Human and Organizational Factors in Safety Management Systems

HOFSMS

3 April 2008

 

Course Description

The evolution of a business like approach to safety within high consequence industries, such as aviation, is taking the industry by storm.  The Safety Management System is a practical, systemic approach to safety.  Many countries have in fact mandated that aviation organizations, including maintenance and airport authorities besides the traditional air carriers, have an SMS in place.

Canada, Great Britain and Australia are but three leading examples.  ICAO’s Safety Management Manual, Doc 9859 AN460 lays out the 10 components of the SMS; however, how does one now take this theory and put it into practice?  More importantly, from the perspective of this course, how do safety professionals overcome the traditional barriers and resistance to change historically found in organizations?

This course targets those key human and organizational factors that deter or inhibit change within an organization, regardless of size!  Too often in today’s fast-paced world there is an unrealistic search for the ‘magic bullet’, the secret to success that can transform an organization overnight.  The reality is that such a ‘bullet’ does not exist; thus to assist safety professionals and managers  involved in SMS implementation, SCSI has put together this practical, hands-on course, that will provide answers and processes to help overcome barriers and facilitate the evolution of a safety culture.

 Who Should Attend

  • Safety Professionals and Managers who are in the process of implementing an SMS, or those who anticipate implementing an SMS in the near future

  • Personnel assigned to build, implement, evaluate, revise, and manage aviation safety programs

  • Individuals who need to understand the typical barriers and pitfalls likely to be encountered while leading change in aviation operations and how to anticipate these problems and develop in advance the processes to overcome those limiting factors – or even avoid them.

  • Those charged with implementing or assisting in the implantation of safety programs in their organization

How You Will Benefit


Those individuals who take this course will:

  • Understand the human and organizational challenges likely to be faced when leading a transition from a traditional approach to safety  to a Safety Management System

  • Develop practical tools to help facilitate anticipating and overcoming the limiting human and organizational factors to change

  • Understand the organizational culture in the context of a high consequence industry such as aviation

  • Develop and implement intervention strategies to reduce or eliminate barriers to change

  • Develop practical tools to facilitate effective communication within your organization, be it vertical or lateral, internal or external

  • Understand the challenges and develop tools to enhance internal alignment and external adaptation

  • Understand the relationships between Safety Management Systems and the reality of Organizational Accidents

  • Develop concepts on how to manage expectations at all levels of an organization

  • Participate in a communication workshop to enhance organizational effectiveness and/or facilitate change that will cover:

Organizational communication
Interpersonal communication
The challenges and barriers to communication effectiveness
Unleashing the power of safety forums and meetings

Upon course completion, the aviation professional will possess the knowledge and tools necessary to facilitate moving from the current approach to Safety  to a Safety Management System Approach

This course is accepted by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals for Continuance of Certification credit.

This course counts for the Certificate in Safety Management Systems granted by SCSI.

SCSI will award 3.6 CEUs to each participant who successfully completes this course.

Course Topics

  • Know your Enemy – Identification of the Key Areas Blocking/Limiting Organizational Change

  • Brief Review of ICAO’s Ten Components of an SMS

  • Safety Manager’s Toolbox – The Trusted Advisor

  • Organizational Culture

Safety Climate

The levels

The assumptions

Accidents in High Consequence Industries

  • Three Faces of Safety Management (Personal, Organizational, and Technical)

  • How to identify your organization’s safety culture and climate

  • A Systems Approach to Managing Change in a Safety Culture

  • Designing a transition strategy to minimize the adverse impacts of human and organizational resistance to change

  • Communication:

Organizational Communication

Interpersonal Communication

How to Unleash the Power of Safety Forums/Meetings

  • Utilizing the Three Mediums of Communication towards Organizational Effectiveness

  • Selling Lakeside Lots in Arizona – How to Laterally Market Safety Across Organizational Boundaries

  • Breaking Down Organizational Silos

  • Change – When to Lead and when to Manage

  • Evolution of a Safety Culture

  • Managing Expectations

  • How to anticipate resistance to change and how to formulate a change strategy by using

Surveys

Focus Groups

Interviewing

  • Video Case Studies

  • Case Studies

Course Instructor

Gary T Hook

Gary was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Canadian Air Force served for more than 35 years as a pilot, accumulating more than 5000 flight hours.  He has been directly involved with aviation safety for more than 28 years and in fact received the Air Force’s highest commendation for his significant and lasting impact on influencing their safety culture  He has developed an expertise in human factors, Organizational Culture, Maintenance and Crew Resource Management, Human Factors in Decision Making, Risk Management, leadership studies and communication; additionally he is a certified corporate facilitator for the Franklin-Covey workshops including the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and 4 Roles of Leadership.

He served as the Commander’s senior advisor on flight safety for six years and spent the last two years of his regular service time as Commandant, Central Flying School.  IN this position he was both the Commander’s Senior Standards Eval officer for all flying training and was in charge of the Canadian Air Forces training for Human Performance in Military Aviation, a composite program that covers MRM, CRM and TRM at all levels, including the organizational level.

As an instructor and facilitator he has extensive international experience with both civilian and military organizations, including:

  • Completely redesigned the CF Air Force Safety Management System courses significantly enhancing the human factors and practical application of the material
  • Being  awarded two commendations for his leadership and enhancement of the safety culture
  • On an annual basis, he facilitates a leadership workshop for ALL new Commanding Officers in the Air Force
  • presented workshops at major international symposiums including the International Symposium in Aviation Psychology, the Canadian Aviation Safety Seminar and the Summer Winter Integrated Field Technologies (SWIFT), the world’s premier airfield conference
  • Developed and taught safety management systems courses to the NATO Airborne Early Warning Wing, Geilenkirchen, Germany and the Royal Brunei Air Force, Brunei
  • Brought in to deliver a key note presentation at the United States Air Force Reserve CRM conference, 2003

A lead instructor with SCSI in the areas of safety management systems, human factors, organizational culture, risk management and witness interviewing; additionally he has a client base which includes KLM, FedEx, Alaska Air Carriers Association, Vancouver International Airport, and the National Energy Board of Canada.

Course Administration

Taught at the DoubleTree Hotel on the waterfront in San Pedro in Southern California, the HOFSMS Course consists of 4.5 days (36 hours) of instruction. Students receive lecture outlines and additional reference material and a Certificate of Completion. Classes begin daily at 0800 and end at noon on Friday

Course Schedule, Location and Tuition