Making Canada safer

Safety management systems (SMS) help companies identify safety risks before they become bigger problems. Transport Canada regulations require the aviation industry to put safety management systems in place as an extra layer of protection to help save lives.

Leading the world

Safety management systems will become an international requirement in 2010. Canada leads the world in having these systems already in place. Credit for this success goes to Transport Canada inspectors, who have worked hard to promote the importance of safety management systems.

Inspecting and enforcing the law

Transport Canada inspects aviation operations to make sure they meet safety regulations and enforces the law when they don’t. Transport Canada’s role now goes even further, as it also measures how well industry safety management systems are working.

Dynamic and proactive safety systems

Transport Canada lets industry groups tailor the safety management system (SMS) within guidelines set out in the regulations, to meet their unique operating requirements, but expects the company to measure how well the system works. SMS is based on the idea that you can always find better ways to prevent hazards, so the system will always be changing.

Safety management systems are working

Some industry groups with safety management systems (SMS) are already reporting that this new requirement makes good business sense. A safe company attracts more clients. That equals success. These success stories encourage other companies to put in place systems that meet the new regulations.

Checkout what industry is saying at the SMS Information Sessions.