Organization and consistency is a large part of having a well-oiled and functional Safety Management System in an airport. Without a consolidated way to gather and organize information, you are left with stacks of paper across many places – making it difficult to solve and prevent safety issues.
This is an issue easily solved by using technology as a solution to the cluttered, disorganized and potentially wasteful systems that rely on paper.
Dallas FW Airport’s Thoughts & Discoveries during their Pilot Study:
In the FAA’s report on the Airport SMS Pilot Study, Dallas/Fort Worth Airport (DFW) stated that SMS software integration early in the process is the key to success. They developed their own software in-house, and allowed the fields to be filled by staff and management.
DFW also had purchased laptops for field reporting, allowing reporters to include location information using the airport’s GIS technology.
Before the software approach to SMS, DFW reported incidents on paper and in loose forms as “free text” in a database – leading to documentation being stored in a varied of places. The old method was a “cumbersome, labor-intensive, and inconsistent reporting system” according to Julie Schreacke in the FAA’s Pilot Study November 2011 Roundtable Meeting Study.
Advantages of using software for SMS:
Using software as an SMS solution not only allows an airport to cleanly, efficiently and consistently having things reported and organized, but it turns SMS into a green and paperless process.
Having everything streamlined and reported in real time makes sure that issues can be taken care of as soon as possible, lessening the dangers and risks associated with untended problems.
ProDIGIQ’s Airport Safety Management System:
ProDIGIQ’s software solution to the problem, ProSMS, brings together SMS and other safety necessities, systems and modules in airport operations under a single, customizable sign-in portal. This allows easy gathering of information and global visibility across everybody involved in SMS at the airports with the product in action.
ProSMS has various modules, with access split and approved in whatever fashion is best for the airport. Events related to hazards, incidents, accidents and citations can be submitted for monitoring and recording.
There is an Investigation Module designed to allow personnel to record findings and discuss them by adding notes, images and more.
This collection of modules can be assigned to the various employees and staff that would need to access it, allowing everybody to be able to do their part without being confused by extra information that isn’t pertinent to their duties.
In the end, organized software systems are the best way to start and continue the process of implementing a SMS at an airport. Everything is kept in a central database; the information is visualized in many ways; employees and staff get access to only what they need; and it’s a great way to go green and get rid of lots of paper clutter.
