The importance of safety reporting in a time of change

With many industry professionals furloughed or sitting on reserve for extended periods of time, in the haste to get back flying again the potential for safety incidents to occur has risen. Things that used to be second nature to us might now be forgotten, which can lead to near misses, slips, and lapses to happen. Changes in our daily lives, such as how we access and exit a building using a one-way system, wearing PPE, and the new anxiety levels we are all dealing with can also contribute to increased incidents.

Prior to Covid-19, it was a well-known fact that Safety Management Systems (SMS) required the proactive and reactive identification of flight safety hazards. We all know how vitally important it is that all accidents and incidents are reported in order for an investigation to take place to help us identify safety hazards and recognize trends. Now, it’s even more critical for us to focus on safety reporting.

What You Can Do

First of all, flight safety reporting should not just include incidents and accidents, but also any observed hazards, which may not yet have led to an accident, such as observations and near misses. Why? Because data from these reports enable us to understand the causes of hazards, helps to re-evaluate current procedures, and verify the effectiveness of changes to procedures. If you notice yourself nearly making a mistake or almost forgetting to do something, report it. That way, we can identify new opportunities and prevent others from making the same mistake.

Safety is in our Culture

At CAE, we operate a Just Culture to ensure that we can foster an environment in which people can openly report honest mistakes without the fear of recrimination.

Our Just Culture Policy:

• Actively promotes the continuous evaluation, identification of risk, and enhancement of the company safety program

• Fosters an environment in which there is an open, positive attitude toward reporting and feedback from all levels of the organization

• Provides mechanisms for Continuous Improvement, not punishment.

• Includes a detailed, fair process to ensure allow systematic safety improvements to be identified

Remember, it's up to us all to keep safety reporting top-of-mind, so we can keep the skies safe.