Safety Systems (SMS) - SM4 Safety Articles & Resources
Do You Think You’re Ready? An Inside Look at Gaining the Most Benefit From an Audit
After a recent independent operational safety audit conducted on a high-profile flight department, the director of aviation commented that he and his team learned more about their “books” and contents…
Evaluating Safety When Selecting Air Charters
“When travelers arrange an on-demand charter flight, they do so believing the flight will be safe. They implicitly trust that FAA standards, the charter company Standard Operating Procedures, and the…
What is the Best SMS Tool? – YOU ARE!
Do you remember the old U.S. Army recruiting posters depicting “Uncle Sam” and the slogan, “I Want You”? It might be a throwback to a challenging time when our nation…
Eliminating Confusion within your SMS – SPIs, SPTs vs KPIs
For those operators within IBAC’s IS-BAO and IS-BAH programs who are voluntarily developing and implementing a Safety Management System (SMS) to move above mere regulatory requirements, IBAC standard enhancements over…
After all the Industry Hyperbole, Conferences, and Congressional Hearings—Is Business Aviation Any Closer to Reliability In Aircraft Tracking?
GPS in every cockpit. Drones delivering pizza. Autonomous gliders trained to find thermals on their own. With the current state of aviation technology, surely a chief pilot sitting in the…
Achieving Simplicity in a Complex World of Safety
Effective leaders deliver simplicity in response to complexity. (Harter, 2006, p. 77) Although anyone can be a leader in any given context (expert, coach, etc.), the head of the organization…
Maximizing the Benefit: Applying Risk Management Tools to Achieve Operational Excellence
One of the benefits of an effective, enterprise-wide risk management program is the opportunity to break down pre-existing barriers between and within departments. Yes, many organizations’ administrative and technical departments…
Emotional Buy-In to Your Emergency Response Program
On an intellectual level, having a comprehensive Emergency Response Program makes sense. That is why I have seen countless Program owners (Aviation Directors, Safety Managers and the like) attempt to…
Focused IEP for Small Operators
Internal control dates back to when operational complexity required one person to have custody of assets belonging to others (Wilson, Wells, Little, & Ross, 2014, p. 85). So when the…
