2009 SMS Pilot Project (SMSPP) Analysis - FAA

• Assessment section for FAA use
The MSMS team and the D&M organizations used the GAIPT in conducting the analyses and
creating the plans, as described in the following sections. A link to the GAIPT is in Appendix B.
Preliminary Gap Analysis (PGA)
The MSMS team intended that the two-day meeting to complete the PGA would involve a
discussion between the PMT and the Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from various departments
within the D&M organizations. The MSMS team asked each organization to have their
departmental/organizational SMEs at the meeting. They also were asked to determine the scope
of where they planed to apply SMS before the PGA.
The PGA is a high-level subjective analysis of where the organization stands with respect to the
D&M SMS framework. SMEs were needed to discuss which of the organizaton’s systems met
the expectations of the SMS framework. In this initial step, the organization analyzes and
assesses its existing programs, systems, processes, and activities with respect to the SMS
functional expectations in the framework. Any place that does not meet expectations is defined
as a gap.
Using the GAT, the PMT explained each of the components and elements in the framework. The
PMT asked the SMEs what existing documented procedures and processes met the SMS
framework. An assessment value in the gap tool was selected to facilitate the gap analysis and
plans to implement an SMS.
The objectives of the PGA are to:
1. Ensure the organization and FAA have a common understanding of the gap analysis
process
2. Help the organization describe itself using a set of SMS system segments.
3. Develop a common understanding of the D&M SMS framework expectations in the
context of the organization and its operations.
4. Obtain an initial understanding of the organization’s processes across departments and/or
organizations to determine if they meet the D&M SMS framework expectations.
MSMS Team Analysis of PGA
The MSMS team believed that most, if not all, of the pilot project organizations would have
good representation of departments (e.g., engineering, quality, manufacturing, product support,
flight operations, and supplier management) at the meeting. However, not all organizations were
represented during the first MSMS team’s SMS orientation meeting. The MSMS team believed
this would have made the preliminary gap discussions more productive. For the subsequent
meetings, the MSMS team emphasized that senior executives should attend the PGA meetings
with SMEs, because without this level of expertise, the PGA is difficult to complete.
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