4.11 Safety Management System
The purpose of a safety management system (SMS) is to proactively, nonpunitively identify and address potential safety hazards, with a goal to eliminate or avoid accidents or incidents before they occur. It is a tool for airport operators to translate their concern for safety into actions to mitigate hazards and seek continual improvement.
ACRP Legal Research Digest 19: Legal Issues Related to Developing Safety Management Systems and Safety Risk Management at U.S. Airports
Provides guidance on how to determine which requirements apply to any given procurement process. The digest includes an overview of the consequences for noncompliance with procurement laws or regulations in order to help airport staff better understand the inherent risks associated with various funding sources.
ACRP Report 1: Safety Management Systems for Airports, Volume 1: Overview
Provides a brief description of safety management systems and is intended to be a quick introduction to safety management systems for airport directors and their governing boards. The report explores the advantages associated with instituting such a system and examines the four components or pillars that are part of an SMS—safety policy, safety risk management, safety assurance, and safety promotion. The report also includes background information on the International Civil Aviation Organization’s requirements for an SMS at airports and relates the experiences of airports located outside the United States in implementing an SMS.
ACRP Report 1: Safety Management Systems for Airports, Volume 2: Guidebook
Explores what constitutes an airport SMS. The report examines SMS components and their interactions, and offers guidance in the planning, implementation, and operation of an airport SMS. It also provides detailed information on how to carry out each of the necessary SMS processes.
ACRP Report 131: A Guidebook for Safety Risk Management for Airports
Provides tools, examples, and guidance to help airports manage safety risks using the safety risk management (SRM) process. The guidebook includes scalable features of the SRM processes so that it may be useful to smaller airports with limited resources.
ACRP Synthesis 71: Airport Safety Risk Management Panel Activities and Outcomes
Compiles information and tools that help FAR Part 139 airports conduct safety risk assessments (SRAs) effectively. This report enhances ACRP Report 131: A Guidebook for Safety Risk Management for Airports with additional tools and templates and presents the conclusions from the survey and interviews as well as the main findings from the literature review. Several tools and templates, including a Quick Reference Guide and a template for the SRA briefing, are provided in the appendices of this report.
FAA Advisory Circular 150/5200-37: Introduction to Safety Management Systems (SMS) for Airport Operators
Introduces the concept of an SMS for airport operators.
FAA Office of Airports Safety Management System (SMS) Desk Reference
Supplements FAA Order 5200.11 by clarifying the requirements and processes of the FAA Airports (ARP) SMS. This document primarily focuses on the procedures for complying with the SRM component of SMS. It also includes guidance on evaluating the ARP SMS through the safety assurance process and explains the role of airport sponsors and state aviation organizations.
FAA Order 5200.11: FAA Airports (ARP) Safety Management System (SMS)
Defines SMS requirements for the ARP line of business. It identifies the responsibilities and authority of all offices within ARP for integrating the SMS into their programs. It also explains the roles other FAA lines of business play in the ARP SMS.
FAA Order 8000.369B: Safety Management System
Establishes the SMS policy for the FAA and requirements for FAA organizations incorporating SMS and/or International Civil Aviation Organization State Safety Program frameworks to form the overall FAA SMS.
FAA Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) 4: Safety Risk Management Under the FAA Office of Airports Safety Management System
Establishes uniform procedures for conducting the SRM component of the ARP SMS for certain ARP approval actions.