IMPLEMENTATION OF SAFETY MANAGEMENT

SYSTEM (SMS) IN APPROVED MAINTENANCE

ORGANIZATIONS AND APPROVED
TRAINING CENTERS

AIRWORTHINESS NOTICE

VERSION
:
DATE OF IMPLEMENTATION :
OFFICE OF PRIME INTEREST :

10/05/2011

1.0
10-05-2011
AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTORATE

AWNOT-072-AWRG-1.0

IMPLEMENTATION OF SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (SMS)

IN APPROVED MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS
AND APPROVED TRAINING CENTERS

10/05/2011

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IMPLEMENTATION OF SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (SMS)

IN APPROVED MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS
AND APPROVED TRAINING CENTERS

A.

AUTHORITY:

A1.

This Airworthiness Notice is issued under the authority vested in DG CAA vide Rule No.
4 of Civil Aviation Rules 1994.

B.

PURPOSE:

B1.

The purpose of this Airworthiness Notice is to ensure , that all service providers
implement Safety Management System (SMS) acceptable to the CAA Pakistan that, as
a minimum:
B1.1

Identifies safety hazards;

B1.2

Ensures that remedial action necessary to maintain an acceptable level of safety

is implemented;

B1.3

Provides for continuous monitoring and regular assessment of the safety level
achieved; and
Aims to make continuous improvement to the overall level of safety.

B1.4

C.

SCOPE:

C1.

This Airworthiness Notice describes the requirements of SMS for PCAA Approved
Maintenance Organizations (AMO) & Approved Training Centers (ATC) involved in
operational training (ATC) by addressing aviation safety related processes and activities
rather than occupational safety, environmental protection, or customer service quality.

C2

The AMO/ ATC are responsible for the safety of services or products contracted to or
purchased from other organizations.

C3

This Notice establishes the minimum acceptable requirements; the AMO/ATC can
establish requirements that are more stringent.

D.

DESCRIPTION:

D1.

DEFINITION:

D1.1

The terms when used in this Airworthiness notice have the meanings assigned to
them respectively. Any term used in this ANO but not defined, shall have the same
meaning as given in the Civil Aviation Ordinance, 1960, Pakistan Civil Aviation
Authority Ordinance 1982, CARs, 1994 and relevant ANOs.

D1.2

Hazard; A condition, object or activity with the potential of causing injuries to

personnel, damage to equipment or structures, loss of material, or reduction of
ability to perform a prescribed function.

D1.3

Mitigation; Measures to eliminate the potential hazard or to reduce the risk

probability or severity.

D1.4

Probability; The likelihood that a situation of danger might occur.

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D1.5

Risk; The chance of a loss or injury, measured in terms of severity and probability.

D1.6

Safety management system (SMS); A systematic approach to managing safety,

including the necessary organisational structures, accountabilities, policies and
procedures

D1.7

State Safety programme; An integrated set of regulations and activities aimed at

improving safety.

D1.8

Severity; The possible consequences of a situation of danger, taking as reference

the worst foreseeable situation.

D2.

GENERAL:
D2.1

An AMO / ATC shall establish, maintain and adhere to a safety management

system (SMS) that is appropriate to the size, nature and complexity of the
operations authorized to be conducted under its operations certificate and the
safety hazards and risks related to the operations.

D2.2

A safety management system shall clearly define lines of safety accountability

throughout the AMO / ATC, including a direct accountability for safety on the part
of senior management.

D3.

SAFETY POLICY AND OBJECTIVES:

D3.1

General Requirements:
D3.1.1 An AMO / ATC shall define the organizations safety policy.
D3.1.2 The safety policy shall be signed by the Accountable Manager of the organization.
D3.1.3 The safety policy shall be in accordance with ICAO and DCA requirements, and
reflect organizational commitments regarding safety.
D3.1.4 The safety policy shall be communicated, with visible endorsement, throughout
the organization.
D3.1.5 The safety policy shall include a clear statement about the provision of the
necessary human and financial resources for its implementation.
D3.1.6 The safety policy shall, inter alia, include the following objectives:
D3.1.6.1

Commitment to implement an SMS;

D3.1.6.1

Commitment to continual improvement in the level of safety;

D3.1.6.1

Commitment to the management of safety risks;

D3.1.6.1

Commitment to encourage employees to report safety issues;

D3.1.6.1

Establishment of clear standards for acceptable behavior; and

D3.1.6.1

Identification of responsibilities of management and employees

with respect to safety performance.

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D3.1.7 The safety policy shall be reviewed periodically to ensure it remains relevant and
appropriate to the organization.
D3.1.8 An AMO / ATC shall establish safety objectives for the SMS.
D3.1.9 The safety objectives should be linked to the safety performance indicators,
safety performance targets and safety requirements of the SMS.
D3.2

Organizational structure and responsibilities:

D3.2.1

The Accountable Manager shall be responsible and accountable on behalf of

the AMO / ATC for meeting the requirements of this regulation.

D3.2.2

The Accountable Manager shall have the ultimate responsibility for the
implementation and maintenance of the SMS.

D3.2.3

The Accountable Manager shall have:

D3.2.3.1

Full control of the human resources required for the activities

authorised to be conducted under the approval certificate;

D3.2.3.2

Full control of the financial resources required for the activities

authorised to be conducted under the approval certificate;

D3.2.3.3

Final authority over activities authorized to be conducted under

the approval certificate;

D3.2.3.4

Direct responsibility for the conduct of the organisations affairs;

and;

D3.2.3.2

Final responsibility for all safety issues.

D3.2.4

An AMO / ATC shall establish the safety structure necessary for the
implementation and maintenance of the SMS.

D3.2.5

An AMO / ATC shall identify the safety responsibilities of all members of

senior management, irrespective of other responsibilities.

D3.2.6

Safety-related positions, responsibilities and authorities shall be defined,

documented and communicated throughout the organisation.

D3.2.3.7 An AMO / ATC shall identify a Safety Manager to be the member of

management who shall be the responsible individual and focal point for
the implementation and maintenance of an effective SMS.
D3.2.3.8 The Safety Manager shall:
D3.2.3.8.1 Ensure that processes needed for the SMS are established,
implemented and maintained;
D3.2.3.8.2 Report to the Accountable Manager on the performance of the
SMS and on any need for improvement;
D3.2.3.8.3 Ensure safety promotion throughout the organization.
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D3.3

SMS implementation plan:

D3.3.1

An AMO / ATC shall develop and maintain an SMS implementation plan.

D3.3.2

The SMS implementation plan shall be the definition of the approach the AMO
/ ATC will adopt for managing safety in a manner that will meet the
organizations safety needs.

D3.3.3

The SMS implementation plan shall include the following:

D3.3.3.1

Safety policy and objectives;

D3.3.3.2

Safety roles and responsibilities;

D3.3.3.3

System description;

D3.3.3.4

Gap analysis;

D3.3.3.5

SMS components;

D3.3.3.6

Safety indicators

D3.3.3.7

Safety Targets

D3.3.3.8

Safety Performance indicators

D3.3.3.9

Safety performance targets

D3.3.3.10

Safety performance measurement

D3.3.3.11

Safety communication;

D3.3.3.12

Safety reporting policy Means of employee involvement; and

D3.3.3.13

Management review of safety performance.

D3.3.4

The SMS implementation plan shall be endorsed by senior management of

the organization.

D3.3.5

An AMO / ATC shall, as part of the development of the SMS implementation

plan, complete a system description.

D3.3.6

The system description shall include the following:

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D3.3.61

The system interactions with other systems in the air transportation

system;

D3.3.62

The system functions;

D3.3.63

Required Human Factors considerations of the system operation;

D3.3.64

Hardware components of the system;

D3.3.65

Software components of the system;

D3.3.66

Related procedures that define guidance for the operation

and use of the system;

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D3.3.7

D3.4

D3.3.67

Operational environment; and

D3.3.68

Contracted and purchased products and services.

An AMO / ATC shall, as part of the development of the SMS implementation

plan, complete a gap analysis, in order to:
D3.3.7.1

Identify the safety arrangements existing within the

organization;

D3.3.7.2

Determine additional safety arrangements required to

implement and maintain the organizations SMS.

Coordination of the emergency response plan:

D3.4.1 An AMO / ATC shall develop and maintain, or coordinate, as appropriate, an
emergency response plan (ERP) that shall ensure:

D3.5

D3.4.1.1

Orderly and efficient transition from normal to emergency operations;

D3.4.1.2

Designation of emergency authority;

D3.4.1.3

Assignment of emergency responsibilities;

D3.4.1.4

Coordination of efforts to cope with the emergency; and

D3.4.1.5

Safe continuation of operations, or return to normal operations as

soon as possible.

Documentation:
D3.5.1 An AMO / ATC shall develop and maintain SMS documentation, in paper or
electronic form, to describe the following:
D3.5.1.1

Safety policy;

D3.5.1.2

Safety objectives;

D3.5.1.3

SMS requirements, procedures and processes;

D3.5.1.4

Responsibilities and authorities for procedures and processes; and

D3.5.1.5

SMS outputs.

D3.5.2 An AMO / ATC shall, as part of the SMS documentation, develop and maintain a
Safety Management Sysyrm Manual (SMSM), to communicate the organizations
approach to safety throughout the organization.
D3.5.3 The SMSM shall document all aspects of the SMS, and its contents shall include
the following:

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D3.5.3.1

Scope of the safety management system;

D3.5.3.2

Safety policy and objectives;

D3.5.3.3

Safety accountabilities;

D3.5.3.4

Key safety personnel;

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D3.5.3.5

Documentation control procedures;

D3.5.3.6

Emergency response planning;

D3.5.3.7

Hazard identification and risk management schemes;

D3.5.3.8

Safety performance monitoring;

D3.5.3.9

Management of change;

D3.5.3.10 Safety auditing; and

D3.5.3.11 Safety promotion.
NOTE : The SMM may be a stand-alone document, or may be included as part of existing
documentation, for example, as a chapter or division of a Maintenance Organization Exposition
(MOE).

D4.

SAFETY RISK MANAGEMENT:

D4.1

D4.2

D4.3

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General:
D4.1.1

An AMO / ATC shall develop and maintain safety data collection and
processing systems (SDCPS) that provide for the identification of
hazards and the analysis, assessment and control of risks.

D4.1.2

An AMO / ATC SDCPS shall include reactive, proactive and predictive

methods of safety data collection.

Hazard identification:
D4.2.1

An AMO / ATC shall develop and maintain formal means of collecting,

recording, acting on and generating feedback about hazards in
operations, which combine reactive, proactive and predictive methods
of safety data collection.

D4.2.2

The hazard identification process shall include the following steps:

D4.2.2.1

Reporting of hazards, events or safety concerns;

D4.2.2.2

Collection and storing the safety data;

D4.2.2.3

Analysis of the safety data; and

D4.2.2.4

Distribution of the safety information distilled from the

safety data.

Risk management:
D4.3.1

An AMO / ATC shall develop and maintain a formal risk management

process that ensures the analysis, assessment and control of risks to
an acceptable level.

D4.3.2

The risks in each hazard identified through the hazard identification

processes shall be analyzed in terms of probability and severity of
occurrence, and assessed for their tolerability.

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D5.

D4.3.3

The organization shall define the levels of management with authority

to make safety risk tolerability decisions.

D4.3.4

The organization shall define safety controls for each risk assessed as
intolerable.

SAFETY ASSURANCE:
D5.1

D5.2

General :
D5.1.1

An AMO / ATC shall develop and maintain safety assurance processes

to ensure that the safety risks controls developed as a consequence of
the hazard identification and risk management activities under
paragraph F achieve their intended objectives.

D5.1.2

Safety assurance processes shall apply to an SMS whether the

activities and/or operations are accomplished internally or outsourced.

Safety performance monitoring and measurement:

D5.2.1

An AMO / ATC shall, as part of the SMS safety assurance activities,

develop and maintain the necessary means to verify safety
performance of the organization in comparison with the approved
safety policies and objectives and to validate the effectiveness of
implemented safety risk controls.

D5.2.2

Safety performance monitoring and measurement means shall include

the following:
D5.2.2.1
D5.2.2.2
D5.2.2.3
D5.2.2.4
D5.2.2.5
D5.2.2.6

D5.2.3

D5.3

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Safety reporting;
Safety audits;
Safety surveys;
Safety reviews;
Safety studies;
Internal safety investigations

The safety reporting procedure shall set out the conditions under which
immunity from disciplinary action would be considered.

Management of change:
D5.3.1

An AMO / ATC shall, as part of the SMS safety assurance activities,

develop and maintain a formal process for the management of change.

D5.3.2

The formal process for the management of change shall:

D5.3.2.1

Identify changes within the organization, which may affect

established processes and services;

D5.3.2.2

Describe the arrangements to ensure safety performance

before implementing changes; and

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D5.3.2.3
D5.4

Eliminate or modify safety risk controls that are no longer

needed due to changes in the operational environment.

Continuous improvement of the safety system:

D5.4.1 An AMO / ATC shall, as part of the SMS safety assurance activities,
develop and maintain formal processes to identify the causes of underperformance of the SMS, determine the implications in its operation, and
eliminate such causes, in order to ensure the continual improvement of
the SMS.
D5.4.2 Continuous improvement of the AMO / ATC SMS shall include:

D6.

D5.4.2.1

Proactive and reactive evaluations of facilities, equipment,

documentation and procedures, to verify the effectiveness of
strategies for control of safety risks; and

D5.4.2.2

Proactive evaluation of the individuals performance, to verify

the fulfillment of safety responsibilities.

Safety Promotion
D6.1

General :
D6.1.1 An AMO / ATC shall develop and maintain formal safety training and
safety communication activities to create an environment where the
safety objectives of the organization can be achieved.

D6.2

Safety Training:
D6.2.1 An AMO / ATC shall, as part of its safety promotion activities, develop
and maintain a safety training programme that ensures that personnel
are trained and competent to perform the SMS duties.
D6.2.2 The scope of the safety training shall include out of the box courses and
be appropriate to the individuals involvement in the SMS.
D6.2.3 The Accountable Manager shall receive safety awareness training
regarding:
D6.2.3.1
D6.2.3.2
D6.2.3.3
D6.2.3.4
D6.2.3.5

D6.3

SMS roles and responsibilities;

Safety policy;
SMS objectives; and
Safety assurance
Out of the box courses

Safety communication:
D6.3.1 An AMO / ATC shall, as part of its safety promotion activities, develop
and maintain formal means for safety communication, to:
D6.3.1.1
D6.3.1.2
D6.3.1.3
D6.3.1.4

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Ensure that all staff is fully aware of the SMS;

Convey safety critical information;
Explain why particular safety actions are taken; and
Explain why safety procedures are introduced or changed.
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D6.4

Formal means of safety communication shall include:

D6.4.1 Safety policies and procedures;
D6.4.2 Newsletters; and
D6.4.3 Bulletins.

D7.

QUALITY POLICY
D7.1

An AMO / ATC shall ensure that the organization quality policy is consistent with,
and supports the fulfillment of the activities of the SMS.

E.

EVIDENCES (ACRONYMS / RECORDS / REFERENCES):

E1.

ACRONYMS:
AMO
ATC
PCAA
SM
SMS
SMSM

E2.

Approved Maintenance Organisation

Approved Training Centre
Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority
Safety Manager
Safety Management system
Safety Management System Manual

RECORDS:
Nil

E3.

REFERENCES:
CARs 1994
Pakistan SSP Manual
ICAO Annexes 1, 6, 8, 13,
ICAO SMS Manual (doc-9859)

IMPLEMENTATION:
This Airworthiness Notice shall be implemented with effect from 10th May, 2011 and
repeals / cancel / supersedes Policy Letter No.77, dated 5th November, 2007.

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