Monitoring in Safety Management Systems in Aviation - Thesis Example

Safety Management System: In Aviation A Safety Management System should not only be a series of policies and procedures that will result to safety. Constant monitoring of the employees of the organization including the operation of the organization should reveal metrics that will gauge the efficacy of the safety management system in the organization. Metrics called Key Performance Indicators are formulated to determine the progress and actual success of policies and procedures. The Key Performance Indicator can also be used in the continuous improvements efforts of the safety and management system being implemented. Contents Abstract 2 Contents 3 PO #2 4 Compliance Monitoring Methodology 4 Incident Monitoring Methodology 11 Continuous Improvement 12 PO #3 13 PO #4 14 Bibliography 17 PO #2 The student will be able to identify and apply appropriate statistical analysis, to include techniques in data collection, review, critique, interpretation and inference in the aviation and aerospace industry. Data collection is an intricate part of a safety management systems and under the FAA AC 150 5200-37, it is not only required but it is essential to ensure that all the provisions of the FAA AC 150 5200-37 are adhered to. It should be noted that the FAA AC 150 5200-37 ensures that a proper balance with regards to the implementation of any safety management system and the capability of the organization itself to implement its own should be considered as long as it adheres to the minimum safety threshold prescribed by law. This way, even the safety strategy that maybe formulated and implemented by the organization itself may far exceed the standards prescribed by law but the development of a stringent safety policy should be encouraged beyond what is mandated by law if it vital or essential in the operation. Data collection should have the following focus: First is the Compliance Monitoring of the Policies and Procedures and the other is the incident recording and resolution recording that should similarly detail the temporary solutions provided therein. The twin strategy should ensure that old safety issues are addressed not to mention the new ones including those neglected or overlooked in the first assessment are recorded when they create a problem. The data collection strategy will equally be used as a means or as a vehicle to discover patterns if not continuously manifesting incidents that could be an indication of a systemic problem that should be resolved at the soonest possible time. Compliance Monitoring Methodology Compliance monitoring is best conducted using an objective measure in the form of statistics that best convey the true state or the actual compliance of an organization. Compliance monitoring is also the best way to determine the preparedness of an organization against specific disasters. In the same vain, the safety level of an organization is best managed using statistical models. Compliance monitoring methodology requires that the organization have a reporting system or incident documentation system to catch and resolve the safety issues within the organization (Clarke & Cooper, 2003). Rate of compliance is a statistical method that will determine the compliance of an organization to safety policies that the organization itself have determined it needs in order to meet safety regulation standards. A one hundred percentage rating in the rate of compliance methodology simply means that the organization has perfectly exceeded the standard requirements. A low rating under the rate of compliance methodology indicate that a need for intervention is required to ensure that at the next review an improvement is expected (Humphreys, 2007). The FAA AC 150 5200-37 requires that the organization promote, support and ensure the strengthening of a culture of safety within an organization. Acculturation of the organization into a safety conscious organization is indicated by several factors that would include the non-violation to near zero violation of its policies and procedures that promote safety in its operation. Therefore it is essential that any breach or infraction of any policy is recorded including the incidents or other manifestation of its violation should be well-documented. To illustrate such infraction that should be recorded is the violation concerning proper attire in the work place. Incidents that is indicative of violations regarding the non-wearing of proper attire should be recorded since proper attire provide a level of safety or protection to workers. The importance of this policy is highlighted in the use of laboratory coats or worker overall which is a safety strategy that will protect as well as reveal possible contamination such as blood or the presence of blood on the person including all other chemicals the person may be exposed to. Violation or non-compliance to safety procedures and documented processes is another lapse in judgment on the part of the workers or members of the organization that should be recorded. To illustrate: neglecting the use of the proper tools to accomplish specific task could result to accidents. The use of other tools or implements to accomplish a task despite the presence of tools specifically made for a particular task or its availability in the work area is an indication of non-compliance. It is imperative that its non-use should be recorded and closely monitored through observations since expediency should not compromise safety at all costs. Upholding or supporting a culture of safety can be monitored by observing the behavior of the employees if they adhere to simple safety policies such as the wearing of uniforms and the use of the proper tools. As for the management, the provisioning of the required tools, equipment and its use and maintenance are indicative of an invested or committed management to safety. By enabling safety through a complete inventory of the required tools and equipment, management not only support safety but it is the most active advocate. By wearing the complete uniform and the adherence to disciplines the employee’s behavior support the culture of safety required by FAA AC 150 5200-37. Continuous use and religious provisioning of materials reveal an invested employee and a culture of safety in the work place. Safety Promotion is one aspect of the implementation of a Safety Management System that aims to modify the culture of an organization and transform it into a safety conscious organization. Gathering the required statistical data on this regard is the determination of how effective was the safety promotion conducted. The strategy should include education and the statistical data used on this aspect should be the number of employees who attended the seminars, workshops and training about safety. The target for all intents and purposes must be one hundred percent attendance. However, it should be noted that attendance alone does not translate to understanding and actual compliance if not actual adherence to safety protocols. Thus an examination and actual safety drill that will rate the performance of all the stakeholders should be conducted to determine the absorption level in the safety of promotions. Gathering data on risk management to determine the level of the organization with regards to its safety should include the determination of the completeness of equipment, tools and the procedures that goes with it. Risk Management includes several focuses that would contain the formulation of policies and procedures concerning safety. It also includes the training and organization of the safety management office itself. In gathering the statistics for this, it is incumbent upon the project management in charge of implementing a safety management system in an organization to determine the rate of completion. In the operation of a Safety Management System, it is prudent to gather statistics that will include the how efficacious the policies and procedures are. This is indicated in the number of accidents or incidents related to the operation of the policies and procedures adopted therein. Another statistics that should be gathered are the operational numbers of equipments to determine their life expectancy. Gathering statistics in risk assurance includes the level of safety of the remediation strategy that have been installed or put in place to secure a process, equipment or the entire facility. Remediation strategy comes right after the risk and safety assessment. The risk and safety assessment includes the inventory of all processes, equipments and tools. The inventory process should reveal the risk associated in the use, operation and or adoption of the asset. The assessment should be comprehensive enough to ensure that all information regarding the operation of the asset is included in the assessment. After determining all the risk associated to the asset, a remediation strategy that will neutralize all safety threats should be formulated. A time table or schedule on when the strategy will be in placed should be determined. And, an interim solution should be put in place as well to ensure that the absence of the strategy will not exacerbate the situation in case of an event. There are Five Phases in Safety Risk Management all of which leads to the building of an infrastructure that will provide a level of protection in terms of equipment, policies and procedures and actual infrastructure for data gathering (Federal Avation Administration, 2007). The five phases resembles the Plan Do Check Act of any ISO implementation (Cianfrani & West, 2010). However, it is clear that the five phases do not include any provisions that would likewise ensure continuous improvement. Phase 1. Describe the system Phase 2. Identify the hazards Phase 3. Determine the risk Phase 4. Assess and analyze the risk Phase 5. Treat the risk (i.e., mitigate, monitor and track) It is however important to note that even in the implementation of the five phases of safety and risk management, data should be gathered to serve as the baseline for its implementation. In the succeeding paragraph, this author presents areas where data and statistics can be gathered to ensure that the proper baseline is built to measure the effectiveness of the safety management systems that will be implemented. It is likewise impressed upon that baselines are necessary to determine the level of safety a safety management system provide (Stolzer, et al., 2010). In phase – 1: Description of the system is the documentation of the kind of system that is currently in place. It should provide the safety objective and the level of safety required by government agencies in order for the organization to comply with the standards of the industry. Such data as the frequency of events or accidents shall be recorded and its causes will be gathered. Another aspect of phase 1 is the definition of threats, vulnerabilities and possible hazards prevalent in the industry. In Phase – 2: Identification of the hazards requires references that would provide information to similar installations and their success or failure concerning the identified hazards. It is required in Phase -2 to ensure that statistical data is available that would include mean time before failure of equipments, maintenance cycle and maximum operating parameters is present. In Phase – 3: Determination of the risks includes such processes as determining the possible consequences of failures. The type of failures should likewise be identified. To illustrate: Failure to conduct maintenance can result to equipment fatigue that could cause equipment failures. Risk such as the lack of standards in terms of policies and procedures including operating standards could result to employees doing their own thing. The efficacy of such chaos can result to uneven standard in maintenance. Assessment of Risk including its Treatment is the main focus of Phase 4 and Phase 5. Risk treatment should include treatment schedule to determine the amount of time vulnerabilities are exposed. These phases are essential in the aviation industry to ensure the safety of the flying public. It is likewise essential to note that the continuous improvement of the safety management system is mandated and required. In the aviation industry, nothing is more important than to ensure that safety is at all times observed. Thus processes and procedures are not only written but should be followed to the letter. Its compliance should not only be noted but its non-compliance should be recorded and culled to determine a pattern that will help in the discovery of an event even before they happen through the existence of patterns (Stolzer, et al., 2011). Monitoring of the safety compliance in the aviation industry should be conducted with fealty to ensure that nothing is missed in its operation. Mistakes should not be tolerated, including tardiness and forgetfulness. Safety is such an important concept in the aviation industry since the faith of the flying public and their confidence also supports the economy of a country. Lack of faith in the aviation industry could result to economic dislocation since goods much more “life” will not be entrusted to the aviation industry. It should be instilled in the minds of the organization’s members that data are collected not to single out one recalcitrant behavior but it is gathered to ensure that lives are not lost due to misbehavior (Reason, 1997). Incident Monitoring Methodology Incident Monitoring methodology is the culling of incidents, this is separate and distinct from compliance monitoring since these involve safety issues or incidents that happened and have been reported despite the presence of policies and procedures including implements and materials that ensures safety. Incidents are events that should be recorded to determine the actual efficacy of the safety strategy of an organization. To illustrate such incident is when a proper inventory of tools after aircraft maintenance has been completed was not conducted (Dekker, 2007). In this instance, a tool was left behind in an area where vibration is present and where the vibration can carry any tool towards a part of the airplane where it could cause trouble such as the engine of the aircraft or the landing gear of the aircraft. The incident is failure to conduct an inventory of tools by the maintenance crews that lead to an event which resulted in the landing gear failure simply because a tool prevented the landing gear to place itself. The breakdown of the landing gear is considered an event that led to the incident caused by the failure to take an inventory. The entire event should be recorded and the incident leading to the event should also be considered as part of the investigation processes. However, events should be considered serious infractions that would warrant more attention and will require more investment on the part of the organization to ensure that it does not happen again. Events, at times, happen even without any accompanying incident that violates the policies and procedures. This type of events exposes if not causes the anomaly or deficiency to be exposed. When such event happens, it is proper to resolve the issue amicably with the solution at the foremost instead of assigning blame (Sweginnis & Wood, 2006). Continuous Improvement Continuous improvement is a process that would include problem solving as articulated above. Continuous improvement in order for it to be considered as such should have had a baseline defined that will determine the level of performance from whence an improvement shall be determined. Continuous improvement can be initiated through the discovery of an anomaly or weakness. The discovery may come from a recorded event, the reporting of an incident via the regular key performance review and last but not the least is an audit findings. All modes of discovery however lead to the definition of a problem that is necessary in order for it to be resolved (Krause, 1996). Continuous improvement is a necessary process that will indicate the level of maturity of the organization in terms of safety. An organization that claims that all of the required safety remediation strategy is complete and is in place is an organization that has not responded to new threats and vulnerabilities. What is worse is their lack of infrastructure that would enable them to determine if vulnerabilities exist in their area even after an event. Continuous improvement as the process name implies does not stop in the discovery and resolution of an event and its causes. Its primary impetus is to find faults and find vulnerabilities to ensure that the vulnerability will not be exposed after an event has taken place. Continuous improvement is a necessary process in determining the efficacy and effectiveness of the statistics gathered. Continuous improvement is the culmination of the importance of the statistics being gathered in the operation of the safety management system. PO #3 The student will be able across all subjects to use the fundamentals of human factors in all aspects of the aviation and aerospace industry, including unsafe acts, attitudes, errors, human behavior, and human limitations as they relate to the aviators adaption to the aviation environment to reach conclusions. Humans are not perfect thus it is incumbent upon the safety manager to ensure that unsafe practices are inculcated in the operation of its safety management system. The creation of policies and procedures that would discourage unsafe practice is a strategy that should be adopted to ensure that human frailties will not be an issue. However, the creation of policies and its enforcement including the punishment of any kind of infraction in relation to the policy is not enough. Continuous education on the part of the employees or members of the organization should be undertaken to ensure that proper knowledge and information is transmitted or transferred to the employees or members of the organization. Installing signage in strategic parts of the plant site or the office should provide constant reminder to old employees and notice to new employees if not visitors. Retraining for violators should also be considered to ensure that employees are well informed. Orientation to new employees will likewise help in the information dissemination. Continuous collection of data with regards to infractions and/or violations that indicates non-compliance or behavioral problems amongst the employees should be assessed to determine the best strategy to curve any deficiencies. Other metrics can be maintained and monitored thru the development of a Key Performance Indicator reserved for behavior modification of employees. Monitoring such key performance indicator may result to discipline amongst employees and quite possibly behavior modification. PO #4 The student will be able to develop and/or apply current aviation and industry related research methods, including problem identification, hypothesis formulation, and interpretation of findings to present as solutions in the investigation of an aviation/aerospace related topic. Continuous development is one of the hallmarks of an organization that is maturing with safety as its supreme onus in its operation. Continuous improvement will only be possible if a baseline is constructed after every review of metrics that show the efficacy of the implemented Safety Management System. Low compliance number in so far as compliance to the policies and procedures are concerned should be a trigger that would prompt changes to correct problems in compliance. The same is true of any safety related incident that has not been previously covered by any metrics. The process of problem solving that would include problem identification, hypothesis formulation and interpretation of findings in the hope of formulating solutions if not several permutations of it. The statistics gathered in the operation of the safety management system is the ideal data gathering tool that may be able to present the difficulties in compliance. The same statistics may reveal the root cause of the problem that precipitated the incident or event. Root Cause Analysis in the context of aviation safety will include the accident analysis and statistical analysis of metrics gathered if there is a safety management system in place. Building the model of the situation, circumstances and state of all the equipment, personnel and over all condition of every item that can or will contribute to the event should first be built from the facts gathered. Fact-finding should include performance metrics of equipment, personnel behavior and state of mind including the state of his health. The analysis of the created model will determine the exact cause of the event. The General Principles of Root Cause Analysis in the context of aviation safety includes the determination of the nature of the event, its size or magnitude, location, time and the resultant consequences. An examination of similar events in the past that conform to the Who, When, Where and How will help in the determination of the root cause of the event. If a remediation process has been conducted for previous similar events the failure of the corrective measure should be the primary consideration in the formulation of the solution. Determining the failure point and tracing the situation or conditions leading to the failure point will determine the exact cause of the event. The fault tree analysis will help in tracing the failure mode and effect analysis that in turn will lead to the discovery of the root cause or the primary event. It should be noted that accidents or major events is not caused by a single failure in the safety management system infrastructure. An Event is a series of failures that exacerbate or compound the effects of failure points. In formulating the corrective measure if not the final solution to a problem discovered thru an event a series of metrics should be modeled as part of the key performance indicator of the safety management system. The new metrics will not only determine the efficacy of the final solution but it will also monitor the progress and performance metrics of the final solution. It should be noted that metrics are gathered to ensure that potential problems or disasters are averted thru an analysis of a declining performance as revealed by the metrics or key performance indicator. Another aspect of continuous improvement is the treatment of failures in the key performance indicators that will transform or result to a corrective measure that is designed to maintain if not improve the key performance metrics of an operation, equipment or process. Similar method of determining the root cause of the failure followed by modeling the possible outcome of an unabated failure in the key performance indicator will help in determining possible corrective measures or solutions. A Safety Management System is designed and implemented to ensure that safety incidents are averted if not avoided. However, there are instances even in the most perfectly executed Safety Management System are rendered obsolete because of new technology. There are also instances when the Safety Management System becomes vulnerable due to the false sense of security of the employees that results to non-compliance. These incidents should be recorded as events that will be subject to the formulation of corrective measures. Bibliography Cianfrani, C. A., & West, J. (. (2010). Cracking the Case of ISO 9001:2008 for Service:. Milwaukee: American Society for Quality ISBN 978-0-87389-762-4. Clarke, S., & Cooper, C. L. (2003). Managing the Risk of Workplace Stress: Health and Safety Hazards. London: Routledge. Dekker, S. (2007). Just Culture: Balancing Safety and Accountablity (1st Edition ed.). New York: Ashgate. Federal Avation Administration. (2007). AC 150/5200-37 - Introduction to Safety Management Systems (SMS) for Airpoty Operators. Retrieved May 10, 2012, from http://www.faa.gov/airports/resources/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/document.current/documentNumber/150_5200-37 Humphreys, E. (2007). Implementing the ISO/IEC 27001 Information Security Management System Standard. Norwood, MA: Artech House Inc. Krause, S. (1996). Aircraft Safety: Accident Investigation, Analyses, & Application. New York: McGraw-Hill. Reason, J. T. (1997). Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents (1 st Edition ed.). New York: Ashgate. Stolzer, A. J., Halford, C. D., & Goglia, J. J. (2011). Implementing Safety Management Systems in Aviation (1 st Edition ed.). New York: Ashgate. Stolzer, A. J., Halford, C. D., & Goglia, J. J. (2010). Safety Management Systems in Aviation (Ashgate Studies in Human Factors for Flight Operations) (Reprint Edition ed.). New York: Ashgate; . Sweginnis, R., & Wood, R. (2006). Aircraft Accident Investigation (2nd Eidtion ed.). New York: Endeavor Books. Read More