Everyone Deserves Safety
While working with a client I was asked by a clinical flight crewmember why there was so much emphasis on safety while flying but when the same person went by ground it felt like anything goes. Now, that characterization was a bit extreme because there were still plenty of solid risk mitigations in place but there was a gap between the two modes.
It is easy to explain this away as the increased safety regulations required for aviation compared to ground transport, but does this make it acceptable?
I would argue that while the severity of incidents or accidents when things go wrong in an airplane or helicopter are likely worse, the likelihood of an incident or accident on the road is much higher and the overall consequences can still be devastating.
The aviation industry has led the charge for Safety Management Systems (SMS) and while this is a benefit to operators and aviation users it comes with a challenge. All too often, when attempting to implement a formally recognized SMS there is a perception that it is just an “aviation” thing and not something that should apply across the organization.
Both examples signal a similar misunderstanding about the reason for a safety program in the first place…to protect lives, property, reputations, partnerships, the business and the industry.
Only through proper education about the “why” for all levels of an organization can this challenge be overcome. The reasons for safety initiatives must be clarified and communicated to all team members and if they are not understanding the concept it is the safety program leaders’ responsibility to adjust the message in a way that everyone can understand. It is the sender’s job to make sure the message is clear and delivered in a way that the receiver can understand and eventually apply.
“Make thoughts / ideas drop-dead easy for others to comprehend…You’ll be heard more accurately if you take the time to understand the people you are talking to. What do they know, what don’t they know? What details do you need to include to make it easy for them to understand - and, more importantly, what details can you leave out?” -Kim Scott, Radical Candor
Only after everyone understands the “why” will they realize that an SMS is for the benefit of everyone and not just “one more thing” that must be done for a marketing brochure or to make the regulator, customer, boss, or shareholders happy.
Effective safety programs must be equally available and beneficial to everyone involved with an operation.
Photo Credit: Katie Moum via Unsplash
I recently conducted an informal poll of key safety leaders from my network that are currently implementing or have a fully mature SMS. I wanted to find out if their SMS applied across the entire company. I was pleased to hear that overwhelmingly these programs applied to more than just the aviation side of the business. They all expressed that there were challenges getting buy-in during the earlier stages of implementation…this is normal.
The following are excerpts from their responses that help illustrate the benefits:
Increased transparency and communication…
The more departments you have engaged in the SMS process, the stronger your organization will be from full transparency, open communication and no silos. If you cannot maintain transparency and open communication between clinical and flight operations on the ground, how can you expect a robust CRM process in the air?
Bringing everyone together to make sure decisions do not lead to conflicting policies…
SMS involves all employees for reporting, training and all departments are required to follow the written risk management process for events that are triggers that bring everyone together to make sure one department’s changes do not impact others negatively.
Improved decision making by leadership…
One way to help engage other employee groups was to show how SMS processes and data drive improvement. For example, conducting a proactive risk assessment helps to convince (sell) leadership to implement a change or spend money on equipment, etc. If people do not participate in the SMS process, leadership must make decisions with only a partial picture.
Understanding the purpose of an SMS must start with the leaders responsible for implementation and then it gets distributed to the rest of the organization. Success with these two steps can be measured by the buy-in experienced throughout the rest of the project and the (hopefully) lack of resistance to change for the safety of everyone.
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At VyClimb, part of our mission is to lead the aviation industry and the companies it serves to an elevated level of operational excellence to create greater stakeholder confidence. For more information or to discuss ways we may be able to help you please contact info@vyclimb.com.
