Safety Management System refers to an organized method to managing protection, including the essential organizational structures, policies, accountabilities, and procedures to support effective decision-making. Its main objective is to ensure the execution of a management plan for modifiable decision-making processes, achieved by improving an overall safety culture to all personnel in an organization, thereby prioritizing Safety. SMS allows operators and service providers to establish an orderly approach in classifying potential hazards and handling them effectively in the aviation industry. In addition, it is an active and comprehensive process through which perils are managed; hence it provides a basis on which goals are set, planned, and performance measured
To understand the impacts caused by implementing SMS in the aviation industry, it is essential to understand the significance of implementing SMS. To begin with, SMS improves the existing levels of aviation safety because it is a continuous process; hence new information is generated. (Guldenmund & Yuling, 2018). Furthermore, SMS improves the working environment, thereby increasing productivity. In addition, SMS is beneficial and critical in enhancing an organization’s Safety as plainly stated goals lead to a commitment of action. Moreover, SMS makes data accessible to the appropriate people who need it to perform their tasks effectively (Yuen, 2015). Furthermore, the reduction of aviation injuries and accidents results in decreased employee turnover. Lastly, implementing a Safety Management System allows for better scheduling and resource utilization as SMS allows proactive preparation of maintenance tasks when assets are available, raising the probability that maintenance is carried out on time and more efficiently.
Therefore, the usage of the safety management system in the aviation scope has had a positive impact on the performance of organizations. To begin with, organizations are now able to identify risks better as SMS has enhanced stakeholders towards developing and maintaining of reliable approach in addressing risk management systems. In this current age where the world is coming to terms with climate change, the aviation industry has been met with threats that have hindered its operations, such as changes in air density, wind strength and direction, turbulence, and humidity (Gratton et al., 2022). However, through the proactive measures required by the SMS, potential risks are easily detected hence allowing for effective measures to be carried out to prevent catastrophic events from happening.
Secondly, Safety Management System has positively boosted maintenance by plainly coercing maintenance to observe at airliners shortcomings as events that need examinations and conclusions rather than just faults that need fixing; hence the maintenance course has turned out to be preventive and proactive oriented. This agrees with (Bartulovic 2022), who argued that organizations should integrate reactive, aggressive, and predictive safety management system approaches for adequate maintenance.
Consequently, implementing a safety management system has been demonstrated to have positive ergonomic effects on the organization. Since ergonomics is about modifying the workplace to best address the employee’s comfort, hence improving human welfare and interaction, it is significant to limit workers’ exposure to ergonomic hazards resulting in uproar disorders. Therefore, to fully address safety issues, there is increasing significance to examine threats through the ergonomic lens as accidents have been caused by negligence from staff (Salmon et al., 2018). Henceforth, since SMS discourses complex relations that can be affected by human defects, SMS improves workers’ morale and output by promoting communication between the administration and the employees.
Moreover, SMS requirements have had a tremendous positive impact on the area of financial management of an organization. Since SMS’s primary goal is to mitigate risks, the measures have attracted more clients, beneficial to the organization (Roba, 2011). In addition, as SMS requires proper utilization of resources, the fall of misfortunes and incidents will decrease the direct and indirect costs typically related to aeronautics calamities such as repair costs, damage claims, fines, and increased cover premiums. In addition, by addressing management frameworks, leadership, and accountability, SMS has enabled low-cost carriers to succeed, resulting in declining costs through activities such as eliminating intermediate stops at the hub( Paethrangsi et al.,2020). However, SMS requirements have also harmed financial management as the cost of compliance increases with these ever-increasing requirements essential in managing and mitigating risks.
Furthermore, the implementation of SMS has positively affected the flight operation sector by establishing a suitable operational control system that is documented and executed. The evidence of the execution is stored in the form of records (Roba, 2018). Therefore, to successfully establish this control system, the SMS requires that only adequately competent people be appointed to occupy positions in the flight operation department resulting in positive output.
Additionally, SMS requirements have resulted in the improvement of quality and productivity. This is because organizations that implement SMS requirements often create high competition, forcing organizations in the aviation industry to attain higher product and service standards such as amenities, hospitality, and improved customer services. Through these services, the organization’s reputation is held in high esteem, thus attracting customers who are of financial benefit to the organization.
In conclusion, Safety principles embrace features such as adaptability and awareness that aviation organizations use to prevent risks and potential hazards that one cannot eliminate in totality. This can only be possible if there is a practical implementation of SMS. The SMS has essential benefits as it makes it possible for aviation organizations to utilize their resources well. It also minimizes accidents through thorough mitigation of risks, improves the working environment in organizations, and improves the aviation system’s existing levels. It is to be noted that the implementation of SMS has impacted aviation in the following ways: increased the morale of employees, enhanced competition that has improved the quality of services offered by the aviation organizations, it has made it possible for the organization to effectively identify risks and mitigate them, reduction of costs and lastly improved the qualification of personnel resulting to better departmental services.
References
Li, Y., & Guldenmund, F, W(2018). Safety Management Systems: A broad overview of the Literature. Safety Science, 103, 94-123.
Paethrangsi et al. ( 2020) Determinants of Low-Cost Airline Safety Management in Thailand
Gratton et al. ( 2022).Reviewing the Impacts of Climate Change on Air Transport Operations
Bartulovic, D (2021). Predictive Safety Management System. Development. Transactions on Maritime Science.
Kin, R.Y.C. (2015). The Impact of SMS on Safety Performance: Commercial Aviation Operations.
Roba, A.I. (2011). The effects of strategic Implementation of Safety Management Systems on Aviation Business Compliance. A case study of C.M.C. Aviation, Kenya.
Salmon, P.M, et al. (2018). The stamp goes East: Integrating Systems Ergonomic Methods for the Analysis of Railway Level Crossing Safety Management.
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