents and 10 to15 incidents; but there will also be hundreds of unreported occurrences. Unreported occurrences are extremely problematic since no defenses can be employed if nobody knows they these occurrences exist.

Safety Assurance SMS Pillar for ICAO compliant safety programs

There are quite a few subcomponents in this category, one of the most important being error reporting; however, an error reporting system may be one of the most challenging SMS components to implement. Employees may feel that while there are clear advantages to error reporting, at the same time they may also feel that embarrassment and potential personal punitive implications far outweigh the organizational advantages. Yet, a good and effective safety culture must include an error reporting system. In order to attain this goal you will need to ensure that your organization has a Just Culture. A Just Culture is a culture that acknowledges that well-intentioned people still make mistakes and they should not be punished for slips, lapses, mistakes, and other unintentional errors. However, a line is still drawn where willful violations and purposeful unsafe acts will still be dealt with in some sort of punitive fashion. The bottom line of a Just Culture is trust. Employees must know that they can report errors without sanction.

Safety Promotion - Fourth SMS Pillar

Subcomponents of this category include the development and continuous nurturing of a healthy safety culture, communication, training, and feedback of lessons learned. The most important point about safety promotion is that there needs to be an ongoing, palpable presence to the SMS. This requires, among other things, open communication between management and employees, feedback offered on a regular basis, and appropriate employee training on the SMS.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Aviation Safety Management Systems (SMS) Training - Download

Airlines & Airports Need to Stay Current With Aviation SMS Training

Here are some aviation SMS training events worth noting. We have something for safety managers, executives and SMS admins using the popular airline & airport safety software.

First, there is an aviation SMS training event in Hawaii. Download details here for this aviation safety management systems training.

Aviation SMS Training for Airlines & Airports

Aviation SMS Software Users - Training Schedule

Aviation Safety Management Systems (SMS) Training for airlines airports

At the other end of the extreme is Anchorage, Alaska. Who does not want to come to Alaska for a business trip. Aviation SMS software training in Anchorage, Alaska should be on your list this summer. See the schedules for this aviation SMS software training.

Basic & Advanced Aviation SMS Training Offered

The Web based aviation SMS software SMS Pro is a very powerful and flexible software suite. To best learn how to use the software when your airline or airport is starting its SMS implementation, we recommend the Basic SMS Admin Course.

Airline and airport Safety Managers who have taken the Basic SMS Admin Course often need a refresher course and to learn the more advanced features of SMS Pro. The Advanced SMS Admin Course is offered only once or twice per year and limited to only 8 students.

More information about aviation SMS software can be found at:

How to best help your
Aviation Safety Management System

Become an SMS PRO

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Airline & Airport Emergency Drills - Management Software

Airline & Airport Emergency Drills

Emergency Drills and Exercises are essential for airlines and airports to train for, assess, practice, and improve performance in simulated, risk-free environments. Airlines and airports commonly use drills and exercises to prevent incidents and accidents and to protect people and assets in the event that such events manifest themselves.

Civil Aviation Authority Emergency Drill Requirements

Airlines and airports are often required to document critical emergency drills and exercises. Reports of these exercises may be sent to civil aviation authorities in regular reports. Examples include:

Airline & airports Emergency drills and exercises are important for safety assurance

CPR;
Fire;
Ditching;
Evacuation; and
Automatic external defibrillator (AED) exercises.

Other Benefits of Airline & Airport Emergency Drills

Besides compliance with regulatory requirements, airlines and airports benefit from conducting emergency drills by:

Clarifying and training personnel in roles and responsibilities;
Improving inter-agency coordination and communications;
Identifying shortcomings in qualified personnel and resources;
Improving individual performance; and
Identifying opportunities for improvement.

Manage Emergency Drills in Airline & Airport SMS Software

Routine Airline & airports Emergency drills and exercises are important for safety assurance

SMS Pro has released version 1 of the Emergency Drills module of the aviation safety management systems (SMS) software.

Managers can schedule airline or airport emergency drills and exercises. Furthermore, they can document who participated, when the drill must be performed again and any shortcomings associated with the drill. Emergency Drills module is integrated with hazard reporting and risk management framework, thereby allowing managers to track and follow up on corrective preventive actions stemming from any emergency drill or exercise shortcomings.

Finally, Emergency Drills module is integrated into an airline civil aviation authority report for cabin crews required drills.

How to Get Emergency Drills Management Software for Airlines & Airports?

Existing customers: SMS Admins must contact the SMS Pro support staff and request this module.

New airlines, airports, aviation maintenance organizations, flight schools or FBOs starting to use SMS Pro in February of 2014 will receive this module automatically.

More Information of Benefits and Uses of Aviation Safety Software

Benefits of Aviation SMS Software

Airline & Airport Safety Management Systems Software

More information about aviation SMS software can be found at:

Friday, February 7, 2014

Director of Airport Safety Job Description

Job Description for Director of Airport Safety

Airport managers frequently search our aviation safety management software websites for the job description of Director of Airport Safety. Several years ago, we used a good "director of airport safety" description that seemed adequate. Recently, I stumbled on another that is very good from CareerBuilder. I modified it a bit.

Job Summary:
Director of Airport Safety is responsible for carrying out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with airport policies and applicable regulatory requirements. This position monitors safety issues, supervises safety education and incident investigations.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities of Director of Airport Safety:

job description for director of airport safety

Interviewing, hiring and training employees;
Planning, assigning and directing work;
Appraising safety team performance;
Rewarding and coaching airport safety team employees;
Addressing high level-safety concerns.

Responsible for:

Physical safety of airport employees, contractors, aviation service providers and passengers.
Physical safeguarding of airport assets
Protection of airport property from illegal activity
Design and implementation of aviation safety management system (SMS)
Establishing and maintaining fire prevention and response plan
Ensuring sound emergency airport operations of the Fire Command control functions
Overseeing airport safety team scheduling to effectively safeguard airport facilities and adjacent properties
Establishing and directing aviation SMS training of safety team and airport staff
Coordinating and communicating with federal, state and local law enforcement authorities to ensure regulatory compliance
Preparing and directing safety department budgets
Providing oversight and ensuring readiness in the event of airport emergencies, including safety training and scheduling
Providing oversight to ensure a well groomed, friendly and alert safety staff
Coordinating safety activities with all related and supporting departments, including airport administration employees
Ensuring incidents involving safety, security, quality, compliance and environmental are recorded in electronic hazard database providing secure audit functions preventing modification of information after information has been entered into system.
Establishing and maintaining a emergency response plan for airport complying with all regulatory requirements and ensures safety and security of passengers, airport employees and airport properties

job description for director of airport safety, security, quality, compliance

Job Requirements for Director of Airport Safety

Bachelor’s Degree and 5 or more years of airport safety experience
Prior safety management experience required
Ability to present information and respond to questions from groups of airport managers, employees and guests
Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions and percentages
Ability to identify problems, collect data, analyze, and draw valid conclusions
Intermediate-level computer knowledge required

More information about aviation SMS software can be found at:

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Aviation Safety Newsletter Template Software - Video

Safety newsletters allow managers to actively engage in safety promotion activities in your airline or airport SMS program.

Why Use Safety Newsletters at Your Airline or Airport?

Safety newsletters are a powerfully effective communication tool for airlines and airports of all sizes. Information contained in safety newsletters may describe current or upcoming events, safety alerts, safety reminders or educational instructions. Safety newsletters at airlines and airports are effective when they are personal and regularly enforce good workplace safety standards.

Existing Safety Newsletter Software Tools in SMS Pro

SMS Pro's Newsletter module appeared at the beginning of SMS Pro in January 2008. It was never very sexy and provided a plain, Web based editor that allows HTML formatting and image manipulation. The Safety Newsletter module allowed managers to email newsletters to selected groups of users, such as pilots, maintenance personnel, managers, etc. Managers could also add attachments to their newsletters, such as PDFs and photos. However, there were limitations.

Limitations of SMS Pro's Legacy Safety Newsletter Software

In the past, managers would create a newsletter, send it to the targeted group, and then repeat as necessary. Archived newsletters had to be manually added to the version controlled document manager. There was no way for auditors to review safety newsletter circulation. Furthermore, whenever a newsletter needed to be created, it had to be generated from scratch. SMS Pro's enhanced Safety Newsletter module has many great features listed below and described in the following video.

Enhanced Airline & Airport Safety Newsletter Template Software

As the name implies, managers can now create templates to be reused over and again. This is very useful when safety managers leave the company. Replacement safety managers can easily pick up and maintain a

consistent look and feel to the safety newsletter circulation. Other features include:

Categorize newsletters by topic or user group;
Review sent newsletters and the groups sent to;
Sorting and filtering of sent newsletters and templates; and
"My Newsletters" section.

"My Newsletters" are an exciting addition to our aviation safety management system software. SMS Pro

users can now review historical safety newsletters in two locations:

Executive Dashboard; and
Safety Newsletters module.

Users see all newsletters that have been sent to the user's role(s). This is useful for new employees to learn the culture of your airline or airport and to learn how your airline or airport conducts "business."

How to Get Safety Newsletter Templates Software for Airlines & Airports?

More Information on Aviation Safety Newsletters

Safety Newsletters - Aviation SMS Software for Airlines & Airports

More information about aviation SMS software can be found at:

How to best help your
Aviation Safety Management System

Become an SMS PRO

Monday, February 3, 2014

Targeted Closure Date in Airline/Airport Risk Management Software

Automatically receive alerts when reported hazards become overdue should be top feature of your aviation safety management system (SMS) software.

New Feature in Aviation SMS Software

Several airline and airport safety managers have asked about the new visual cue in SMS Pro's risk management module, Issue Manager. This feature was added without a formal announcement because we consider it a minor cosmetic enhancement. Look at the image below to see the far right column.

Far Right Column Indicates Severity and Targeted Closure Date

airline and airport risk management software enhancements

History of Aviation SMS Risk Management Software Enhancement

Since SMS Pro came onto the market in 2008, the far right column indicated the severity of each risk assessed issue. Whenever the targeted closure date was exceeded, an alert bell would appear in the far right column. Hovering over the alert bell, users would be presented with a message, such as:
"Issue Exceeded Targeted Closure Date: 1/15/2014"

SMS Pro Enhancements Often Evolve By Customer Requests

Most know that SMS Pro is considered one of the most flexible aviation SMS software packages for airlines, airports, flight schools and aviation maintenance organizations. New features have been added constantly over the past seven years based on regulatory requirements and customer feedback. Aviation SMS consultants also provide great ideas to ensure SMS Pro remains among the world's leading aviation SMS software suites.

What Does This Aviation SMS Feature Do?

This new enhancement idea came from a European airline. They wanted to be able to see the targeted closure date of issues not overdue without going into each issue. Instead of adding another column to this

web based aviation safety management software for airlines airports aviation maintenance

already crowded screen, SMS Pro developers added an image indicating:

Whether a targeted closure date was set (image is visible); and
The targeted closure date of each issue when hovering over target image.

We think this is a great enhancement because safety managers can easily see whether the targeted closure date was not yet set on issues coming into the system. As always, we appreciate your feedback and ideas to make SMS Pro the best possible.

More information about aviation SMS software can be found at:

How to best help your
Aviation Safety Management System

Become an SMS PRO