What is a Safety Management System (SMS)?

SMS is the formal, top-down business approach to managing safety risk, which includes a systemic approach to managing
safety, including the necessary organizational structures, accountabilities, policies and procedures. (Order VS 8000.367)

Welcome to the Aviation Safety Organization's Safety Management System Website! This website was created as a public
resource for those seeking to learn more about SMS within the aviation industry and the FAA. This website will also
provide resources to individuals and aviation product/service provider organizations seeking to learn more about
implementing a SMS within their organization.

SMS introduces an evolutionary process in system safety and safety management. SMS is a structured process that
obligates organizations to manage safety with the same level of priority that other core business processes are managed.
This applies to both internal (FAA) and external aviation industry organizations (Operator & Product Service Provider).

This website will evolve; please continue to visit this site periodically for enhancements, updates and the most current
information about SMS, Aviation Safety and the interface with FAA.

Safety Management System

SMS Explained
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Safety Management System (SMS) is becoming a standard throughout the aviation industry worldwide. It is recognized by
the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and civil aviation
authorities (CAA) and product/service providers as the next step in the evolution of safety in aviation. SMS is also
becoming a standard for the management of safety beyond aviation. Similar management systems are used in the
management of other critical areas such as quality, occupational safety and health, security, environment, etc.

Safety Management Systems (SMSs) for product/service providers (certificate holders) and regulators will integrate
modern safety risk management and safety assurance concepts into repeatable, proactive systems. SMSs emphasize
safety management as a fundamental business process to be considered in the same manner as other aspects of
business management.

By recognizing the organization's role in accident prevention, SMSs provide to both certificate holders and FAA:
 A structured means of safety risk management decision making
 A means of demonstrating safety management capability before system failures occur
 Increased confidence in risk controls though structured safety assurance processes
 An effective interface for knowledge sharing between regulator and certificate holder
 A safety promotion framework to support a sound safety culture

Safety Management System

Basis
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Basis Key Point

SMS is all about safety decision-making throughout the

organization.
 Technology and system improvements have made great contributions to safety. However, part of being safe is about
attitudes and paying attention to what your surroundings are telling you. Whether through data or through the input of
employees and others, recognizing that many opportunities exist to stop an accident is the first step in moving from
reactive to predictive thinking.
Consider this following hypothetical scenario.

Safety begins from both the top down and the bottom up. Everyone from the receptionist, ramp worker, pilot, manager, and
FAA Inspector has a role to perform.

SMS is all about decision-making. Thus it has to be a decision-maker's tool, not a traditional safety program separate and
distinct from business and operational decision making.
Select the following links for additional information on:
 Evolution of Safety Management
 How Safety Management System (SMS) Addresses the Organization's Role in Safety
 SMS Support Builds as Benefits Become Apparent

Hypothetical Scenario Demonstrating the Need for SMS

A well-designed aircraft with a history of reliable service is being prepared for a charter flight. Employees tow the aircraft
from the hangar to the terminal. One employee sees wetness on the right tire as he unhooks the tow bar. However, he
does not give it attention, as he is very busy and has three other aircraft to move in the next 15 minutes.

At the same time, a safety inspector is walking through the hangar when she encounters a hydraulic oil spill on the hangar
floor. She notifies a janitor to clean up the slip hazard as she leaves. While cleaning the spill, the janitor wonders aloud
where the spill came from. Afterwards, both the inspector and the janitor continue with their respective jobs.

Meanwhile, the Chief Pilot assigns the charter flight to a new pilot with the company. While new to the company, the pilot is
well trained and prepared for the flight. He is also eager to do a good job and to impress the chief pilot. The chief tells him
that the passengers and the aircraft are waiting at the terminal, and the new pilot has to get over there right away to keep
the clients happy and on schedule.

The flight requires a little more fuel, so a fuel truck is called. While the aircraft is being filled, the fueler notices a small
puddle of reddish fluid under the right main landing gear. He sees the pilot walking out to the aircraft, but before he can say
anything, his supervisor calls and tells him to get right over to another aircraft. Recently, the fueler was criticized by his
supervisor for taking too long to finish his work, so he quickly jumps in his truck and drives off to the next job without saying
anything to the pilot.

The pilot, wanting to make a good impression on his passengers and the chief pilot, personally escorts them to the aircraft
and begins his preparation for the flight. One passenger asks him a brief question as he is on the right side of the aircraft.
In a moment of distraction, he does not bend down to inspect the right hand main landing gear.

During taxi, the pilot feels the aircraft is taking the bumps a little hard, but continues to the runway for take-off. Meanwhile,
up in the tower, an air traffic controller, who happens to like this particular model of aircraft, picks up her binoculars to take
a look at the taxiing aircraft. She notices a "wet spot" on the right main tire and radios the pilot. The pilot tells the controller
that he probably ran over a puddle and asks for his clearance.

At the destination airport, the pilot executes a perfect landing and applies the brakes. The leaking hydraulic fluid heats up
and ignites. The right main landing gear is engulfed in flames. The controller notifies the pilot and then calls the crash fire
rescue squad. The pilot calmly and proficiently manages the situation, successfully evacuating everyone from the aircraft
without injury. The pilot and passengers watch from a safe distance while a perfectly good aircraft burns to the ground.
"How could this have happened?" wonders the pilot.

Soon afterwards, the pilot is fired for failure to perform an adequate preflight inspection. Six months later, an aircraft is
being towed out of a hanger. One of the employees sees wetness on the left main landing gear tire as he unhooks the tow
bar...
Evolution of Safety Management

Safety Management Systems (SMSs) are the

product of a continuing evolution in aviation safety. Early aviation pioneers had little safety regulation, practical experience,
or engineering knowledge to guide them. Over time, careful regulation of aviation activities, operational experience, and
improvements in technology have contributed to significant gains in safety. In the next major phase of improvement to
safety, a focus on individual and crew performance or "Human Factors" further reduced accidents.

Each approach has led to significant gains in safety. However, even with these significant advances, we still have
opportunities to take preventative action against accidents. The question for the aviation community is, "what is the next
step?"

Careful analysis typically reveals multiple opportunities for actions that could have broken the chain of events and possibly
prevented an accident. These opportunities represent the organization's role in accident prevention. The term
"organizational accident" was developed to describe accidents that have causal factors related to organizational decisions
and attitudes. SMS is an approach to improving safety at the organizational level.

How Safety Management System (SMS) Addresses the

Organization's Role in Safety
SMS requires the organization itself to examine its operations and the decisions around those operations. SMS allows an
organization to adapt to change, increasing complexity, and limited resources. SMS will also promote the continuous
improvement of safety through specific methods to predict hazards from employee reports and data collection.
Organizations will then use this information to analyze, assess, and control risk. Part of the process will also include the
monitoring of controls and of the system itself for effectiveness. SMS will help organizations comply with existing
regulations while predicting the need for future action by sharing knowledge and information. Finally, SMS includes
requirements that will enhance the safety attitudes of an organization by changing the safety culture of leadership,
management, and employees. All these changes are designed to move the organization from reactive thinking to
predictive thinking.
Support Builds as Benefits Become Apparent
SMS has generated wide support in the aviation community as an effective approach that can deliver real safety and
financial benefits. SMSs integrate modern safety concepts into repeatable, proactive processes in a single system,
emphasizing safety management as a fundamental business process to be considered in the same manner as other
aspects of business management. The structure of SMS provides organizations greater insight into their operational
environment, generating process efficiencies and cost avoidance. Some participants have found that benefits begin to
materialize even in the early reactive stages of implementation. This continues as organizations evolve from reactive to
proactive and predictive phases.
 Safety Management System
Components
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Components Key Point

SMS is composed of four functional

components:

Safety Policy
Safety Risk Management
Safety Assurance
Safety Promotion

The Four SMS Functional Components

The essential idea of any SMS — be it a product/service provider's SMS or the SMS of the regulator responsible for safety
oversight — is to provide for a systematic approach to achieving acceptable levels of safety risk. SMS is comprised of four
functional components, including an intangible, but always critical, aspect called safety culture.

Read more about the SMS Components

1. Safety Policy
2. Safety Risk Management
3. Safety Assurance
4. Safety Promotion (Safety Culture)
Relationship between SRM and SA

The four components of a SMS are:

1. Safety Policy — Establishes senior management's commitment to continually improve safety; defines the
methods, processes, and organizational structure needed to meet safety goals
o Establishes management commitment to safety performance through SMS
o Establishes clear safety objectives and commitment to manage to those objectives
o Defines methods, processes, and organizational structure needed to meet safety goals
o Establishes transparency in management of safety
 Fully documented policy and processes
 Employee reporting and resolution system
 Accountability of management and employees
o Builds upon the processes and procedures that already exist
o Facilitates cross-organizational communication and cooperation
o Current SMS Policy Documents:
 Order 8000.369, FAA SMS Guidance
 Order VS 8000.367 AVS SMS
2. Safety Risk Management (SRM) — Determines the need for, and adequacy of, new or revised risk controls
based on the assessment of acceptable risk
o A formal process within the SMS composed of:
 Describing the system
 Identifying the hazards
 Assessing the risk
 Analyzing the risk
 Controlling the risk
o The SRM process may be embedded in the processes used to provide the product/service
3. Safety Assurance (SA) — Evaluates the continued effectiveness of implemented risk control strategies; supports
the identification of new hazards
o SMS process management functions that systematically provide confidence that organizational outputs
meet or exceed safety requirements
o AVS SMS has a dual safety assurance focus:
 AVS organizations
 Product/service providers
o Ensures compliance with SMS requirements and FAA orders, standards, policies, and directives
 Information Acquisition
 Audits and evaluations
 Employee reporting
 Data Analysis
 System Assessment
o Provides insight and analysis regarding methods/opportunities for improving safety and minimizing risk
o Existing assurance functions will continue to evaluate and improve service
4. Safety Promotion — Includes training, communication, and other actions to create a positive safety culture
within all levels of the workforce
o Safety promotion activities within the SMS framework include:
 Providing SMS training
 Advocating/strengthening a positive safety culture
 System and safety communication and awareness
 Matching competency requirements to system requirements
 Disseminating safety lessons learned
o Everyone has a role in promoting safety

Interfaces Between SRM and SA

Safety Risk Management (SRM) and Safety Assurance (SA) are the key processes of the SMS. They are also highly
interactive. The flowchart below may be useful to help visualize these components and their interactions. The interface
attribute concerns the input-output relationships between the activities in the processes. This is especially important where
interfaces between processes involve interactions between different departments, contractors, etc. Assessments of these
relationships should pay special attention to flow of authority, responsibility and communication, as well as procedures and
documentation.
 Safety Management System
Quality and Safety Management
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Quality and Safety Management Key Point

QMS and SMS – Common Methods and Techniques, but different

Objectives:
QMS Objective is Customer Satisfaction
SMS Objective is Aviation Safety Focused
Not required to have a QMS, but if do have one, it cannot conflict with
SMS

Following are a few extracts from an article written by Steve McNeeley; "QMS vs SMS
– Lessons Learned from Toyota"

"There seems to be an underlying misunderstanding between a quality management system and a safety management
system. You can have a quality product or service, as defined by the ISO standards, and still not have a safe product or
service."

"Part of the confusion stems from the adoption of some of the same types of tools and techniques used in quality
management, to manage the safety system. Trade association presidents, and regulators state that SMS is a businesslike
approach to managing safety; and this is correct. However, many people falsely assume this to mean that processes
designed to produce a quality product, (repeatedly doing the same thing, without variation) equates to the same thing as
repeatedly producing a safe product."

"It is how the tools and techniques are used, along with a focus on investigation of events, which makes the quality and
safety management systems different. The quality systems do not investigate incidents or accidents for risk assessment.
Quality systems audit output of a process only for variance, and makes adjustments. SMS investigates events, looking for
contributing factors from all influencing sources."

"One of the purposes of an SMS is to improve the safety performance, and therefore reduce the exposure to risk of having
an accident. It is not focused on the safety record per se. Quality systems are focused on continuous improvement also,
but through improving the production record rate. This is another source of confusion between the two management
system concepts; improving a safety record, is not the same as improving safety performance. There are many aviation
companies that have extremely good safety records, but are operating with risky behavior or inadequate organizational
structures, and have just not had an accident yet. A good safety record, just like a good quality record, does not guarantee
safety."
The above was extracted from an article written by; Steven C. McNeely, Manager, Safety Management Systems, Jet
Solutions, L.L.C, published by "Flight Safety Information February 12, 2010 No.034", Lessons Learned from Toyota –
2010-QMS vs SMS (PDF).

The Relationship between Quality and Safety in AVS

A Quality Management System (QMS) is a means of ensuring that an organization is meeting requirements and
continuously improving its processes. In AVS, our QMS is focused on safety. We have established a quality policy,
objectives, QMS process documents and measures that focus on safety. We meet our safety requirements by making sure
we meet the requirements of our orders, QMS documents and other policy documents.

The AVS QMS is the foundation for the AVS SMS. The QMS has already established many of the processes that the SMS
requires, such as management review, analysis of data, corrective action, and internal audit. Some improvements to QMS
processes are needed to fully meet SMS requirements. Examples include establishing processes to better identify new
hazards and establishing processes to measure the effectiveness of safety risk controls. These improvements will be
developed during the SMS implementation effort over the next several years.

Safety management and quality management are highly complementary and work closely together to achieve the overall
safety goals of AVS. SMS is what we do; QMS is how we do it.
 Safety Management System
Regulation and SMS
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What's New: SMS NRPM for 14 CFR Part 121
The SMS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for 14 CFR Part 121 Certificate Holders was posted November 5, 2010.
It can be found at regulations.gov – Docket FAA-2009-0671. In addition to the NPRM, Industry guidance was published as
part of the docket packet, as was guidance for FAA Inspectors. In addition to the traditional SMS NPRM (PDF), the packet
consists of:
 AC 120-92NPRM (PDF)
 SMS_NPRM 8900_Volume 10_Chapter X_SMS (PDF)

The Proposed 14 CFR Part 5, outlined in the SMS NPRM is aligned very closely with the current AC 120-92A (dated Aug
2010), which is in alignment with ICAO SMS Framework requirements. The voluntary development guidance documents
have been evolving as part of the experience gained through the SMS Voluntary Pilot Projects that have been a joint effort
between the FAA and Industry since 2007.
A concise version of just the Proposed 14 CFR Part 5 Regulatory (PDF), SMS NPRM text is provided from this link.

The comment period was extended to March 7, 2011, after which every comment received will be evaluated by the
Aviation Rulemaking Committee, and the FAA formal rulemaking process followed.
The NPRM Docket Packet, inclusive of the associated documents, as well as Public Comments can be viewed from
at Docket FAA-2009-0671.

The FAA is doing SMS because it is the right thing to do. SMS applies modern management methods to the processes
involved in safety decision-making. It expands on the basic system safety initiative that was started by FAA over a decade
ago. SMS provides a formal management framework that can serve as a valuable interface between regulator and service
provider. The FAA began the move to system safety and then to SMS before the ICAO requirement, which exists because
of growing realization around the world of the need to add this new approach to our safety strategy. In fact, we, as
"Member States" are requiring ICAO to incorporate SMS requirements because of the safety benefits.
Now that the ICAO SMS Requirements have been formalized, FAA is engaged in an SMS rulemaking effort. The FAA is
engaged in an SMS rulemaking effort corresponding to changes made in ICAO Annex 6 as well as FAA internal system
safety objectives. While FAA is following its formal rulemaking protocol, (as codified in the Aviation Rulemaking Committee
Charter, FAA Order 1110.152, FAA is conducting SMS Pilot Projects for external SMSs. (See the SMS Pilot Projects
section for more details.)

While FAA encourages each aviation product/service provider to develop and implement an SMS, these systems in no
way substitute for regulatory compliance of other certificate requirements, where applicable.
 Safety Management System
Misconceptions
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While the principles of SMS are not new, there are many misunderstandings about SMS, especially in distinguishing safety
management systems for product/service providers and regulators.

Please see below to help dispel some of these myths.

What are the most common misconceptions about SMS for product/service providers?
What are the most common misconceptions about SMS for regulators?

What are the most common misconceptions about SMS for service
providers?
SMS is not just a new "buzzword" to replace "system safety." To the contrary, SMS applies system safety concepts
and adds formal system safety management concepts. It creates an avenue for a more effective interface between
product/service providers and their oversight organizations. SMS is, thus, the next logical step in system safety evolution.
SMS will not require a separate safety department. While larger organizations may have specialist personnel such as a
Director of Safety, safety and quality auditors and analysts, investigators, etc., in the same manner that they may now
employ accountants, attorneys, or other specialists in financial and business management, a Safety Management System
is a set of management practices rather than a requirement for an additional organizational "layer" or "stovepipe." SMS
focuses on functional expectations by operational departments; therefore resource allocation should be appropriate for the
size of the organization. SMS Pilot Project Participants have found that SMS resources are critical to successfully
champion SMS development and implementation.
SMS will not require a Quality Management System (QMS); See the discussion on Quality and Safety Management for
differentiation of the two concepts and applications. If an organization has a QMS, it should not conflict with the SMS.
SMS will not require an ASAP (Aviation Safety Action Program); Voluntary Employee Reporting programs are a
requirement for an SMS, but no specific program is specified.

What are the most common misconceptions about SMS for

regulators?
An SMS does not rescind our responsibility as regulator. While we feel that a positive, proactive relationship with
product/service providers is preferable to an adversarial, legalistic stance, we must and will maintain our position of
providing effective safety oversight. What an SMS will give us in this area is a clear set of requirements for product/service
providers to demonstrate their safety management capability. However, the importance of meeting technical standards will
still be emphasized and the FAA will continue to validate product/service providers' attainment of them.
An SMS is not a means of outsourcing FAA work or of diminishing the status of FAA Technical Workforce. In an
increasingly large and complex aviation system, the FAA will always need inspectors, engineers, flight test pilots, and other
technical employees. We do not envision a scenario where either numbers or required expertise of the technical workforce
can be decreased without decreasing oversight effectiveness. What SMS will give us is a framework to work with industry
to increase safety management effectiveness and to allow FAA to better prioritize resources. Moreover, if anything,
competencies required in the areas of safety analysis, system evaluation, and risk assessment will elevate inspector
knowledge and skill needs. This will also make it incumbent on the agency to provide the necessary training to upgrade the
skills of our workforce.
SMS is not interchangeable with FAA Oversight Systems. Both oversight systems and product/service providers'
SMSs will be part of FAA's comprehensive safety management approach. Oversight systems are the FAA's means of
meeting our responsibility for safety assurance of the air transportation system. On the other hand, the operator's SMS will
be a formal means for product/service providers to demonstrate their management capability to meet their statutory
obligation to operate, "at the highest level of safety in the public interest." While both oversight systems and
 product/service provider SMSs will be highly complementary and interactive, they are both separate and essential
components of the FAA safety management strategy.

Safety Management System

SMS Pilot Projects Guidance
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If you are Airport (Update: Airports is not Airline/Air Operator; Design or Production Approval
an... currently accepting new MRO/Repair Station; Flight Holder Referred to as
airports into their pilot projects) Training (Service Provider) "Manufacturer"
Use this AC 150/5200-37: Introduction to AC 120-92A: SMS for Developmental Guidance
guidance... SMS for Airport Operators Aviation Service Providers (PDF) for Design and Manufacturing
SMS Implementation SMS Framework (PDF)
Guide (PDF) Design and
SMS Assurance Manufacturing SMS Pilot Project
Guide (PDF) Guide(PDF)
Developmental
Guidebook (coming)
Use these AC 150/5200-37: Introduction to Preliminary Gap Design and Manufacturing SMS
tools... SMS for Airport Operators Analysis Tool (Operator (MS Gap Analysis Tool (MS Excel)
Excel), MRO (MS Excel))
Assurance Guide(PDF)
Detailed Gap Analysis
(Operator(MS Excel), MRO (MS
Excel))

See this Airports SMS Pilot Studies Voluntary SMS Implementation Voluntary SMS Implementation
link... Guidance for your Aviation Guidance for Design and
Industry Type Manufacturing Organizations
See this N/A Flight Standards' Introduction to Flight Standards' Introduction to
video... SMS(WMV) SMS(WMV) * See note below.
Contact this Airports SMS Program Manager Coordinator AFS SMS Program AIR SMS Design and Analysis
office... (AAS-300) Office Branch

Keri Lyn Spencer Roger Roberts Linda Navarro

(202) 267-8972 (703) 661-0565 Manager, Safety Management
Design and Analysis Branch, AIR-
Email Email 150
(202) 267-7297

Mike Reinert
Section Manager, Safety
Management Design and Analysis
Branch, AIR-150
(405) 954-4815

Jeff Duven
MSMS Team Lead
(425) 227-1231

Kurt Krumlauf
MSMS Pilot Project Lead
(562) 627-5285
If you are Airport (Update: Airports is not Airline/Air Operator; Design or Production Approval
an... currently accepting new MRO/Repair Station; Flight Holder Referred to as
airports into their pilot projects) Training (Service Provider) "Manufacturer"

Email

Feedback Form (PDF) for

companies that are not
participating in the MSMS Pilot
Project.
* Note: The Flight Standards video introduces SMS principles for service providers; however, the video is also beneficial in
obtaining a general understanding of SMS principles that may be applied in a Design and Manufacturing SMS.
 Safety Management System
Flight Standards Pilot Project Process
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Basis of Implementation. Implementation of SMS in the SMS Pilot Projects is based upon meeting the expectations for a
robust SMS as outlined in the SMS Framework document (PDF). This document is supported by the SMS Implementation
Guide (PDF).

Phased Implementation. Initial SMS implementation strategy follows a four phased process similar to that outlined in the
ICAO Safety Management Manual (SMM – ICAO doc. 9859). ICAO, as well as other governments that are in the process
of implementing SMS requirements favors a phased implementation process. The phases of implementation are arranged
in four levels of implementation "maturity", similar to that developed as the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) by the
Software Engineering Institute of Carnegie-Mellon University. This technique is employed by the U.K. Health and Safety
Executive (HSE – equivalent to U.S. OSHA) as a safety culture maturity model.
a. Level Zero: Orientation & Commitment is not so much a level as a status. It indicates that the Aviation
Product/Service Provider has not started formal SMS development or implementation and includes the time period
between an Aviation Product/Service Provider's first requests for information from the FAA on SMS implementation and
when they commit to implementing an SMS. Level zero is a time for the Aviation Product/Service Provider to gather
information, evaluate corporate goals and objectives and determine the viability of committing resources to an SMS
implementation effort.
b. Level One: Planning and Organization. Level 1 begins when an Aviation Product/Service Provider's Top
Management commits to providing the resources necessary for full implementation of SMS throughout the organization
(This presupposes a parallel commitment from the Certificate Management Team). Two principal activities make up level
one:
1. Gap Analysis: The first step in developing an SMS is for the organization to analyze its existing
programs, systems, and activities with respect to the SMS functional expectations found in the SMS Framework. This
analysis is a process and is called a "gap analysis," the "gaps" being those elements in the SMS Framework that are not
already being performed by the Aviation Service Provider.
2. Implementation Plan: Once the gap analysis has been performed, an Implementation Plan is prepared.
The Implementation Plan is simply a "road map" describing how the Aviation Service Provider intends to close the existing
gaps by meeting the objectives and expectations in the SMS Framework.
c. Level Two: Reactive Process, Basic Risk Management. At this level, the Aviation Service Provider develops and
implements a basic Safety Risk Management process. Information acquisition, processing, and analysis functions are
implemented and a tracking system for risk control and corrective actions are established. At this phase, the Aviation
Service Provider develops an awareness of hazards and responds with appropriate systematic application of preventative
or corrective actions. This allows the organization to address problems as they occur and develop appropriate remedial
 action. For this reason, this level is termed "reactive." While this is not the final objective of an SMS, it is an important step
in the evolution of safety management capabilities.
d. Level Three: Proactive Processes, Looking Ahead. (Full-Up, Functioning SMS) Component 2.0 B) 2) a), of the
SMS Framework expects safety risk management (SRM) to be applied to initial design of systems, processes,
organizations, and products, development of operational procedures, and planned changes to operational processes. The
activities involved in the SRM process involve careful analysis of systems and tasks involved; identification of potential
hazards in these functions, and development of risk controls. The risk management process developed at level two is used
to analyze, document, and track these activities. Because the organization is now using the processes to look ahead, this
level is termed "proactive." At this level, however, these proactive processes have been implemented but their
performance has not yet been proven.
e. Level Four: Continuous Improvement, Continued Assurance. The final level of SMS maturity is the continuous
improvement level. Processes have been in place and their performance and effectiveness have been verified. The
complete Safety Assurance process, including continuous monitoring and the remaining features of the other SRM and SA
processes are functioning. A major objective of a successful SMS is to attain and maintain this continuous improvement
status for the life of the organization.
 Safety Management System
SMS Pilot Projects Benefits
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SMS Pilot Projects offer industry participants and FAA Certificate Management Teams broad experience in development of
an SMS, input to developmental guidance, and an opportunity to share best practices and lessons learned. Pilot Project
studies are being conducted to track and evaluate multiple data-point results, addressing questions such as:
 What is a realistic time-line for a phased implementation of an SMS?
 What are the most challenging and easiest areas to implement?
 What guidance is critical vs. just helpful?
 What are the pros and cons of implementing an SMS in a particular operational department first vs. implementing
across an entire company's operational sphere simultaneously?

While FAA encourages each aviation product/service provider to develop and implement a SMS, these systems in no way
substitute for regulatory compliance of other certificate requirements, where applicable.
The SMS Pilot Projects are using published guidance material. The purpose of the pilot projects is primarily to:
 Develop implementation strategies
 Develop oversight interfaces
 Gain experience for the FAA and Product/Service Providers

Significant benefits by individual participants have been experienced in the form of process efficiencies, cost avoidances
and enhanced safety. These benefits, as well as Lessons Learned and Best Practices are shared at the semi-annual SMS
Focus Group (SMSFG) meetings, attended by Flight Standards Pilot Project participants. Another observed benefit has
been an improved professional relationship between FAA Certificate Management Teams and Certificate Holders.

A significant benefit is that the SMS offers a structured, formalized way for safety decision-making. The four SMS
Components all boil down to making sound, informed safety decisions and acting on them:
Policy. The SMS gives decision makers a structured framework to define objectives, assign accountability and, allocate
resources.
Safety Risk Management. The SMS gives the decision maker a process to make decisions about hazards and risk by
understanding their systems and operational environments, identifying hazardous conditions, and, developing and
implementing risk controls.
Safety Assurance. The SMS also provides decision makers with a process to gain confidence in those risk controls by
monitoring and measuring safety performance and continuously improving the level of safety performance.
Safety Promotion. SMS gives the decision maker a means of communicating clearly with the organization's personnel
and ensuring that they are trained to perform their roles in the safety system.