SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS GAP ANALYSIS SURVEY FOR U.S. AIRPORTS

Hamid Shirazi

Richard Speir

Manuel Ayres

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OUTLINE

Background Project Objective Safety Management Systems Pillars and Elements of SMS Airport Survey and Questionnaire Survey Responses and Results Interview Surveys and Findings

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BACKGROUND Close to 80% of aircraft accidents occur at or in the

vicinity of the airport; $2-4 billion per year in ramp accidents; $3 billion per year in birdstrikes

ICAO has mandated SMS for international airports since 2005

FAA has implemented 2 pilot SMS programs and is getting ready to release an NPRM on airport SMS

Survey was part of ACRP 4-05 project: Guidebook for Airport Safety Management System

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ACRP Report 1 – Vol 2: Guidebook

Guidebook for planning and implementation of Airport Safety Management Systems (ASMS) applicable to Part 139 airports

Objective, simple to understand and practical reference to help airport operators develop and implement their SMS.

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SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FAA AC 150/5200-37:

“A formal, top-down business-like approach to managing safety risk which includes systematic procedures, practices, and policies for the management of the safety.”

SMS is a tool to translate an organization’s concerns about safety into effective actions to mitigate hazards.

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PILLARS and ELEMENTS of SMS

Policies & Objectives• Policy Statement• Safety Objectives• SMS Organization• Documentation• Coordination of Emergency Planning

Policies & Objectives• Policy Statement• Safety Objectives• SMS Organization• Documentation• Coordination of Emergency Planning

Safety Risk Management• SRM Process• Reporting System• Internal Safety Investigation• Improving SOPs• Impact of Changes

Safety Risk Management• SRM Process• Reporting System• Internal Safety Investigation• Improving SOPs• Impact of Changes

Safety Assurance• Performance Monitoring• SMS Assessment• Internal Safety Assessment• Management Review

Safety Assurance• Performance Monitoring• SMS Assessment• Internal Safety Assessment• Management Review

Safety Promotion• Training and Education• Safety Communication• Continuous Improvement

Safety Promotion• Training and Education• Safety Communication• Continuous Improvement

SMS & Safety Culture Environment

SMS

Policies & Objectives• Policy Statement• Safety Objectives• SMS Organization• Documentation• Coordination of Emergency Planning

Policies & Objectives• Policy Statement• Safety Objectives• SMS Organization• Documentation• Coordination of Emergency Planning

Safety Risk Management• SRM Process• Reporting System• Internal Safety Investigation• Improving SOPs• Impact of Changes

Safety Risk Management• SRM Process• Reporting System• Internal Safety Investigation• Improving SOPs• Impact of Changes

Safety Assurance• Performance Monitoring• SMS Assessment• Internal Safety Assessment• Management Review

Safety Assurance• Performance Monitoring• SMS Assessment• Internal Safety Assessment• Management Review

Safety Promotion• Training and Education• Safety Communication• Continuous Improvement

Safety Promotion• Training and Education• Safety Communication• Continuous Improvement

SMS & Safety Culture Environment

SMS

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ACRP 4-05 – Airport Survey Task Assessed how airports deal with safety issues and

identified SMS elements that are in place Prepared a questionnaire and conducted an airport

survey with Part 139 airports Complemented survey with interview with airports

participating in 1st Pilot Program on SMS Obtained responses, prepared a statistical summary

and conducted a general Gap Analysis Gap Analysis: identification of existing safety pillars

compared with SMS program needs

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AIRPORT SURVEY Task

Survey comprised 50 questions Web-based Hard copies

Questionnaire submitted to more than 550 Part 139 airports

Intent was to solicit ample responses from a cross section of airport types and various airport staff positions within each organization

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Sample Questions from SurveyMy Airport’s policy clearly addresses management’s approach to airside safety. 1 2 3 4 5 N/A

There is a standard process to identify airside safety hazards and evaluate the risks. 1 2 3 4 5 N/A

Safety Risk Management

Safety Policy and Objectives

Historical and current airside safety trends are routinely shared with all staff. 1 2 3 4 5 N/A

Safety Assurance

My co-workers are involved in activities that promote airside safety. 1 2 3 4 5 N/A

Safety Promotion

Emergency response exercises are conducted and reviewed periodically. 1 2 3 4 5 N/A

Emergency Response Plan

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SURVEY RESPONSES 101 valid surveys in 2 months

about 20% of Part 139 certified airports

37 states were represented

88% of responders were in Airport Operations 44% were upper management (VP or Director) 41% were middle managers (Deputy or Manager)

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Airport Responses: Hub Type

Large Medium Small Other0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

50% 49%

17% 15%

Airport Category

Air

po

rt R

esp

on

ses

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Airport Responses: Class Category

Class I Class II Class III Class IV0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80 74

12

3

12

Airport Category

Air

po

rt R

esp

on

ses

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Airport Responses: FAA Regions

Alaska

Northw

est Mounta

in

Weste

rn P

acific

Gre

at Lakes

Central

Southw

est

Southern

Eastern

New E

ngland

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

0%

17%14%

21%

27%

21%23%

12%

8%

FAA REGION

% R

ES

PO

ND

ING

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Surveys Analysis Average of scores for safety pillars were

obtained based on their elements Results from airports were grouped based on

airport sizeHub airports: Large, Medium and SmallNon-hub airports (other): GA, reliever

Results from airports were grouped based on airport classClass I to Class IV

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Average Scores by SMS Pillars

4.07 4.06

3.87

4

4.53

3.4

3.6

3.8

4

4.2

4.4

4.6

Policy andObjectives

RiskManagement

Assurance Promotion EmergencyResponse

Category

Ave

rag

e S

core

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Findings from Surveys- SMS Pillars Safety assurance an area with good room for improvement

Surprisingly, overall higher scores for safety risk management

Not as strongly effective safety communication between departments of hub airports as compared with non-hub airports

Lower scores for effectiveness of training

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Little feedback from reports, suggestions and concerns on airside safety

Comparably lower scores for airport classes II and III on lessons learned from safety reviews and investigations

Lower scores for airport workers following safe work rules, safety policies, and procedures for classes II and IV airports

Lower than average responses for existence of updated training materials for Class II airports

Findings from Surveys- SMS Pillars

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Safety Culture Index

Safety Leader-ship & Com-

mitment

Employee Involvement & Ownership

Safety Com-munication &

Feedback

Safety Training Safety Attitude & Motivation

3.7

3.8

3.9

4

4.1

4.2

4.14

4.03

3.9

4.064.09

Key Safety Culture Indicator

Av

era

ge

Sc

ore

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Second Survey – Interview w/ Pilot Program Participants

In 2007, the FAA created an Airport SMS Pilot Study that included 22 volunteer airports.

Our Team interviewed 15 airports to identify: SMS gaps unique solutions variations on their SMS organizational structure risk criteria and type of risk matrix main difficulties

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Second Survey – Interview w/ Pilot Program Operators

Many have a safety policy; however, it may not be a formal policy or does not contain the SMS elements

No systematic Safety Risk Management process in-place

No non-punitive or confidential hazard reporting systems

Some have a few safety performance indicators; however, they do not cover the spectrum of airport safety concerns

Little trend analysis to help identify weaknesses associated with safety.

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Findings from Interview SurveysExamples of Existing Resources How to Use It in Your SMS

Intranet and/or an internet website

SMS webpage for reporting hazards and

other safety issues

Newsletter specific section on safety

Regular meetings with managers and airport

stakeholderssafety as a mandatory agenda

Daily self-inspections of the airside areas

Extend to landside and terminal, and introduce processes to pass the information to the SMS

Manager

Control of documents and records

Implement them as applicable to SMS

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Findings from Interviews Surveys

Safety committees

Existing safety objectives

Airports comply with OSHA regulations

Make them part of SMS organizational structure

maintain and extend

adapt and use OSHA elements for Airport SMS

Examples of Existing Resources How to Use It in Your SMS

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QUESTIONS?