Airport SMS Software Analysis

Historically, high risk industries such as aviation have attempted to respond to accidents by fixing what they find after the investigation is complete and therefore represents a reactive approach to an accident event. For many years, the industry has tried to become more proactive to these events by seeking out problems and correcting them before an accident occurs. A Safety Management System is a detailed and regimented process by which any high risk industry can try to become proactive in accident prevention. There are many tools that can be utilized to help develop this framework and accomplish this preventative goal. One such tool is SMS software. The goal of this research is to gain an understanding of the variety of software being used by airports as part of their respective Airport Safety Management Systems (SMS) strategies with the goal of providing the FAA with guidance towards recommending the use of SMS software at airports, including minimum functionality standards. We report here our initial findings