CA5057
Module Title : Safety and Security for Aviation
Short description: This assessment explores the reasons for introducing safety management systems and the significance of a strong safety culture. Students must also select an accident before 2005 and discuss how an operational SMS could have prevented it.
Assessment Guidance:
The role of Safety Management Systems (SMS) is an explicit element of the corporate management responsibility that sets out the company’s safety policy and how it intends to manage safety as an integral part of its overall business.
Part 1
- What is a Safety Management System and how is it structured?
- Give a brief overview of the reasons why SMS was introduced. Which organisations in aviation are required to have an SMS?
- How important is it for an organisation to have a strong safety culture and what are the indicators of a strong safety Culture?
Part 2
According to ICAO Annex 19, an effective Safety Management System (SMS) should be integrated within airlines and other aviation organizations. Select a well-documented air accident that occurred before 2005 and evaluate how a fully functional SMS could have mitigated or prevented the accident (discuss your chosen accident with the module leader). Address the following areas in your analysis:
- Identification of Key Failures: Highlight the primary failures that contributed to the accident (e.g., in the Birmingham British Airways incident, a window blew out due to inadequate maintenance procedures conducted the day before).
- Role of SMS in Hazard and Risk Prevention: Analyse how an SMS, if operational before the accident, could have identified and mitigated the main hazards and risks involved.
- Proposals for Enhanced Safety Management: Recommend new safety management policies, risk management processes, and procedural improvements that should be adopted in the future to prevent similar occurrences.
Part 3
Assess the effectiveness of at least five security changes introduced post9/11 to enhance aircraft safety. Additionally, discuss the significance of national and international collaboration in identifying security relationships and fostering innovative patterns of thinking.