module specification

The study of safety management is critical in the aviation industry as it aims not only to prevent unwanted outcomes (accidents/incidents) but also in terms of enhancing production. A robust safety management system provides a balance between protection and production. The module covers safety risk management including different methods of hazard identification, safety assurance, safety culture and emergency response procedures. It also explores the importance of the under-pinning organisational structures as proposed by ICAO annex 19, regulation, documentation and polices which enable safety management systems to be explicit and proactive. The module also looks into accident causation models that use holistic approaches which focus on the aviation system environment, activities which take place within it and the way in which constituent parts of the aviation system (both human and non-human) interact and the behaviours required.

The module aims to provide students with:

• an understanding of the reasons why SMS was introduced
• skills to be able to competently implement a safety management system in an organisation
• skills to be able to risk assess and evaluate potential mitigations
• knowledge about the importance of safety culture and how to evaluate its effectiveness
• knowledge regarding the importance of States’ involvement in the SMS oversight of service providers
• skills to analyse accidents using causation models

N/A

Safety introductory concepts and responsibilities of NAA and operators     LO1

• State Safety Program
• Reasons for the introduction SMS
• Responsibilities of service providers

The Four Pillars   LO1

• Safety policy and Objectives
• Safety Risk Management
• Safety Assurance
• Safety Promotion

Safety Culture    LO2

• Different types of safety cultures
• Importance of safety culture
• Safety culture indicators

Accident Causation Models    LO3

• Reason Model
• Threats and Error Management Model
• Flight Data Analysis Program etc.

The formal delivery of the teaching and learning will be based on three contact hours per week spread over 12 weeks. The contact hours will be formed of a two-hour interactive session which draws from teaching and learning strategies such as workshops, lectures, guest speakers, case study discussions, panel discussions and debates, videos, online Weblearn platforms, as well as scenario-based real time activities and simulations.

Peer to peer learning will also feature within the programme as students work together to develop solutions to practically based solutions and assess/ critique the relevant impact.

Groupwork will form a large part of the sessions, with student participating in active learning as they disseminate and discuss relative experience and acquired knowledge.

The remaining hour of contact time will be a seminar-based approach where students will explore current themes and trends in more detail.

We will also make use of alumni students to provide a careers perspective for this section of the industry and make use of guest lecturers to provide contextual learning.

Within the module there is significant opportunity to participate in proactive learning activities via the use of Weblearn facilities which promote inter-active discussions between both peers and lecturers and enables learners to share resources and access links to external journal articles, websites and other sources.

Discussion and debate are actively encouraged both within the classroom context and via Weblearn. Students participating in this degree come from a variety of backgrounds and often have a wealth of industry experience upon which to draw. It is useful to access this via proactive and inter-active classroom management.

Students have a responsibility to prepare for forthcoming lectures so as to ensure that they fully understand the concepts discussed and, so as they can participate fully in debates and discussions. This can be done via accessing the module specifications on-line or via Weblearn, and ascertaining the forthcoming weeks lecture content.

LO1. Evaluate the structure, importance and challenges of implementing safety

        management systems in aviation

LO2. Assess the impact of safety culture on the safety performance of an organisation

LO3. Apply aviation accident causation models to identify causes of accidents

        and also explore how they should be integrated with SMS to prevent accidents in

        the future

The assessment of this module will take the form of individual reflection on a set task. The students will be organised in a group of 3, choose a service provider and assess the challenges it faced in implementing its SMS. Each student will be tasked with assessing a particular phase of the service provider’s SMS implementation (there are three phases of SMS implementation). In the final assessment, students will be given fictitious events that lead to an aircraft accident and they have to use accident causation models to highlight the root causes and contributory factors. They will also be required to come up with suggestions of reinforcing SMS processes to prevent similar accidents happening in the future.

Core Reading List

Stolzer,A.(2016) Implementing Safety Management Systems in Aviation, Ashgate

Stephenson, K., Cusik, J., & Antonio, I. (2017). Commercial Aviation Safety. McGraw-Hill Education.

Additional Reading List

Stolzer,A.(2015) Safety Management Systems in Aviation, Ashgate

Wells, T. (2017) Commercial aviation safety (4th Edition), Mc Graw-Hill

Ballesteros, J. (2007) Improving Air Safety Through Organisational Management. Ashgate.

UK CAA Publications

CAP 795

CAP 642

ICAO Publications

ICAO Annex 19

ICAO Annex 13

ICAO Doc 9859

Online Sources

IATA (International Air Transport Association): https://www.iata.org/

ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organistaion): https://en-gb.facebook.com/InternationalCivilAviationOrganization/

Reading List Talis

https://rl.talis.com/3/londonmet/lists/A7B4877D-0057-B2D4-52C0-EF7776C0FD66.html?lang=en-gb&login=1