AACM organized a training course on Safety Management Systems for the aviation industry

In accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) on  safety management, aircraft operators and maintenance organizations are required to implement safety management systems (SMS) with effect from January 2009. To comply with this requirement by the Macao registered airlines and maintenance organizations, the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR (AACM) organized a training course on SMS from 18 to 19 September 2008 and from 22 to 24 September 2008 for the local industry. The course was conducted by Baines Simmons Limited, a renowned international leader in airworthiness and aviation safety consulting and training services.

The course aimed at developing participants’ knowledge of safety management concepts and their responsibilities within the SMS and how to ensure SMS delivers return on investment and has a long term success. In addition, it also aimed at building up participants’ competence to establish a practical SMS in accordance with ICAO SARPs.

The five-day course was conducted by the Managing Director of Baines Simmons Limited, Mr. Keven Baines. Baines Simmons Limited is an international leader in airworthiness and aviation safety consulting and training services, with offices in Europe,Americas,Australiaand Hong Kong.

The course was divided into two parts: the first part designed for management personnel and the second part for the general staff. Powerpoint presentations, case studies, group discussions, group and individual exercises were used as learning aids. The main topics included the introduction to SMS (What is an SMS? What would be the motivation for implementing a SMS programme), SMS set up (establishing a SMS and risk management), how to know it is working, what to watch out for and how to sell it to the business (hazard and incident reporting, safety analysis, safety performance monitoring, etc).

The notion of safety management contains two concepts: a safety programme and a SMS. The safety programme is a set of regulations and activities aimed at improving safety and to be implemented by the regulator. The SMS is an approach to managing safety, including the necessary organizational structures, accountabilities, policies and procedures, to be implemented by airlines, maintenance organizations, air traffic services providers and aerodrome operators. The Macau International  Airport implemented its SMS in the end of 2005 in accordance with Annex 14 of the Chicago Convention.

The training was attended by more than 30 participants coming from Air Macau, East Asia Airlines, VIVA Macau, Macau Jet, Menzies Macau Airport Services Ltd., Air-Tech, Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Co. Ltd. and QAS Aviation International Ltd.

Ensuring aviation safety is one of the core responsibilities of AACM. In March 2009, the Authority will participate in the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme and the Universal Security Audit Programme which are conducted by ICAO on its member states for the objective of ensuring the safety of international aviation. ICAO will conduct an on-site audit on AACM to assess whether the Authority has fully performed its responsibilities in safety oversight. To prepare for this audit, AACM has set up a working team and is taking a proactive manner in following up their compliance with the Chicago Convention and its Annexes. 

The Civil Aviation Authority organized a training course on Safety Management Systems from 18 to 24 September 2008 for the aviation industry in order to ensure that Macao registered airlines and maintenance organizations implement Safety Management Systems in January 2009, in accordance with the requirement of International Civil Aviation Organization.