10-1
Chapter 10 PHASED APPROACH TO SMS IMPLEMENTATION
10.1 OBJECTIVE AND CONTENTS
The objective of this chapter is to introduce a proposal for the implementation of an SMS in phases. The chapter includes the following topics:
a Why adopt a phased approach to SMS implementation; b Phase I — Planning SMS implementation;
c Phase II — Reactive safety management processes; d Phase III — Proactive and predictive safety management processes; and
e Phase IV — Operational safety assurance.
10.2 WHY ADOPT A PHASED APPROACH TO SMS IMPLEMENTATION 10.2.1
The implementation of an SMS is a straightforward process. Nevertheless, depending on a number of factors, such as availability of guidance material published by the civil aviation oversight authority, service providers’
knowledge regarding SMS, and resources for implementation, this straightforward process may turn into a daunting task. 10.2.2
It is axiomatic in project management that complex projects are best progressed by breaking down the overall complexity of the task at hand into smaller, manageable subcomponents of the overall task. In this way,
overwhelming and sometimes confusing complexity, and its underlying workload, may be turned into simpler and transparent subsets of activities that require only a manageable workload. Likewise, the necessary resources to
implement SMS “in one shot” might simply be unavailable to the organization. Thus, breaking down the overall complexity into smaller subsets of activities allows for a partial or smaller allocation of resources to complete subsets of
activities. This partial allocation of resources may be more commensurate with the requirements of each activity as well as the resources available to the organization. Therefore, two reasons that justify why a phased approach to SMS
implementation is proposed are:
a it provides a manageable series of steps to follow in implementing an SMS, including allocation of resources; and
b it effectively manages the workload associated with SMS implementation. 10.2.3
A third reason, quite distinct from the previous two, but equally important, is to avoid “cosmetic compliance”. An organization should set as its objective the realistic implementation of an effective SMS, not the tokens
of it. It would be quite appealing for an organization unduly burdened with requirements, and without the resources to fully implement an SMS in its entirety in an insufficient period of time, to produce all the paperwork that would conform to
the demands and requirements of a civil aviation oversight authority. In other words, a situation referred to as “ticking the
10-2 Safety Management Manual SMM
appropriate boxes” might develop, as a result of unreasonably demanding implementation requirements. Should such be the case, the resulting SMS, although complete and compliant on paper, would be nothing more than an empty shell. By
providing a series of small, incremental and, most importantly, measurable steps, cosmetic compliance and “ticking the appropriate boxes” are discouraged. Full SMS implementation will certainly take longer, but the robustness of the
resulting SMS will be enhanced as each implementation phase is completed, and simpler safety management processes are started before moving on to successive phases involving safety management processes of greater complexity.
10.2.4
In summary, the proposal for a phased implementation of SMS aims to: a provide a manageable series of steps to follow in implementing an SMS, including allocation of
resources; b effectively manage the workload associated with SMS implementation; and
c provide a robust SMS and not merely an empty shell i.e. “ticking the appropriate boxes”. 10.2.5
Four implementation phases are proposed for an SMS. Each phase is associated with a component of the ICAO SMS framework introduced in Chapter 8. The implementation of each phase is based on the introduction of
specific elements of each component of the ICAO SMS framework during the phase in question.
10.3 PHASE I — PLANNING SMS IMPLEMENTATION 10.3.1
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