SMS was designed to manage risk — but in today's rapidly evolving aviation landscape, is your SMS keeping pace?
Meet Our Panelists

Panelist:
John Babcook
Director, Flight Operations - Safety and Quality Management
United Airlines

Panelist:
Steve Hough
Managing Principal Consultant
Baines Simmons

Panelist:
Hector Hidalgo Medellin
Managing Director
Lufthansa Group Quality Services
Senior Manager Quality, Safety and Compliance
Lufthansa Aviation Training Group

Moderator:
Mark Millam
Director Technical Programs and Events
Flight Safety Foundation
As aviation operations grow increasingly complex — with the integration of advanced technologies, expanded global networks, and emerging sectors like uncrewed aerial systems and urban air mobility — SMS must continue to mature to remain effective. Modern SMS must evolve into dynamic, data-driven frameworks capable of anticipating and mitigating risks in real time. This maturation involves deeper integration of predictive analytics, cross-sector collaboration, and a strong safety culture that encourages transparency and continuous learning. This panel will discuss meeting these challenges while being scalable and adaptable to support diverse stakeholders and keep the public trust.
Webinar Takeaways
- Implementing SMS requires an organizational and cultural change. Beware of “stalling” – having the outlines of an SMS on paper but not having it function in reality. Include historical data trends and advanced analytics to identify or anticipate future risks.
- Current or anticipated risks can be identified and effectively managed through appropriate safety objectives. Review and assess safety objectives regularly to ensure pertinence in an ever-evolving environment.
- Provide greater focus on the need to intentionally design safe systems (processes) to control safety outcomes. Increase SMS maturity by adopting “systems thinking” to transition from a focus on individual components toward controlling their interactions across the system.
Join the discussion and explore how leading organizations are advancing SMS to stay ahead of emerging risks — before they become incidents.
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