Premium on Safety - Issue 48, 2023 - 5

SAFETY SPOTLIGHT
is valued and promoted, and it defines safety
roles and responsibilities. This is the document
that auditors will look at first to ensure that
safety objectives have been well established and
communicated throughout the organization.
The Safety Policy is a document
that states the commitment to
safety and describes the principles
that the SMS is built upon.
When developing a new Safety Policy, there
may be a temptation to copy and paste
someone else's Policy Statement into your own
to satisfy the requirements of an SMS. But your
Safety Policy really shouldn't just be a piece
of paper that checks the box for an SMS audit.
It should not be written in flowery legalese
to impress outsiders. It should be a practical,
coherent, living document emphasizing your
organization's commitment to safety in a
vernacular that everyone understands.
Overall goals in safety are generally similar
among operators, but this document will set
out how your organization views and wants to
handle your specific operational environment.
It's scalable and specific, so a large organization
may have more detailed policies and procedures
and will undoubtedly have a more extensive
organizational chart than a small operator.
Regardless of the size of your organization,
the Safety Policy should ideally start with a
statement from the organizational leader that
establishes their commitment to meeting
safety performance targets and their support
of decisions that reinforce safety as a core
value. A statement should be made that assures
regulatory requirements will be met while
maintaining high levels of safety. It should also
include a commitment to providing resources
and continuous improvement to reach those
safety goals.
Safety objectives should be identified in the
Safety Policy. An overall goal may be to have
zero preventable accidents that cause injury
or damage to people, aircraft, facilities, and
equipment. The Policy should include how
that objective will be accomplished. What
procedures and resources are available to
assist with achieving the objectives? What
processes are in place to review and report
any improvements made? The Safety Policy
should lay this out and be accessible and
known to all employees.
Within the Safety Policy, you will also identify
key personnel, an organizational chart, and
The overarching goal of any Safety Management System
is to offer a systematic means to reach acceptable levels
of risk, whether it be the SMS of a product/service provider
or the SMS of a regulator responsible for safety supervision.
Safety culture is one of SMS's intangible but critical four
functional components.
roles and responsibilities within the SMS.
Making these distinctions will help determine
who is responsible for what, not only for
accountability but also to help staff identify
whom to go to with specific questions or
concerns about the process.
From the top down, safety must be of the
utmost importance to everyone in the company
if accidents are to be avoided. Anyone who
recognizes a problem and speaks up can
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Premium on Safety - Issue 48, 2023

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