insights from past events, understandings of hazards it may encounter, and predictive identifications of future problems. Key characteristics of SMS: • Enterprise-wide applicability: SMS aligns attitudes about safety across senior executives, managers, and employees. Each level of an organization has specific duties and accountabilities under an SMS program. • Repeatable and proactive practices: By integrating risk management and safety assurance into a unified framework, organizations can continuously examine operations and decisions to predict future risks. This in turn increases confidence in risk controls used for safety assurance. • Business processes integrated with safety: Managing human and employee resources and producing products is shaped and viewed through the lens of safety. The FAA recognizes four major components of SMS.132 These have become key features across regulatory efforts for Part 121 air carriers, airports, manufacturers, and voluntary programs for industry. Safety Policy: Fully documented methods, processes, and organizational structures supported by senior management. This includes values and commitments to safety recognized by the organization. Safety Risk Management (SRM): A formal process whereby an organization assesses risk controls, identifies hazards, and revises these controls on a regular basis. These may be embedded in the production and delivery of goods and services. Safety Assurance: Continuous evaluation of the effectiveness of risk control strategies, compliance with FAA requirements, and collecting and analyzing data for opportunities to improve safety and minimize risk. Safety Promotion: Training, communication, and organizational support of a positive and proactive safety culture. Promotes everyone’s role in safety.
4.2 DOT’s Approach to Drive Adoption of SMS The Department of Transportation uses many of the same voluntary approaches and resources described in the preceding section on safety culture to promote adoption of SMS. The DOT and its components consistently treat safety culture and SMS proverbially as two sides of the same coin. Therefore, the balance of this section will focus on FAA mandates and initiatives for aviation.
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