Expert SMS Design, Implementation & Audit for Every Sector of Civil Aviation

Aerospace and Aviation Consulting Services (AACS) is one of the most experienced Safety Management System consultancies in the aviation industry. We design, implement, audit, and enhance SMS frameworks across airlines, airports, charter operators, flight training organisations, approved maintenance organisations, and government aviation authorities worldwide.

Our SMS capability is grounded in genuine regulatory and operational authority. One of AACS’s senior consultants was directly responsible for writing the SMS regulations for airlines and airports — the very rules that operators are now required to comply with. This is not a background built on interpreting the regulations from the outside. It is built on having written them. That distinction matters when an operator needs SMS advice that goes beyond surface-level compliance and into the intent, architecture, and practical application of the regulatory framework itself.

AACS aligns all SMS advisory with ICAO Annex 19 (Safety Management), ICAO Doc 9859 (Safety Management Manual), EASA, CASA implementing rules across air operations, aerodromes, and approved maintenance, and the national SMS regulatory requirements of client jurisdictions globally.

What is a Safety Management System?

A Safety Management System is a systematic, organisation-wide approach to managing safety risk. It provides the structure, processes, and accountability framework through which an aviation organisation identifies hazards, assesses and mitigates risk, monitors safety performance, and continuously improves its safety outcomes.

ICAO Annex 19 defines SMS as comprising four interconnected components:

•       Safety Policy and Objectives — establishing leadership commitment and the governance framework for safety

•       Safety Risk Management — identifying hazards and assessing and controlling the risks they present

•       Safety Assurance — monitoring safety performance and verifying that risk controls remain effective

•       Safety Promotion — building the safety culture, competency, and communication that sustains the system

An effective SMS is not a collection of documents. It is a living organisational system that generates safety intelligence, enables proactive risk management, and drives measurable improvements in safety performance. AACS builds SMS frameworks that achieve this — not frameworks that simply satisfy the inspector on the day of the audit.

SMS Services by Sector

Airline SMS

For commercial airlines operating under EASA EU 965/2012 or equivalent national frameworks, an SMS aligned with ORO.GEN.200 is both a regulatory requirement and the foundation of operational safety governance. AACS designs airline SMS frameworks that satisfy authority requirements while generating actionable safety intelligence at scale.

Services include:

•       SMS framework design aligned with ICAO Annex 19 and ORO.GEN.200

•       Hazard identification and operational risk assessment methodology

•       Safety Performance Indicator (SPI) development and baseline establishment

•       Occurrence reporting system design and just culture policy development

•       Safety investigation policy and root cause analysis methodology (HFACS, ICAM, Bow-Tie)

•       Safety review board and safety committee governance structure

•       SMS integration with compliance monitoring and flight data analysis programmes

•       SMS documentation — safety management manual, procedures, forms and records

•       SMS maturity assessment and structured improvement roadmap

•       Airline SMS training for accountable managers, safety managers, and operational staff

AACS airline SMS advisory draws directly on the experience of having written the regulatory requirements. We know not only what the regulations require, but why each element was designed, what problems it was intended to solve, and how to implement it in a way that generates genuine safety value.

Airport SMS

Aerodrome operators certificated under ICAO Annex 14 and national aerodrome regulations are required to implement an SMS that addresses the unique multi-stakeholder environment of an airport — where airlines, ground handlers, maintenance organisations, air traffic services, and regulatory authorities all operate in close proximity. AACS designs airport SMS frameworks that manage this complexity effectively.

Services include:

•       Aerodrome SMS framework design aligned with ICAO Annex 14 and national CAA requirements

•       Airside hazard identification and risk assessment methodology

•       Wildlife strike, FOD, runway incursion and ground movement risk management frameworks

•       Multi-stakeholder safety interface management and contractor SMS integration

•       Aerodrome safety performance monitoring and SPI framework development

•       Emergency response plan integration with the SMS framework

•       Aerodrome safety review board structure and governance documentation

•       Safety promotion and aerodrome safety culture assessment

•       Airport SMS audit and gap analysis against current regulatory requirements

•       Airport SMS training for accountable managers, aerodrome safety managers and airside staff

The SMS regulations for airports were written with a thorough understanding of the operational complexity of aerodrome environments. AACS brings that foundational knowledge to every airport SMS engagement, ensuring that frameworks are proportionate, practical, and effective.

Charter Operator SMS

Charter operators and non-scheduled air transport providers face the same SMS regulatory obligations as scheduled airlines, but often with smaller safety teams, leaner resources, and a more varied operational profile. AACS designs charter SMS frameworks that are proportionate to the operator’s size and risk profile without compromising regulatory completeness.

Services include:

•       SMS framework design scaled to charter operator size and operational complexity

•       Risk-proportionate hazard identification and risk assessment methodology

•       Occurrence reporting and investigation process design for small safety teams

•       Safety Performance Indicator selection appropriate to charter operations

•       Combined SMS and compliance monitoring framework design

•       Safety management manual and supporting documentation development

•       Practical SMS implementation support and mentoring for nominated safety managers

•       Charter operator SMS audit and regulatory gap analysis

A smaller operation does not mean a simpler risk environment. AACS ensures that charter operator SMS frameworks address the specific hazards of irregular operations, varied fleet types, and diverse route structures — not simply scaled-down versions of airline systems.

Flight Training Organisation SMS

Flight Training Organisations (FTOs) and Approved Training Organisations (ATOs) operate in a uniquely demanding safety environment — aircraft operated by student pilots, instructors under commercial pressure, and a constant cycle of first-time manoeuvres and simulated emergencies. AACS designs FTO and ATO SMS frameworks that address the specific risk profile of the training environment.

Services include:

•       ATO/FTO SMS framework design aligned with EASA Part ORA.GEN.200 requirements

•       Training-specific hazard identification — student error, circuit congestion, instructional risk

•       Risk assessment methodology adapted for training operations and syllabus management

•       Occurrence reporting system design encouraging student and instructor reporting

•       Just culture framework appropriate to the instructor-student relationship

•       Training safety performance monitoring and trend analysis

•       SMS integration with training quality management and course approval processes

•       FTO/ATO SMS training for chief flight instructors, safety officers and instructional staff

Safety management in a training organisation must also support the learning environment. AACS designs FTO SMS frameworks that create genuine safety intelligence without creating a reporting culture that inhibits the normal conduct of flight training.

Part 145 Approved Maintenance Organisation SMS

The requirement for Part 145 AMOs to implement a Safety Management System under Part 145.A.200 reflects the increasingly recognised role of maintenance organisations in the aviation safety chain. AACS designs maintenance SMS frameworks that address the specific human performance and organisational factors of the maintenance environment.

Services include:

•       Part 145 SMS framework design aligned with Part 145.A.200 and ICAO Annex 19

•       Maintenance hazard identification and risk assessment methodology

•       Maintenance Error Decision Aid (MEDA) and HFACS investigation methodology

•       Occurrence reporting system and just culture policy for maintenance staff

•       Safety Performance Indicators specific to maintenance operations

•       Human Factors programme integration with the SMS framework

•       SMS integration with the Part 145 compliance monitoring system

•       Safety management manual and maintenance SMS documentation suite

•       Part 145 SMS maturity assessment and improvement roadmap

Maintenance SMS must surface the latent organisational conditions that contribute to maintenance errors — not simply record the errors after they occur. AACS builds Part 145 SMS frameworks designed to identify systemic risk before it produces an airworthiness event.

Independent SMS Audit

An independent SMS audit provides an organisation with an objective assessment of whether its Safety Management System is performing as intended — not merely whether it is documented as required. AACS conducts independent SMS audits for operators, approved organisations, and aviation authorities seeking an external, evidence-based assessment of SMS effectiveness.

Services include:

•       Independent SMS gap analysis against ICAO Annex 19 four-pillar framework

•       SMS documentation review — safety policy, manuals, procedures and records

•       Safety performance data analysis and SPI effectiveness assessment

•       Occurrence reporting culture assessment — reporting rates, quality and follow-up

•       Safety risk management process effectiveness review

•       Safety assurance activity assessment — internal audit, investigation, monitoring

•       Safety culture assessment using structured interview and observation methodology

•       SMS maturity rating against recognised industry maturity models

•       Structured findings report with prioritised corrective action recommendations

•       Post-audit follow-up review and corrective action verification

An AACS independent SMS audit is conducted by advisors who wrote and thoroughly understand the regulatory standards against which compliance is being assessed. This provides a depth and precision of audit finding that generic compliance checklists cannot replicate.

AACS SMS Advisory Philosophy

Every SMS AACS designs is built on the same conviction: safety management is a discipline, not a documentation exercise. The measure of an effective SMS is not whether it satisfies an authority inspector on an audit day — it is whether it reliably identifies hazards, controls risks, and generates the safety intelligence that enables an organisation to continuously improve.

  SMS frameworks must reflect how the organisation actually operates — not how the regulation describes a generic operator

  Safety Performance Indicators must measure what matters, not what is easy to count

  Occurrence reporting systems must be trusted by the workforce or they will not be used

  Just culture is not a policy statement — it is a demonstrated organisational commitment

  SMS maturity is a journey, not a binary compliance outcome

  The best SMS advice comes from those who understand both the regulatory intent and the operational reality