Story ID: 
FAA Official: ‘Don't Over-engineer’ SMS
By: Kerry Lynch
Caption: FAA told to ‘hire, hire, hire’ in its safety workforce
Word Count: 926
With the May 2027 safety management system (SMS) deadline looming for manufacturers, air tours, and charter operators, the FAA is finding that a lack of understanding is still prevalent on how to develop and implement SMS, according to Tim Adams, acting director of the FAA’s Office of Safety Standards.
Participating in a fireside chat at the recent National Air Transportation Association Air Charter Summit in Washington, D.C., Adams cited the misunderstanding over implementation as one of the biggest stumbling blocks surrounding SMS.
Another, he noted, surrounds the inspector workforce. “We have to realize that the majority of our inspector workforce were once commercial aviators, and transitioning them from an aviator to a regulator is a journey, so be patient,” he advised attendees at the summit. Adams noted that if there is a disagreement or misunderstanding, operators can initiate the agency’s Consistency and Standardization Initiative (CSI) process that elevates the questions.
“I think the third [stumbling block]—and there’s nothing to support this other than just a gut feeling—is the ability for a service provider to actually conform in a well-practiced manner to its own safety policy,” Adams added.
Along those lines, he provided advice on developing an SMS.  “Don’t over-engineer it. Also, don’t try to use someone else’s because it’s not going to fit what your organization does. And, then, conduct a gap analysis of the things you already do.”
He said organizations will be surprised that most of what they already do falls within one of the four components of an SMS. Most of the gaps likely will fall under the safety policy component, he suggested, noting that this is what they found in the Part 121 realm. 
“Probably most importantly, once you close those gaps and redefine and work that safety policy, commit to following it,” Adams added.
The FAA has been working to leverage associations to help dispel myths about SMS. One of the best ways to collaborate on them, he added, is through continual sharing of information and data. But he acknowledged that the onus is on the regulator to build trust on that front.
“We need to…work with industry to reassure you that the information that you’re sharing is not going to be used against you in some sort of enforcement or entrapment manner, and really, it can be the next paradigm shift in advancing aviation safety as we share information across the board.”
Meanwhile, the FAA is working on the training piece, revamping its courses based on lessons learned from Part 121 implementation. It is trying to adopt what Adams called a “maturity model” based on the confidence inspectors have in an SMS program. In other words, the more confidence an inspector has in the program, the less hands-on oversight it will require.
“To gain confidence in that, the inspector workforce needs not just to check a box that you have an SMS that you’ve pulled it off the shelf and dusted it off and shown us. They need to be going in and asking the question, ‘OK, well, where did you identify a hazard? Show me how you mitigated that risk. OK, now show me how you are sure that you mitigated that risk and are doing that kind of closed loop between safety risk management and safety assurance.’”
Once that confidence is built, the FAA will use its risk-based decision-making surrounding surveillance.
Adams also addressed questions about using designees and balancing the workforce to reduce wait times in areas such as minimum equipment list (MEL) approvals and pilot check rides.
On the workforce, he noted that safety inspectors were protected from ongoing cuts and, in fact, do not qualify for the optional early retirements offered this year. Instead, the agency has been told to “hire, hire, hire,” he said, and it is using a variety of recruiting tools such as incentives.
Adams also reassured that the FAA is relying on individual designees, “actually quite a bit… It really does free up the inspector workforce to focus more on safety-critical functions that they need to perform and alleviates a lot of resources for us.” About 98% to 99% of the work or tasks that can be done are completed by designees, he added.
While he was unsure of wait times for MEL approvals, Adams said the agency recognizes that delays can ground aircraft, harming businesses with “a cascading effect.”
One of the issues that causes these delays is incomplete information submitted to the agency. The FAA is working on the education aspect of this, he said, but also is looking at potential technologies such as artificial intelligence to expedite initial scans that can flag when information is missing, ultimately expediting the process and freeing up inspector time. “We’re exploring those avenues. We’re a little ways off,” he said, including ensuring security surrounding the information.
The FAA is also exploring how to better leverage the use of designees to fill in gaps while balancing workload. A fraction of designated pilot examiners, for instance, may only do between one and 10 certification projects a year. “That’s not helping us because, no matter if you do 100 certifications or you do one certification, the amount of oversight that we have to provide on that designee is the same.”
—Jessica Reed contributed to this article