Safety Management in Europe European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation Dr. Erik Merckx EUROCONTROL Directorate ATM Programmes Head of Business Division Safety Enhancement ICAO Runway Safety and ATS Safety Management Seminar Moscow, 14 September 2005

EUROCONTROL Airspace 41 ECAC States

Traffic doubles by million flights million flights8.0 million flights Traffic tripled over 25 years 16.0 million flights

Traffic is back and picking up fast

Global accident rates

Do we need to be worried Überlingen, 1 July 2002 Linate, 8 October 2001

Can the CEO or DG sleep at night ? How does the CEO or DG of a ANSP know that : The risk of an accident is as low as he wants it to be ( even if there has not been an accident for the last 25 years ) ? The risk of a serious incident is as low as he wants it to be ? He is being given the correct information about how safe his organisation is ? His organisation is getting better or worse in terms of Safety ? His organisation is performing well on Safety on the European scene ?

Can the CEO or DG sleep at night ? How does the CEO or DG of a ANSP know that : The Services given to the Airlines are safe The Board and the Government are satisfied with the safety levels of his organisation The Regulator is satisfied with the safety levels of his organisation

A CEO or DG of a ANSP therefore needs : A reliable information system on safety, the standards of which being as high as an accounting system A system that covers all the work in his organisation that has an impact on safety A system that he can fully trust A system that allows him to make correct decisions for the future of safety in his organisation Can the CEO or DG sleep at night ?

What is a Safety Management System A structured and systematic way of working on safety, knowledge based, and with measurable outcome Risk based : knowing, controlling and minimising risk Needs an appropriate organisational structure with an independent safety management function Requires commitment from the top, commitment from all operational and technical people, and a good safety culture

What is a Safety Management System ?

Safety Culture Leadership Commitment to resources Balanced decisions People Management Willingness to learn Willingness to share expertise

What is a Safety Management System

Methodology Documentation Regulatory Compliance Traceability Performance Indicators Measuring Progress Reviewing Processes ……….

Examples of processes with safety impact as part of a Safety Management System Risk Assessment New Systems Recruitment/ Selection Training Competency Checks Refresher/ Advanced Training Procedures Operational Processes Interfaces ATS and CNS CNS Maintenance Procedures Emergency Procedures Risk Assessment New ATC Procedures Risk Assessment Airspace Changes Risk Assessment Software Changes Incident Reporting Incident Investigation Lessons Learnt Safety Surveys and Follow-up All elements of the SMS described in policies, well documented, communicated, updated, data recorded Covered in the EUROCONTROL Safety Regulatory Requirements (ESARRs) Covered in new legislation of the European Union Covered by ICAO

Co-ordination with neighbouring ACCs Co-ordination with neighbouring countries Suppliers of telecommunication, power, buildings, services, etc Suppliers of equipment Suppliers of software Airports Airlines Military …… External elements to and link with an SMS

70% Target Maturity of Formal Safety Framework in ECAC: ANSPs

70% Target

Maturity of Formal Safety Framework in ECAC: REGs 70% Target

Maturity of Formal Safety Framework in ECAC: REGs 70% Target

What had to be improved Fundamental elements of a national ATM safety framework not in place for a number of States : Functional separation between Service Provider and Regulator not in place National ATM Rule making and Regulatory Safety Oversight not in place Major elements of a Safety Management System not in place: Independent Safety Manager at the highest organisational level Well agreed, understood and communicated Safety Policy Well functional incident reporting system and dissemination of lessons learnt Well functioning risk assessment of systems and system changes A well documented and auditable set of procedures and practices Others ….

What had to be improved Major inhibitors for progress were identified as : Leadership Resources

What has helped to improve 1. 1.The pressure from a European Strategic Safety Action Plan : With buy in from stakeholders from the start onwards, through thorough consultation Awareness campaigns Monitored State by State and action by action Follow up and progress results frequently presented Highly visible as a result of ongoing publicity

What has helped to improve 2. 2.Customised hands-on support to ANSPs at all levels : Reduced effort in written guidance material but increased coaching, workshops and on the job training Gap analysis and corresponding support State by State Selling Safety from top to bottom in each organisation : from CEO’s to ATCO’s Building confidence in the value of SMS Effort is 95% on developing safety culture, 5% on methodology

What has helped to improve 3. 3.Training for safety experts Identification of training needs and corresponding development of new training packages for ANSP and Regulator Local training as well as centralised training Increased resources on training in the EUROCONTROL Agency Selection of the right training tools (classroom, e-learning, … )

What has helped to improve 4. 4.Pressure from and integration with European Single Sky legislation : ESARRs covered in the SES Certification for ANSPs based on “Common Requirements for ANSPs “ The interest of EUROCONTROL member states to become EU members The EU as a strong regulatory body

Conclusions 1. 1.The key to good Safety Management is about the genuine will, culture and intelligence of everyone in an organisation to continue to behave safely in all circumstances…, … it is less about rules

Conclusions 2. 2.The way to think about Safety Management is about asking oneself and the others time after time the same questions : What is the risk ? Can I take the risk ? What are the consequences ?

Conclusions 3. 3.The ultimate question, in case an accident happens is, is one about conscience and personal liability : Have I done everything I could have done to avoid this accident ?