What Is Management of Change in Aviation SMS?

Management of Change with Free Resources

Airlines and airports are required to develop and maintain a formal process to identify changes within the organization and its operation, which may affect established processes and services, to describe the arrangements to ensure safety performance before implementing changes, and to eliminate or modify safety risk controls that are no longer needed to effective due to changes in the operational environment.

• Airlines and airports need to establish processes and perform formal hazard analyses and risk assessments for major operational changes, major organizational changes and changes in key personnel;
• Safety Case/Risk assessments are aviation safety focused;
• Key stakeholders are involved in the change management process; and
• During the change management process previous risk assessments and existing hazards are reviewed for possible effect.

This element is satisfied when the organization uses the safety risk management system to proactively assess all major changes to the organization and its operations.

SMS Software Tools for Management of Change

SMS Pro modules used to support this requirement

• Issue Manager (used to manage identified hazards and corrective actions)
• Duties & Responsibilities of Key Safety Personnel
• Management of Change

Best Practices for Management of Change

• Validation of the safety performance after organizational and operational changes have taken place to assure assumptions remain valid and the change was effective;
• All organizational and operational changes are subject to the change management process; and
• Safety accountabilities, authorities and responsibilities are reviewed as part of the change.