Document
ORDER VS 8000.370C Aviation Safety Policy Effective Date: 06/22/2021 SUBJ: Aviation Safety (AVS) Safety Policy 1. Purpose of This Order. This order documents the Safety Policy for Aviation Safety (AVS) and it establishes management’s commitment, responsibility, and accountability for the AVS Safety Management System (AVSSMS), as well as identifies and assigns responsibilities to key personnel.
2. Audience. All AVS personnel.
3. Where Can I Find This Order. You can find this order on the MyFAA Employee website: https://employees.faa.gov/tools_resources/orders_notices / .
4. What this Order Cancels. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Order VS 8000.370B, Aviation Safety (AVS) Safety Policy , dated September 18, 2017.
5. Scope. This order fulfills requirements described in the current version of FAA Order VS 8000.367, AVS Safety Management System (AVSSMS) Requirements , and provides the foundation for, and commitment to implement and operate, a Safety Management System (SMS) in AVS.
Specifically, this document establishes the AVS Safety Policy, which is applicable to all AVS Services and Offices and all AVS employees. AVS Services and Offices include: the Flight Standards Service (FS), the Aircraft Certification Service (AIR), the Air Traffic Safety Oversight Service (AOV), the Office of Aerospace Medicine (AAM), the Office of Rulemaking (ARM), the Office of Quality, Integration and Executive Services (AQS), the Office of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (AUS), and the Office of Accident Investigation and Prevention (AVP).
6. Background.
a. The FAA’s mission is to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world. To support its mission, as well as to enhance aviation safety for the public and strengthen the FAA’s worldwide leadership in aviation safety, the AVSSMS integrates the management of safety risk into AVS business planning, operations, and decision-making processes.
b. The AVSSMS consists of four main components: Safety Policy, Safety Risk Management, Safety Assurance, and Safety Promotion. These components are covered in detail in the current version of FAA Order VS 8000.367. The components work together to enable AVS to manage the safety risk in the aerospace system.
c. As part of the FAA SMS, the AVSSMS is an integrated management system that establishes the roles, responsibilities, and relationships between AVS safety management practices and those in the aviation industry. Integrated safety management practices include sharing knowledge and safety information between the AVSSMS and product/service provider SMSs. In addition, AVS is working Distribution: Electronic Initiated By: AVS-1 06/22/2021 VS 8000.370C with international organizations through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Safety Management Panel (SMP), Safety Management International Collaboration Group (SM ICG), and other Civil Aviation Authorities (CAAs) to adopt standard approaches to SMS implementation and oversight.
7. Definitions. Terms used in this document are defined in the current version of FAA Order VS 8000.367, AVS Safety Management System (AVSSMS) Requirements .
8. Commitment to implement and maintain the AVSSMS.
a. The Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety (AVS-1) is committed to implementing and maintaining the AVSSMS to manage safety risk and continually improve safety in the aerospace system.
b. Service and Office Executive Directors are held accountable by AVS-1 to: (1) Implement, operate, integrate, and continually improve the AVSSMS, and (2) Communicate the requirements for the AVSSMS and this Safety Policy to AVS employees and other responsible parties (e.g., designees).
c. AVS management is committed to, and will continue to provide resources for, the implementation, operation, and continual improvement of the AVSSMS.
d. The AVSSMS is the basis for providing safety oversight of the product/service provider organizations for which AVS has oversight responsibility.
(1) AVS oversight organizations, which are AIR, FS, AOV, and AAM, ensure the product/service provider effectively manages the safety risk of their product/service.
(2) The AVSSMS enables AVS to evolve its method of oversight in accordance with the current versions of FAA Order 8000.373, Federal Aviation Administration Compliance Program , and FAA Order 8000.72, FAA Integrated Oversight Philosophy , from a discrete compliance-based approach to a continuous performance-based approach, in which the primary focus is on the effectiveness of processes used to manage safety to include identifying hazards, analyzing and mitigating the risk of those hazards, and monitoring the effectiveness of safety risk mitigations/controls that are implemented.
(3) AVS management will allocate resources in a manner that is safety risk-based and data- driven.
e. The AVSSMS Management Board will receive regular status reports regarding AVSSMS operation and sets the strategic direction by establishing AVS’s overarching safety goals and objectives.
06/22/2021 VS 8000.370C 9. Commitment to continual improvement in the level of safety performance.
a. Within the AVSSMS, AVS will use safety performance data to actively identify safety issues and address them, as necessary, in order to continually improve the level of safety performance in the aerospace system.
b. AVS will work with the product/service providers it oversees, other federal departments and agencies, and other CAAs to continually improve the level of safety performance throughout the aerospace system.
c. AVS will use the AVSSMS to continually improve the level of safety performance throughout the aerospace system.
10. Commitment to manage safety risk.
a. AVS will base safety decisions, including allocation of resources, on safety risk assessments using formal, disciplined, and documented processes.
b. Within AVS, information resulting from safety risk analyses is communicated in an objective and unbiased manner to decision makers.
c. Safety risk controls for the aerospace system, such as policy and regulations, are developed to be consistent with FAA Safety Risk Management (SRM) requirements, as described in the current version of FAA Order 8040.4, Safety Risk Management Policy .
d. AVS Services and Offices will coordinate with each other, as well as with other FAA organizations, when assessing hazards and developing safety risk controls to mitigate the risk of hazards that impact more than one FAA organization.
e. AVS oversight policy and processes assure product/service provider conformance with safety risk controls and the adequacy of those controls.
11. Commitment to employee reporting of safety issues and concerns.
a. AVS employees are responsible for reporting of safety issues and concerns. To support employee reporting, AVS will establish and maintain voluntary employee reporting systems, such as the AVS Voluntary Safety Reporting Program defined in the current version of FAA Order VS 8000.375, Aviation Safety Voluntary Safety Reporting Program.
b. AVS management will encourage employees to report safety issues that they encounter or of which they become aware to their supervisor through voluntary employee reporting systems or any other means appropriate.
(1) AVS management will encourage employees to provide proposals for solutions to safety concerns and make suggestions for safety improvements, whenever possible.
(2) AVS management will review and address all reported safety concerns from AVS employees in a timely manner.
06/22/2021 VS 8000.370C (3) AVS management will ensure that employees who submit a safety concern or suggestion for safety improvement are kept informed of the organization’s progress in addressing their concern and are notified about the final determination with an appropriately detailed justification.
c. AVS management will not punish or otherwise discriminate against employees for reporting safety concerns, including the timely self-reporting of mistakes, and AVS management does not use the information from voluntary employee reporting systems to make personnel decisions.
d. AVS management will not discourage employees from reporting safety issues or concerns using any available data collection mechanism or reporting system.
e. AVS management will ensure safety decisions related to reported safety issues or concerns are not influenced by pressures that seek to shortcut or otherwise undermine the data-driven and risk- based decision-making processes.
f. AVS executive management will ensure each AVS manager is held accountable for executing these commitments.
12. Commitment to a positive safety culture.
a. AVS management recognizes the importance of a sound safety culture—including employee knowledge, skills, and abilities.
(1) AVS management will ensure that all staff receive adequate and appropriate aviation safety information and training.
(2) AVS management will ensure that sufficient, skilled, and trained resources are available to meet mission requirements and safety performance objectives.
b. AVS management will promote the growth of a positive safety culture by: (1) Making safety decisions knowing the hazards and the risk associated with those decisions, (2) Demonstrating its commitment to safety management and SMS, (3) Routinely communicating safety objectives with employees, (4) Providing the training necessary to effectively implement and maintain the AVSSMS, (5) Supporting knowledge sharing discussions, and (6) Encouraging Services and Offices to present safety awards.
AVS management will address unacceptable behavior as described in Section 12, even when the issue was voluntarily reported.
06/22/2021 VS 8000.370C 13. Standards for acceptable behavior.
a. To assure successful implementation and operation of the AVSSMS, AVS managers and employees are responsible for performing their assigned duties in an ethical and professional manner.
b. AVS requires all employees to comply with the Standards of Conduct contained in: (1) The current version of FAA Order 3750.7, Ethical Conduct and Financial Disclosure , and (2) The FAA Human Resources Policy Manual (HRPM).
c. AVS management will not tolerate willful violations (including careless disregard) of laws, regulations, policies, the Standards of Conduct in the FAA HRPM , or the current version of FAA Order 3750.7.
14. Setting safety performance objectives. AVS oversight organizations must: a. Set ambitious annual safety performance objectives using FAA strategic planning and business planning processes, b. Establish relevant, timely, measurable, and attainable targets to achieve the safety performance objectives, which can be expressed in quantitative data or qualitative information, and c. Document safety objectives and safety performance targets in FAA strategic plans, the AVS Business Plan, and/or the individual Service or Office Business Plans. To the extent possible, AVS links individual employee performance plans to the organization’s safety objectives and performance targets.
14. Reviewing safety performance objectives.
a. At a minimum, the AVSSMS Management Board must assess its safety performance relative to the AVS safety performance targets, on a quarterly basis.
b. At a minimum, the Executive Director and senior leadership of each Service and Office must review their Service or Office performance relative to their safety performance targets, on a quarterly basis.
15. Responsibilities and accountabilities with respect to AVSSMS and safety oversight.
a. AVS-1 is responsible and accountable for the safety oversight of the aerospace system as delegated by the FAA Administrator.
b. Executive Directors of AVS oversight organizations are responsible for the safety oversight of the component(s) of the aerospace system for which they have authority.
c. A management official designated by the AVSSMS Management Board must: (1) Ensure the establishment, implementation, and maintenance of processes, procedures, and tools necessary for the AVSSMS, and 06/22/2021 VS 8000.370C (2) Provide regular status reports to the AVSSMS Management Board regarding AVSSMS implementation and maintenance.
d. All AVS employees have a role in the AVSSMS. As such, they are responsible for the safety of the component(s) of the aerospace system with which they interact.
e. AVS management will foster an integrated, professional decision-making environment in which management will: (1) Seek out and respect employees’ professional opinions, (2) Consult, when needed, with applicable AVS Services and Offices employees, (3) Explain and document decisions according to agency processes, and (4) Consistently apply regulations, policies, and processes used to verify compliance.
f. To support the environment described in Section 15, Paragraph e. (above), AVS management must review the AVS Safety Policy regularly (at least on an annual basis).
16. Distribution. This order is distributed to all AVS Services and Offices.
17. Related Publications. This order is consistent with the current version of the following documents: a. FAA Order VS 8000.367, AVS Safety Management System (AVSSMS) Requirements b. FAA Order VS 8000.375, Aviation Safety Voluntary Safety Reporting Program c. FAA Order 8000.369, Safety Management System d. FAA Order 8040.4, Safety Risk Management Policy e. FAA Order 8040.6 , Unmanned Aircraft Systems Safety Risk Management Policy f. FAA Order 8000.373, Federal Aviation Administration Compliance Program g. FAA Order 8000.72, FAA Integrated Oversight Philosophy h. FAA Order 3750.7, Ethical Conduct and Financial Disclosure 18. Authority to Change This Order. AVS-1 has authority to issue changes and revisions to this order.
19. Directive Feedback. Feedback is welcomed and all comments regarding this order will be considered. To provide feedback, please use FAA Form 1320-19, Directive Feedback Information , VS 8000.370C 06/22/2021 available at https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Form/FAA_Form_1320- 19_Directives_Feedback.pdf, and send your feedback to 9-AVP-300-SMS@faa.gov.
Digitally signed by CHRISTOPHER CHRISTOPHER J ROCHELEAU Date: 2021.06.22 08:15:52 J ROCHELEAU -04'00' Chris topher J Rocheleau Deputy Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety, AVS-2