september2022 - 22

Cover Story
performance monitoring and measurement;
the management of change; and
continuous improvement of the SMS.
Within the safety promotion
component, elements include training
and education as well as safety
communication.
" The appeal of SMS is that the basic
components and elements are universal, "
say Thomas and Starke.
" Consideration should be given to
alternative reporting sources including
customers and workers who interface
within your operational sphere, " DeBerry
and Berry add.
While there are no specific requirements
designed for an SMS at an FBO
or ground handling company, Yeomans
suggests concentrating on the FBO
activities that the organization's scope
of services cover.
" As the SMS matures over time, you
start to bring in the interfaces, such
as the aerodromes you are based at
and the aircraft operators you handle,
To be successful, a
safety management
system needs support
from the top down,
including CEO buy-in.
constantly evolving and improving, "
Yeomans says.
The Importance of SMS
An SMS is not just about safety, DeBerry
and Berry say. It is equally about business
process efficiency.
" The more efficient a business can
become, the more successful it will
be, " they say.
What's more, Thomas and Starke
note safety management systems are
DIGITAL TOOLS FOR AN SMS
Digitalization can improve a safety management system's efficiency and
enhance safety by increasing compliance, control and agility.
BY JOSH SMITH
For better or for worse, digitalization is
an inherent part of future progress and
development in every industry, according
to Paul Sandström, chief operating officer
at Web Manuals.
" I would argue that it´s hard to imagine
significant improvements that exclude
digitalization completely, especially after
the last few years. Therefore, the question
is not about digitization or not, but merely
aviation industry and SMS, it is easy to
see that digitalization is here to stay. "
about the degree and timing, " he says.
" It could be argued that digitalization has
left the strategic decision-making sphere
and entered the tactical and operational
questions regarding what, how and
when. "
The more interesting part now, Sandström
says, is how digitalization will change the
aviation industry.
" Not only do digital tools provide us
with an opportunity to be better at what
we do, but new avenues can open as
a consequence of digitalization, " he
explains. " If we apply this logic to the
According to Sandström, digitalization
helps an SMS with efficiency, and
it improves safety by increasing
compliance, control and agility.
" But it´s not just about doing the same
thing we always have done but now on
a computer with faster software than
previously. It´s about moving the goal
posts in relation to the capabilities,
and sometimes, it´s not easy to see or
understand the possibilities at first and
that is okay, " Sandström explains. " We
need to be open-minded and visionary
enough to allow for that to come. "
The same is true for ground operators,
according to Sandström. He says they are
an integral part of the aviation industry,
which has been confirmed by staffing
issues this summer in Europe.
" So, it´s not just about doing the same
thing we have always been doing for the
past year faster and with more resources,
22 || Ground Support Worldwide || September 2022
becoming a standard throughout the
global aviation industry, adding SMS
is recognized by the Joint Planning
and Development Office (JPDO), ICAO
and civil aviation authorities (CAA) as
well as product/service providers as
the next step in the evolution of safety
in aviation.
By recognizing the organization's role
in accident prevention, they say an SMS
provides a structured means of safety
risk management decision making; a
but it´s also about
pushing the potential
for improvements
as the results of the
new capabilities, "
Sandström says,
adding a great start is
acquiring International
Standard for Business
Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH) registration,
due to the continued development by the
industry experts.
" For example, Web Manuals do not only
Paul Sandström
allow you to transfer your current manual
to a new DMS, which allows for more
efficient and better compliance handling
of your current manuals; it also gives the
opportunity to interconnect manuals and
compliance libraries that were not even
possible before, " he says. " It makes your
manuals more dynamic manuals - instead
of static/dead pdfs - and how does that
affect how we write and structure our
manuals, from my experience, quite a lot
beyond the 0s and 1s. "
WEB MANUALS
september2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of september2022
