Safety Management Systems (SMS)

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requires that all aerodromes have a Safety
Management System (SMS) in place within their organizations. This section of the Global Safety
Network provides key information on developing and implementing an SMS at an aerodrome.

An SMS is made up of five main parts; SMS Elements, SMS Development, SMS Implementation, Risk
Assessments, SMS Resources LEAD, PLAN, DO, CHECK, REVIEW.
The model shown below gives an overview of a Safety Management System (SMS) - use the
navigation at the end of the page to find more information on specific sections of the SMS:

SMS Elements:
Airport Safety Committee
An Airport Safety Committee should be hosted by the aerodrome periodically to review safety in the
airside areas. The Committee should consist of different aerodrome divisions, airlines, handling
agents, aircraft catering companies, aircraft cleaning companies, refuelling companies, ATC,
government agencies, emergency response services ideally all large organisations that operate in
airside areas.
The Terms of Reference for an Airport Safety Committee should include:

Promotion of safety awareness through training, licensing and the publication of safety
bulletins
Establishment and discussion of local safety procedures and guidelines
Accident, incident and near-miss reporting and investigation, subsequent data analysis and
dissemination of trends, common causes etc

Generation and evaluation of safety suggestions

Preparation of regular joint safety campaigns

Discussion of forthcoming airside works programme

The meeting should be held in a relaxed and open atmosphere where discussion and sharing are
promoted so as to maximise the learning and development of ideas to improve safety. It is suggested

meetings are held either monthly or quarterly. Depending upon the size of operation of the aerodrome,
the functions responsible for safety could be covered under an Airport Safety Committee or be
separated into a Runway Safety Team and an Apron Safety Committee.
Aerodrome Safety Management Systems:
SMS Development

A basic SMS has four key elements - PLAN, DO, CHECK, REVIEW. This section gives an overview
of each section of an SMS.
PLAN for Airport Safety Get organised

Understand existing legislative, best industry practice and company requirements Identify
safety objectives

Establish contingency plans and business recovery plans

Confirm airside procedures are documented and up to date for all activities

Check all risk assessments are complete next back

DO Airport Safety

Initial training and testing

Competencies and refresher training processes in place

Infrastructure and equipment checks being carried out

Staff meetings and consultation processes talk about safety

Reporting of all accidents, incidents and near-misses in place

Investigation and trend analysis of accidents, incidents and near-misses takes place

Deficiency reporting process in place

Behavioural reporting in place

Record keeping next back :

CHECK Airport Safety

Senior management airside audits or inspections occur regularly

Audits of trainers and trainees occur including any third parties

Different levels of checks take place for all airside areas

Risk assessments validation Identify deficiency trends and accident, incident and near-miss
trends

Measure safety performance next back

REVIEW Airport Safety

Identify root causes of accidents, incidents and near-misses

Ensure preventative actions are taken and documented

Share safety information with airside community

Work with others to identify and understand best industry practice

Understand regulators future requirements in good time

Establish future safety objectives

Aerodrome Safety Management Systems:
Implementation
The responsibility for the implementation of an SMS lies with all line managers and employees.
Organisations may also have a specifically designated safety manager who monitors and assists in
the implementation and audits compliance.
The successful implementation of an SMS at an aerodrome will result in the suitable and adequate
management and delivery of safety to both people and aircraft in a shared workplace environment.
Once implemented, an SMS will ensure legal compliance; allow aerodromes to retain their operating
licence; improve business performance as well as safety levels and is considered proactive not
reactive.
Personnel should be adequately trained in all tasks they can reasonably be expected to carry out and
should remain proficient at these tasks. Staff should demonstrate their continuing ability to carry out
the tasks required of them and this should be recorded for the term of employment by the organisation
Aerodrome Safety Management Systems:
Risk Assessments
Risk assessments allow aerodrome operators to develop an objective assessment of the risk involved
with a specific activity. Risk assessments should be conducted for every task to be carried out by staff
and can also be carried out on a higher level of the operational business, for example concerning bird
strikes or runway incursions. The 5 simple steps to conducting a risk assessment are:

1.

Identify the hazards

2.
3.

Decide who may be harmed and how

Evaluate the risks and decide whether the existing precautions are adequate or whether more
should be done

4.

Record the findings

5.

Review the assessment and revise if necessary

The hazards need to be identified and the probability of them occurring should be tabulated in a grid
an example of a risk assessment grid is shown below:

Level 1 Green No further action required beyond measures currently in place.

Level 2 Amber The current residual risk requires a review of available options and possible action.
Level 3 Red The current residual risk requires further action to reduce it.
Once the grid has been completed, the hazards with highest probability and severe consequences
(located in the red squares) can easily be identified. These are generally the ones that need to be
addressed first. The next step is to develop a plan for remedial action to eliminate or reduce the risk.
In some cases, when there is already a solution in place, the development of additional control
measures can be the best way to reduce and manage the risk.
Aerodrome Safety Management Systems:
Resources
There are many resources for information on Safety Management Systems. Several airports have
developed SMS manuals that can be provided to other airports at a small cost, otherwise ICAO has
developed a Safety Management Systems Manual that can be purchased from the ICAO website.
ACI also provides information on SMS in its Airside Safety Handbook that is available for purchase
from the ACI Publications Department.
For more information please contact dgamper@aci.aero.

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