Who Needs a Safety Manager Anyway?

A widely accepted notion is the premise that human’s when given the opportunity to make a decision will take the path of least resistance to facilitate the means of their decision. In other words, we choose the easiest path to get to where we are going. This simple equation is prevalent in every aspect of our lives. In a lot of professions this thought process can get you hurt or worse. No where is that more readily evident as in Aviation. Certainly on the ground but most pronounced in the air.

To mitigate short cuts and ensure management and personnel think before they act a conscience working on their behalf has to be involved. On occasion management or personnel may charge ahead, not recklessly thinking, rather, not thinking, about the consequences’ of their path of least resistance. To provide the insight and caution needed when this happens an entity is required, someone who is willing to, given the facts, analyze issues coupled with the capability to design an alternate course of action , one that will provide for a sound and safe outcome. And this entity shall be called the Safety Manager, Safety Officer, Safety Person, Safety Guru and so on. This individual needs to work, much like the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), as an independent agent while providing support to not only management but the line organization as well.

Areas of responsibility should cover but are not limited to:
Occupational Safety
Occupational Medicine
Industrial Safety
Industrial Hygiene
Industrial Health
Environmental Safety
Fire Protection
Reliability
Maintainability
Quality Assurance

Not only for the protection of personnel, equipment and the customer it serves any air carrier not responsible enough to place Safety at it’s forefront should not be in the business. An industry without a Safety Manager and most specifically the aviation community is nothing more than a accident waiting to happen. No one wants to be on the airplane where safety is nothing more than lip service. We already know that being safe saves lives, prevents injuries and saves untold cost in damages to equipment so when it comes time to compensate the individuals who execute the Safety Program what are they worth? For me the answer is easy, how much is your family member worth?

Aviation Safety, Where Did That Come From?

On December 17, 1903, the dream of powered flight became a reality for Orville and Wilbur Wright as Orville piloted the first powered airplane 20 feet above a wind-swept beach at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. They made history on this day and changed the way mankind would circumnavigate the earth and eventually travel to outer space. The flying part was deliberate, however the ancillary business of avoiding getting hurt or maybe dead while participating in this new endeavor was also born. This day the brother’s flew four short flights, crashing to some extent each time. And although ground safety issues had it’s own calling, on this day Aviation Safety was born.

With the advent of powered flight it didn’t take long before you could find aviation activities taking place all over the country as well as around the world. But it wasn’t until after World War I that it absolutely exploded. It was pretty much a free for all with common sense being the safety net and very little else. So it was, with so many folks getting involved in flying local and state governments saw a need to regulate this new industry before it got out of hand. Soon beyond the states getting involved the Federal Government made it’s play to control how aviation and those involved in it would operate. Since it didn’t appear this aviation thing would be going away the Federal Government, specifically the Congress of the time created offices and departments to handle every aspect of aviation. Data was collected on everything from how aircraft were built, what they landed on, who flew them and what caused some to crash, and the list goes on and on. Armed with facts of what worked and what didn’t the folks working in the many departments of aviation were able to pound out rules and guidelines for aviation operators to abide by. These rules when followed lowered the incident rate of accidents. Safety rose out of common sense to written rules and laws in support of the aviation industry. Originally the Department of Commerce was empowered by the Air Commerce Act, signed into law in 1926, the responsibility of overseeing the whole crazy business of aviation. As aviation grew so did oversight, all with the intent of making aviation as safe as humanly possible. Programs were and are constantly developed and tailored to ensure every aspect of safety is employed. Today the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), working as an independent agency free of outside influence, determines probable cause of transportation accidents and promotes safety through the recommendation process. Their oversight provides us today the plans, rules and guidance two brothers could have used on that sandy knoll back in 1903.

Making Safety Plans Simple

Safe according to Webster is to “secure from harm, danger, or evil“ and “free from injury or danger: unhurt” and very importantly ” free from risk”. Sounds simple enough but how does the average person live and work within the scope of these definitions? What are the rules , how do we apply them and how can they possibly meet our specific needs? Further in Webster’s dictionary we find another definition that provides us with some insight and when taken literally directs us towards a solution. More of a definition but non-the-less our first step in the right direction. “Safety, a device designed to prevent accidents.” Our device has to be some kind of a plan, program or system wherein we can identify, analyze, and control hazards that may cause us harm.
To start our plan we will consider the operations we are involved in, who works within the environment of the operations, and what equipment or machinery is involved. We will look at every aspect of operations including outside influences. After thoroughly and honestly evaluating our particular activity our plan can start coming together. Our highest priorities are those things most likely to cause harm to life, limb or eyesight followed closely by destruction or damage to property. As we identify these areas we need to put our collective minds together, reach into the depths of our experience and research the rest in formulating a solution. Our goal is to have a plan or system that when followed will minimize the risks we had previously identified. To insure everyone involved understands how to mitigate risks the plan needs to be in writing and distributed. Doesn’t do anyone any good if they do not know about it.
To make it all work the human side of the element has to be willing to make it work. Quite often safety programs perceived as being forced on individuals do not receive the support they need to be successful, with success measured in not being harmed. Any safety program, plan or system needs to be consistently monitored, open to input by it’s users, and pertinent to the organization that uses it. A program needs to active, not reactive.

Still not sure where to start, type in your search window "Safety Plans and Programs" where you will find numerous ideas, some free, some not. But what ever you do remember this, people don't plan to fail, they fail to plan...and the difference could make a big difference in your world.

Pilot's Mantra

On September 3rd, 1941 in the skies over England a young aviator soared his Spitfire fighter aircraft to an altitude of 30,000 feet and was so inspired by the beauty of what he saw on that day he wrote a poem in its memory. Unbeknownst to him at the time his poem would capture the mantra of every aviator since. Those who choose to challenge the laws of gravity and slip the surly bonds of earth know an indescribable fullness and feeling of deep satisfaction. The urge to soar where never an eagle has gone is stronger than any risk associated with it.
As much as flying is a pleasure it is one of the most regulated endeavors anyone could imagine much less be involved in. It requires endless training, endless study, endless patience and humility measured in tons. Mistakes are all too often unforgiving, they are at times life taking or crippling, all without regard of experience. But to have danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings and join the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds, and to wheel and soar doing a hundred things you could not possibly dream of reduces any fear to nothing more than the wisp of a slight breeze.
It was perhaps the calmness experienced when chasing the wind, and flying an aircraft through footless halls of air that lured the young aviator into descending through clouds on December 11th 1941. Whatever his thoughts, we can only surmise, for on this day he collided with another aircraft and tumbled to his death. Of all the open sky, all the space, two aircraft at the same place at the same time can only end in disaster.
John Gillespie Magee, Jr penned an elegant poem expressing the passion and beauty of flight and in his unfortunate death we learn it can also be unforgiving. We also learn the sky is not as large as it may seem, everyday is gets smaller, we must be ever vigilant. Safety is not an accident.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qqVRBZO5gc