Roles of Safety Management System (SMS) in Aircraft Development and its Effective Implementation -Focusing on Safety Risk Management-

Abstract

In the aviation industry, complex and advanced systems are constantly being developed and introduced. Although the reliability of aircraft has systematically improved as such advanced technology is further developed, the organizational and human factors that interact with those systems are the fundamental causes of the accidents [1, 2]. Due to the demand for a more efficient approach to system safety in order to cope with these changes, Safety Management Systems (SMS) is currently being investigated as effective, systemic management model. Safety is the first priority in civil aviation, and so the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has introduced and mandated the use of SMS by airlines, airports, air traffic services, aircraft maintenance organizations, and training organizations. The aircraft manufacturing industry is the last for which ICAO has mandated the implementation of SMS. Since SMS is a somewhat newer approach for most manufacturers in the aviation industry, they hardly believe in the value of implementing SMS. A systematic approach of safety risk management, which is SMS from aircraft development phase, allows to minimizing the safety risks that may be missing during approval and certification process, and reduce tremendous redesign cost due to system failure after aircraft service-in. This paper addresses the importance of SMS implementation in aircraft manufacturing industry by identifying difference between SMS and Quality Management System (QMS) and analyzing aircraft accident cases. The severe hard/bounced and tail strike landings of accidents/incidents the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft can be analyzed as a case study. In this analysis, two analysis models can be used to identify the root causes and safety risk levels. The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) can be used for the root cause analysis, and the FAA Transport Airplane Risk Assessment Methodology (TARAM) can be used for risk assessment. The analysis was conducted focused on safety risk management, and, we have verified that the management of safety risk characteristics that occur during early aircraft development stages and the systematic linkage that this safety risk has with an aircraft in service could have a significant influence on the safe operation and life cycle of the aircraft. Failure to meet ICAO SMS standards will impair the ability to operate internationally, and ensuring compliance with the ICAO SMS standards could be a strong source of competitiveness in the global aircraft market. Therefore, lastly, this paper proposes effective and practical ways of implementing SMS which can be integrated with existing QMS in order to fulfill ICAO and FAA requirements. The integration of SMS and QMS is focused on safety risk management in aircraft manufacturing industries. Through the effective SMS implementation, manufacturing industries can expect practical value of safety improvement in safety risk management for prevention of accidents and strong competiveness in global aircraft market.