With the continuous growth of the aviation industry, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is making continuous efforts to enhance safety standards across the industry. The FAA is taking a holistic approach to improve the safety standards of all the entities within the aviation industry. As the next step, the FAA has proposed a new rule which is currently under review at the White House. It will directly affect more than Part 135 operators and aircraft manufacturers across the US.

The Proposed Rule

At the end of February, a Safety Management System (SMS) rule proposed by the FAA started its review process at the White House. Under this rule, many different types of organizations like charters, commuters, air tour operators, and aircraft manufacturers will have to install a Safety Management System. The proposed rule requires the implementation of the SMS with four must-have components - safety reporting, safety assurance, safety risk management, and safety promotion, and an ability to record and maintain all documentation that will be generated through this system. It is believed that the final rule will be published this summer by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the department of the white house in charge of the review process, once the review process is completed.

What is an SMS?

The FAA defines SMS as a formal, top-down, organization-wide approach to managing risks and guaranteeing the effectiveness of safety risk controls. There are four components to an SMS:

• Safety Reporting: The main purpose of this component is to establish a reporting system for the submission of safety reports related to hazards and incidents. The major benefit this module provides is the improvement in airport safety through early detection and resolution of safety concerns.
• Safety Assurance: The purpose of this component is that audits, evaluations, inspections, and investigations are conducted on a regular basis to identify opportunities to improve safety.
• Safety Risk Management: The purpose of this component is to identify hazards and assess the risks associated with a hazard. The identification and assessment directly lead to the establishment of risk control to mitigate the identified hazard.
• Safety Promotion: The main objective of this component is to establish a culture of safety throughout an organization. The organization should be able to promote a positive safety culture by increasing awareness of the safety policy of the organization, engaging with personnel at all levels of the organization, and sharing the safety lessons learned throughout the organization.

Benefits of an SMS

The implementation of an SMS will bring the following benefits to charters, commuters, air tour operators, and aircraft manufacturers:

• SMS will directly lead to a reduction in accidents and incidents for Part 135’s. This will be possible as SMS will allow the establishment of a safer operating environment where the personnel in an organization will become more alert and responsive to potential hazards.
• SMS will improve risk management for Part 135 and aircraft manufacturers as it will allow them to identify, assess, and mitigate risks.
• Through an SMS the safety procedures will be streamlined, which will improve operational efficiency without any compromises being made to the safety standards.
• SMS will allow the collection and analysis of data related to safety. This will provide insights to Part 135 and aircraft manufacturers to make informed decisions for the betterment of their organization.
• The implementation of an SMS in the long term will provide cost savings. Even though there is an initial investment involved over time it will reduce costs by preventing accidents and reducing insurance prices, aircraft downtime, and legal fees.

ProDIGIQ’s SMS Solution: ProSafeT

ProDIGIQ has an out-of-the-box safety management solution, named ProSafeT, for charters, commuters, air tour operators, and aircraft manufacturers to implement SMS. ProSafeT was built by the aviation industry for the aviation industry and was developed as part of a public-private partnership with the FAA and a consortium of airlines. Furthermore, ProSafeT will not become archaic as we release multiple updates every year to enhance system functionality, improve user experience, and accommodate changes to the regulatory framework, which makes our system unique in keeping pace with an organization's current and future needs.

Conclusion

Safety is the most important aspect of the aviation industry. The implementation of SMS for Part 135 and aircraft manufacturers will overall improve the safety standards for the industry. ProDIGIQ provides a viable long-term SMS solution that will enhance risk management, streamline safety procedures, improve operational efficiency, provide cost savings, and enhance data analysis. With the expected publication date for the proposal in the summer there is a very limited time before SMS becomes mandatory for Part 135 and aircraft manufacturers.