Chapter 4: Safety Performance Management
Safety Performance Management refers to the consideration of the safety objectives defined by an organization and the activities and processes implemented to achieve them. Safety Performance Management also should provide the metrics to monitor the balance between the efforts invested compared to the actual safety achievements attained which is of vital importance to a State’s SSP and a service provider’s SMS.
This chapter covers 4.1-4.8 of 4th edition of the SMM.
4.1 Introduction
Safety Performance Management, which generates information that is used by senior management to mitigate safety risk and improve safety performance.
4.2 Safety objectives
Safety objectives are brief, high-level statements of safety achievements or desired outcomes to be accomplished. They provide direction to a State or organisation’s activities and should therefore align with the safety policy that sets out the high-level safety commitment.
4.3 Safety performance indicators and targets
Getting the State’s safety performance measurement right involves identifying the safety risk areas that the State needs to focus on and then deciding how best to measure the safety performance in those areas.
The State’s safety performance measurement will be a more powerful management tool if the State focuses on those areas that determine the State’s overall safety success. This will vary from State to State and from service provider to service provider. The State should take some time to develop a strategic awareness of what it is that drives safety improvement for each individual sector. It's crucial that States tailor their measurement to their specific circumstances and safety objectives.
ICAO Indicator Catalogue: https://www.icao.int/safety/Indicator -Catalogue
Please check example 4. Measuring Safety Performance - Guidelines for Service Providers.pdf under section Chapter 9.5 Component 3: Safety assurance as an example of Safety performance monitoring and measurement (SMM 9.5.4).
1. ALoSp within EU - Safety Performance
Clarifications about the concept of AloSP within the European Union, which focuses on Safety performance management and the relationship between safety performance and the oversight programme.
The document includes examples of implementation at EU, State, and sector level.
Click to download:
Implementation guidance within the European Union framework.pdf
Source: European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
4.4 Monitoring of safety performance
Once the organization’s safety performance structure (Safety objective, indicators, target, triggers) has been established and is functioning, it is essential to have mechanisms for monitoring and measuring the organization’s safety performance. Safety performance management is an ongoing activity. The set of safety performance indicators (SPIs) and safety performance targets (SPTs) selected by an origination should be periodically reviewed to ensure their continued meaningfulness as indications of organizational safety performance. Safety trigger provide early warnings which enable decision makers to make informed safety decisions, and thus improve safety performance. Annex 19 does not require that States or service providers define trigger levels for each SPI. However, there are benefits for organizations where their data for an SPI is very specific.
1. Automatic Safety Monitoring Tool (ASMT)
EUROCONTROL tool for recording safety-related events.
Click link to download:
Automatic Safety Monitoring Tool .pdf
Source: EUROCONTROL
4.5 Update of safety objectives
Safety objectives serve as the basis for evaluating safety performance. Safety performance management is dynamic and should be reviewed and updated routinely, in accordance with the periodic cycle established and agreed by the high-level safety committee; based on inputs from safety analyses; in response to major changes in the operation, top risks or environment.