SMS and CRM: Parallels and Opposites in their Evolution

Abstract

Verbatim from Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons. Not paraphrased, not summarized.

The current study compared the evolution of Crew Resource Management (CRM) and Safety Management Systems (SMS). Though CRM is a mature safety tool, it continues to change. CRM is more widely accepted and practiced in the aviation industry today, decades after it launched. Similar to CRM during the 1980s, SMS has some milestones to reach. It will require time to gain exposure and acceptance before it matures into a championed safety instrument. An examination of the evolution of both safety programs revealed that SMS met CRM in the late 1990s with the progression of safety thinking and human factors research. CRM is presently one of many safety tools in the SMS toolbox, and both CRM and SMS paths will continue to intersect in the future.

Authors

• Velazquez, Jonathan Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Bier, Nicole Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Keywords

• Safety
• Safety Management Systems
• Human Factors
• Crew Resource Management
• Other History