Organization:SMS Pro
SMS Pro is a quasi-philanthropical organization supported by a world-wide group of aviation safety and high-tech business professionals.
SMS Pro’s current mission extends not only to reducing risk to terrestrial operations, but also to commercial and military space travel. During 2020-2021, SMS Pro database became the driving intelligence behind the first FAA certificate application for any commercial space tourism company.
SMS Pro’s most compelling value for space travel companies (and high-tech companies such as evolving high-value drone-package delivery and drone-taxi companies) comes from highly complex, intuitive integrations encompassing the entire aviation risk management lifecycle. Globally, civil aviation regulatory auditors and NASA advisors find SMS Pro’s well-constructed integration compliant, compelling and promising.
Early Years Development
SMS Pro is the idea of Brendan McCormack (Pilot/Safety Manager), Jerry Dennis (former Medallion director) and Peter Gardiner (former President of SCSI). NWDS was enlisted later to design a scalable aviation risk management database that could support global aviation operations from a Web environment. The two latter founding members (Dennis and Gardiner) passed away during the nascent SMS Pro years.
Jerry Dennis' evangelical role in promoting safety across the world was cut short, just as Peter Gardiner's vision of supporting SMS Pro using his global aviation safety training company. Peter Gardiner's vision received continuous support for many years afterwards from SCSI's highly qualified instructors on aviation safety and accident investigations.
From 2010-2011, several airports used SMS Pro services throughout the FAA SMS implementation study, including Cheyenne Regional and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Origin of "SMS Partners"
SMS Pro's founding members' deaths prompted SMS Pro to seek additional industry champions to promote the founding members' vision of a safer global aviation industry. These additional champions grew to be known as "SMS Partners."
SMS Pro has been servicing aviation service providers globally since 2008. Aviation professionals across the globe have been contributing to, testing and refining SMS Pro’s aviation risk management workflows. SMS Pro management believe aviation safety is more important than profits and their actions have supported this statement for over a decade.
SMS Pro Supporting Organizations and Individuals
Since 2006, SMS Pro continues to be supported by many individuals from highly professional organizations, including, but definitely not limited to:
- Medallion Foundation Members (FAA sponsored charged to promote aviation safety in Alaska, since 2006);
- Southern California Safety Institute (SCSI, since 2006)
- Cirrus Safety (Mike Doiron and John Dutcher, since 2010)
- Conoco-Phillips/BP Aviation Services (employee contributions without corporate support 2006-2010)
- JDA Aviation Technology Solutions (Bethesda, Maryland, since 2011)
- MITRE Organization (Kent Hollinger - since 2011)
- The Aviation Consulting Group (Dr. Bob Baron, since 2012)
- Phoenix Safety Australia (Glenn Jones, since 2012)
- NorthWest Data Solutions (NWDS – Technology Support since 2007, originated in 2003)
- The Aerospace Safety Software Company (TASSC, since 2020)
- Pilot and Trained Safety Expert Gary Williams w/Bob Gastrock (2008-2015)
- Thought Process (Ian Dix - Australia 2009-2014)
- Hughes Aerospace (Chris Baur & Team 2012-2018)
- Blackbird Aviation (South Africa 2014-2018)
- Plane Torque (Alan Jupp - Australia since 2010)
- System Safety (Gordon and Renee Dupont, BC, Canada - Invaluable ERP Guidance)
- IBM Montreal (French translation)
- Airside Safety Operations International (Portuguese Translation)
SMS Pro Fosters Relationships
From the above list, we see that SMS Pro nurtures valuable, long-lasting relationships. Several of the entities above have contributed thousands of hours of unpaid, professional-level service toward the SMS Pro vision. This labor of love involved contributing to and testing multitudinous risk management workflows. Most valuable is the critical “common risk management vocabulary” that they share from across the globe within multiple distinct aviation-type businesses, including airlines, airports, maintenance, flight schools, etc.
Without the support of Mike Rioux (JDA) and Gary Williams, the SMS Pro vision would not have survived past 2012. These two SMS pioneers are true SMS champions and the world unknowingly owes these hidden heroes a huge debt.
The Nigerian civil aviation authority uses SMS Pro to provide oversight to many operators using the SMS Pro database. Many Nigerian aviation safety professionals support their safety initiatives using SMS Pro resources.
SMS Pro provides a free educational aviation risk management blog that is used by aviation safety professionals worldwide. These educational resources add value and promote safety to regions lacking active civil aviation authority (CAA) regulatory oversight. Furthermore, disadvantage regions with CAAs lacking resources to publish SMS guidance material often use SMS Pro online resources, such as checklists and risk management templates.
SMS Pro Database and Web Application
SMS Pro is also an aviation safety management systems (SMS) software package satisfying regulatory requirements for managing aviation SMS documentation requirements. The SMS Pro team provides a web based SMS application powered by an enterprise-level database, SMS training, and tools for aviation service providers to manage safety, security, quality, and environmental issues worldwide.[1]
SMS Pro is modeled after ICAO advisory material and the Four Pillars of SMS, and serves aviation service providers worldwide.[2] SMS Pro has been managed from Anchorage, Alaska since 2006.
SMS Pro facilitates collaboration across a geographically dispersed workforce commonly found in aviation organizations across the globe.
Operations
SMS Pro is headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska, but provides SMS and risk management training all around the globe. They provide compliance guidance and other risk management educational material to providers based on guidance from major civil aviation authorities, including ICAO, FAA, Transport Canada, IS-BAO, and EASA.[3]
SMS Pro is managed by NorthWest Data Solutions, which also develops commercial databases and web software.[4][5]
Clients
SMS Pro was designed specifically for aviation safety management,[6] and has been adopted by airports, airlines, maintenance repair organizations, flight schools, quasi-military/police and private aircraft operators.[7]
While SMS Pro is one of the most recognized SMS software applications within the aviation industry, there has been no adoption outside of the aviation industry as of 2021. Industry references are only found within aviation, under the aviation software categories.[8]
Technology
SMS Pro is a web-based application based on Microsoft .NET platform using a MS SQL Server database. SMS Pro has recently made efforts to be adopted as part of State Safety Programs, but as of yet no State Safety Programs have been created.[9]
Scholarship
SMS Pro provides two $1,000 scholarships each year to students participating in aviation safety courses.[10]
References
- ↑ June 2011 Newsletter JDA Aviation Safety Solutions (1 June 2011)
- ↑ Aviation Safety Management Tools Atc Vantage (9 August 2012)
- ↑ SMS Scalability for Smaller Airlines Flair air (12 February 2016)
- ↑ NorthWest Data Solutions Yelp
- ↑ Capterra Business Software
- ↑ Safety Management System Manual Clearwater Air Inc (30 March 2015)
- ↑ SMS In Practical Terms FAA Briefing (2 November 2011)
- ↑ Airline Update
- ↑ For Civil Aviation Authorities Total Aviation Safety Solutions (Retrieved 11 April 2018)
- ↑ Western Michigan University SMS Pro Scholarship
External links
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