OBJECTIVE AND CONTENTS .1 THE SAFETY STEREOTYPE .1

3-1

Chapter 3 INTRODUCTION TO SAFETY MANAGEMENT

3.1 OBJECTIVE AND CONTENTS 3.1.1 This chapter discusses the need for, and the strategies and key features of, safety management. The chapter addresses the differences between the management of safety as an organizational process and the prevention of accidents as a remedial activity. 3.1.2 The chapter includes the following topics: a The safety stereotype; b The management dilemma; c The need for safety management; d Strategies for safety management; e The imperative of change; f Safety management — Eight building blocks; and g Four responsibilities for managing safety. 3.2 THE SAFETY STEREOTYPE 3.2.1 A misperception has been pervasive in aviation regarding where safety fits, in terms of priority, within the spectrum of objectives that aviation organizations pursue, regardless of the nature of the services that aviation organizations might deliver. This misperception has evolved into a universally accepted stereotype: in aviation, safety is the first priority. While socially, ethically and morally impeccable because of its inherent recognition of the supreme value of human life, the stereotype and the perspective that it conveys do not hold ground when considered from the perspective that the management of safety is an organizational process. 3.2.2 All aviation organizations, regardless of their nature, have a business component, to a greater or lesser degree. Thus, all aviation organizations can be considered business organizations. A simple question is then relevant to shed light on the truthfulness, or lack thereof, of the safety stereotype: what is the fundamental objective of a business organization? The answer to this question is obvious: to deliver the service for which the organization was created in the first place, to achieve production objectives and eventually deliver dividends to stakeholders. 3.2.3 There is no aviation organization that has been created to deliver only safety. Even organizations that act as guardians of aviation safety are subject to efficiency constraints, internal or external, as dictated by their stakeholders. This includes the International Civil Aviation Organization, national and supra national civil aviation authorities, international trade organizations and safety advocate international organizations. 3-2 Safety Management Manual SMM 3.2.4 Chapter 2 discusses how safety is increasingly viewed as the consequence of the management of certain organizational processes, with the final objective of keeping the safety risks of the consequences of hazards in operational contexts under organizational control. The management of specific organizational processes, most business-related, is a necessary condition to enable organizations to achieve their production objectives through the delivery of services. These organizational processes, including communication, allocation of resources, planning and supervision, were also discussed in Chapter 2. The management of these processes is delivered through core business functions and management systems, such as financial management, human resources management and legal management. 3.2.5 The perspective advanced by this manual is that safety is not the first priority of aviation organizations. Rather, the management of safety is just another organizational process that allows aviation organizations to achieve their business objectives through the delivery of their services. Safety management is therefore just another core business function that must be considered at the same level and with the same importance as other core business functions, and it is delivered through a dedicated management system safety management system or SMS, discussed in Chapter 7. 3.3 THE MANAGEMENT DILEMMA 3.3.1