International Helicopter Safety Team Safety Management System Toolkit

Management of Change
Change is the catalyst for performing the hazard
identification and risk management process. Some
examples of change include but are not limited to:
Organizational structure
Acquisition of equipment
Fleet make-up
Mission content or type
Personnel management
Regulations
Competition
Costumer base
Security
Financial status
Routines and habits are a part of “the way things
have always been done.” This can be counterproductive
to actually affecting change. People get used to
doing things a certain way. Change is often viewed
negatively because it is something different and not
part of the normal routine.
When change becomes necessary it is vital to
involve affected personnel in the process in order to
gain buy-in and acceptance, as well as ownership in
the management of change process. All involved in
the process must be aware of “what” needs to change
and “why.” It is important to engage and motivate
staff as well in order to create an atmosphere of
understanding what change can bring about in order
to move through the entire process of change.
All organizations, regardless of size, are involved in
continual change. The traditional model used in dealing
with change is based on a specific desired outcome
through solving very specific and limited tasks/jobs.
People evolve into a process of management of change
focused on continuous improvement in the process. (The
way they do things every day.)
Unless properly managed, changes in organizational
structure, personnel, documentation, processes
or procedures, can result in the inadvertent introduction
of hazards resulting in increased risk. Good
organizations continually seek to find ways to improve
processes, recognizing that changes need to be properly
and effectively managed. The organization can
minimize the likelihood of introducing risk associated
with change by:
Analyzing changes in operational procedures or
processes to identify required changes in training,
documentation or equipment
Analyzing changes in location of equipment or
operating conditions for potential hazards
Ensuring all maintenance and operations manuals
are kept up-to-date with the most current changes
Having a process to ensure all personnel are
aware and understand changes in requirements,
procedures and applicable maintenance and operations
manuals
Defining the level of management to approve
a change
Change Process
Since the transformational process is by its very
nature difficult, there has to be a strong motivation
to stick with the effort. This motivation must exist
throughout the team, or the person in a small organization,
assigned to achieve the goal of the project.
A sense of urgency must exist at the beginning of the
process at the top of the organization. In a small
organization the champion may be a one-person
band. The SMS champion must convince top
management, to the greatest extent possible, what
the organization must do and who must do it. The
champion should remind leaders that the ICAO has
mandated SMS in its member states, and each of
those states is in the process of accomplishing the
mandate. No matter what their initial level of
support for SMS, people understand the wisdom of
quick adoption of programs they will eventually have
to do anyway.
In a small organization, the champion may be
the only member of the implementation team. In
larger organizations, it is important the champion
be empowered to select members of the SMS
implementation team from across all departments.
The members of the implementation team do not
have to be top-level managers. In fact there is much
to be said for team members not being part of
management. While team members should not be
the executive VP’s, they should have a high degree
of respect within the organization, because they
are going to be leading their coworkers into a new
way of doing business.
SMS Toolkit 61