SMS does not replace existing Airport safety processes and regulatory oversight; rather, SMS provides us with an opportunity to create systems to support the safe delivery of all DCA operations that are efficient, effective, and that we can collaboratively evaluate and monitor.
SMS is a system for how DCA approaches our organization's safety by uniting our aviation community’s efforts and existing processes. SMS provides a framework for avoiding duplicated effort and misunderstanding and ensuring our safety work works. At DCA we will work together to tie efforts from all stakeholders in a systematic approach to understanding and managing risk, especially safety risk.
No safety program can eliminate all risk or guarantee safety. In part, that is why SMS is not a program. Instead, it is a systems approach to safety - one that acknowledges the role each of us plays to maintain a safe workplace. What SMS allows each of us to do is have a clearer vision for what safety looks like, not merely complying with rules and regulations. When our airport community is faced with a difficult situation for which there are no clear guidelines, SMS helps us approach the problem with clarity of purpose, learn more effectively from it, and build resilient teams committed to improving safety for everyone.
