What are the most effective ways to analyze SMS performance indicators for airlines?

Safety is a top priority for any airline, and a key component of ensuring safety is having a robust and effective safety management system (SMS). An SMS is a systematic approach to managing safety risks and enhancing safety performance. However, how can airlines measure and improve their SMS performance? One way is to use SMS performance indicators, which are measurable and meaningful data points that reflect the state of safety in an airline. In this article, we will explore some of the most effective ways to analyze SMS performance indicators for airlines.

Key takeaways from this article

Benchmarking analysis:

Compare your airline's SMS performance indicators against industry standards or past data to spot trends and outliers. It'll help focus your safety efforts where they're needed most.
Root cause investigation:

When a safety event happens, dig deep to understand why it occurred. This proactive approach can prevent future incidents by identifying and addressing underlying issues.

This summary is powered by AI and these experts

1 What are SMS performance indicators?

SMS performance indicators are quantitative or qualitative measures that help airlines monitor and evaluate their safety performance. They can be derived from various sources, such as safety reports, audits, inspections, surveys, or operational data. SMS performance indicators can be categorized into four types: leading, lagging, proactive, and reactive. Leading indicators are predictive measures that indicate potential safety issues before they become incidents or accidents. Lagging indicators are retrospective measures that reflect the outcomes or consequences of safety events. Proactive indicators are measures that show the actions or initiatives taken by the airline to prevent or mitigate safety risks. Reactive indicators are measures that show the responses or corrective actions taken by the airline after a safety event occurs.

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Nasser Bamookreh

Senior Consultant in OD, HR, Learning & Development (MBA in HR, CIPD Level 3 in Personnel Practice, Certified OD Analyst, ISO 9001 Lead Auditor, SHL Registered Test User & Interpreter)
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Predictive maintenance is a key performance indicator in airlines SMS. It is used to identify potential issues with equipment, including airplanes, before they occur. By analyzing data from sensors and other sources, airlines may anticipate when maintenance is necessary and take preemptive action to solve issues before they cause delays or cancellations.

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Sushil Bhatia

THE LEADERSHIP & Growth Coach | Co-founder Director BRIQ-MSS | Top Badge Aviation, Leadership| Author | EASA Pt 145 | PLEXUS Global Trainer/Assessor/ | Aviation / Aerospace | Safety/Quality | NABCB | ZED |TEDx | Author |
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SMS performance indicators are those indicators which we set to measure the performance as to how SMS is performing. Let us take this as an example. Whatever you want to improve, you need to set up a measurement for this. Viz, you need to monitor the performance of your kid in academics, you set up Unit test and results. there can be Lagging indicators or leading indicators. Lagging indicators are generally reactive: that they occur after an event has happened. for example, an incident has happened and then we set up some targets to achieve. Leading indicators are generally proactive in nature. for example, the in-service experience bulletin says to watch for brake wear after 1000 landings, that must be watched now periodically.

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2 Why are SMS performance indicators important?

SMS performance indicators are important because they provide valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of an airline's SMS. They can help airlines identify safety trends, patterns, gaps, or opportunities for improvement. They can also help airlines set safety goals, targets, or benchmarks, and track their progress and performance over time. Moreover, SMS performance indicators can help airlines communicate and demonstrate their safety performance to internal and external stakeholders, such as employees, customers, regulators, or investors.

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Sushil Bhatia

THE LEADERSHIP & Growth Coach | Co-founder Director BRIQ-MSS | Top Badge Aviation, Leadership| Author | EASA Pt 145 | PLEXUS Global Trainer/Assessor/ | Aviation / Aerospace | Safety/Quality | NABCB | ZED |TEDx | Author |
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Like, the grade of your kids in academics give you an insight into the progress of the child in academics; this shows which are the areas that you need to improve for performance to improve. similar is the case with SMS performance indicators. they are an important instruments to give you an indication how well is your SMS functioning. Let us say you have one performance indicator as 10 Safety reporting from the apron per month from a station. this has been set considering the number of flights you take, number of employees you have etc. If you do not get minimum 10 reports per month, it does not talk good of the performance. may be personnel lack training in SMS reporting. May be they do not have enough means to report.

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3 How to select SMS performance indicators?

Selecting SMS performance indicators is not a one-size-fits-all process, and each airline should choose the indicators that best suit their specific context, objectives, and needs. However, some general criteria that can be used to guide the selection process include relevance, reliability, validity, feasibility, and balance. The indicators should be relevant to the airline's safety policy, vision, and mission and aligned with its safety objectives and priorities. Additionally, they should be reliable, producing consistent and accurate results over time and across different sources or methods of data collection. Furthermore, the indicators should be valid, measuring what they are intended to measure and reflecting the true state of safety in the airline. In addition to being feasible and practical to collect, analyze, and report without imposing excessive costs or burdens on the airline. Finally, the indicators should be balanced, covering a range of aspects and dimensions of safety performance while including a mix of leading, lagging, proactive, and reactive indicators.

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Sushil Bhatia

THE LEADERSHIP & Growth Coach | Co-founder Director BRIQ-MSS | Top Badge Aviation, Leadership| Author | EASA Pt 145 | PLEXUS Global Trainer/Assessor/ | Aviation / Aerospace | Safety/Quality | NABCB | ZED |TEDx | Author |
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Selection of SMS performance indicators would depend on the types of jobs that you do, throughputs in terms of numbers, number of incidents, safety reporting etc. Look at the safety policy of the airlines, for example. If the policy says to have 1 incident per 1000 turn arounds, then this needs to be monitored. If we want to judge how well SMS has been understood by the people, go for counting minimum number of SMS reporting per month. This will also indicate how management is open to voluntary reporting by the people. good number of reporting says people have no fear of reporting. similarly, the indicators must be kept at variety of functioning, and various sources to ensure reliable reporting.

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4 How to analyze SMS performance indicators?

Analyzing SMS performance indicators is a critical step to gain meaningful and actionable information. Airlines can use various methods and tools to analyze their SMS performance indicators, such as descriptive statistics to calculate numerical summaries, graphical displays to show trends or relationships, statistical tests to evaluate significance, difference, or correlation, benchmarking to compare against a reference point, and root cause analysis to investigate underlying causes. All of these strategies can help airlines gain valuable insights into their SMS performance indicators.

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5 How to use SMS performance indicators?

The ultimate goal of collecting and analyzing SMS performance indicators is to use them to help airlines improve their safety performance. These indicators can provide evidence-based information that can support safety decisions, such as allocating resources, prioritizing actions, or implementing changes. Additionally, they can motivate and guide safety improvement by identifying areas of concern, highlighting best practices, or measuring the impact of interventions. Finally, SMS performance indicators can be used to communicate and demonstrate safety performance by reporting results, sharing feedback, or recognizing achievements.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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What are the most effective ways to analyze SMS performance indicators for airlines?

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1 What are SMS performance indicators?

2 Why are SMS performance indicators important?

3 How to select SMS performance indicators?

4 How to analyze SMS performance indicators?

5 How to use SMS performance indicators?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Airline Management

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What are the most effective ways to analyze SMS performance indicators for airlines?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 What are SMS performance indicators?

2 Why are SMS performance indicators important?

3 How to select SMS performance indicators?

4 How to analyze SMS performance indicators?

5 How to use SMS performance indicators?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Airline Management

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