Safety Management System (SMS)
The four pillars
An SMS under RBAC 135 (and the ICAO framework) has four components: safety policy and objectives, safety risk management, safety assurance, and safety promotion. Candidates must know the difference between hazard (a condition with potential to cause harm) and risk (the combination of likelihood and severity of that harm). The SMS is not a separate department; it is the operator's management system for safety, requiring accountable executive commitment and documented processes.
Safety risk management and assurance
Safety risk management includes hazard identification and risk assessment and mitigation. Safety assurance includes monitoring, audits, and safety performance indicators (SPIs). Traps include confusing a safety report with a disciplinary process - a non-punitive reporting culture is a core SMS element - and confusing the SMS with the quality management system, which focuses on conformity to requirements rather than risk.
Worked example
A company notices three runway excursions in a year. The hazard is runway excursion; the risk assessment considers likelihood (moderate) and severity (catastrophic), giving an intolerable risk that requires mitigation. The mitigation might be training, approach procedure changes, or runway condition reporting. The SPI would be excursion rate per 10,000 movements, monitored over time. A candidate who lists only 'more training' without a risk assessment and a monitored indicator has missed the SMS process.
Rule of thumb
Every SMS answer should name the pillar, the process, and the evidence (document, indicator, or record). Vague statements such as 'safety culture' alone do not score.