SMS Certification

Planning and Organization. Level 1 begins when your management team commits to providing the resources necessary for full SMS implementation. Level 1 includes a thorough understanding of your organizational structure and a comparison (gap analysis) between the part 5 requirements and your organizational structure. Your organization will develop an implementation plan to bridge your identified gaps. The final implementation plan must be approved by your CMT.

Basic Safety Management. SRM is Effective, and all other components are Operating.

 

Level 2 is where you develop and implement basic Safety Risk Management (SRM) and Safety Assurance (SA) processes and apply those processes to existing systems. This is often called the “reactive phase.” At this phase, your company is able to identify hazards and address unacceptable risk. Level 2 implementation, depending on the size and complexity of the organization, typically takes 12 months to complete.

Functional SMS. SRM and two other components are Effective.

 

Level 3 is where your SRM process will be applied to the initial design of systems, processes, organizations, and services; development of new or changed operational procedures; and planned changes to operational processes. This is the “proactive/predictive” phase, where risks in future planned operations are addressed. Both the SRM and SA processes developed at Level 2 are now applied in a predictive manner —applying safety management to something that you have not done before. At the completion of Level 3, you have a fully implemented SMS.

Continuous Improvement. All SMS Components are Effective.

 

At Level 4, you are monitoring your SMS and operational processes. By the time you reach this level, all required SMS processes are already in place. A major objective of a successful SMS is to attain and maintain this continuous improvement status for the life of the organization.