Advanced Safety Management System (SMS) Training Course

A safety management system, or SMS, is the difference between an organization that reacts to accidents and one that sees them coming. Instead of treating safety as a set of rules to follow, an SMS makes it a managed process: hazards are identified before they cause harm, risks are assessed and controlled, and the whole system is checked and improved like any other part of the business.

This course, held at EuroQuest International Training, works at the advanced end of that discipline. It follows the four pillars of a modern SMS, using the ICAO Annex 19 framework as a reference model, and applies them to hazard management, safety performance, human factors, and assurance. Named standards and models are treated as educational subject matter; the course builds SMS capability and does not certify an organization or an individual.

Why an SMS has to be managed, not just documented

Many organizations have an SMS on paper that does little in practice: a manual on a shelf, a hazard log nobody reviews, and indicators no one acts on. A working system is driven, with leadership attention, real risk decisions, and evidence that it is improving. This course concentrates on what makes an SMS live rather than merely exist, and connects it to the occupational framework in ISO 45001: Occupational Health and Safety Standards.

What you will be able to do afterwards

By the end of the course, participants should be able to:

Structure an SMS around its four pillars.
Run hazard identification and risk management.
Define and track safety performance indicators.
Strengthen safety culture and human-factors awareness.
Audit the system for continual improvement.

Course outline

Unit 1: Advanced SMS framework and ICAO Annex 19

Policy, risk management, assurance, and promotion.
ICAO Annex 19 as a reference framework.
Accountability and the safety accountable executive.
Integrating SMS with wider management systems.

Unit 2: Hazard identification and risk management

Reactive, proactive, and predictive identification.
Risk assessment by severity and likelihood.
Risk matrices and tolerability criteria.
Selecting and verifying risk controls.

Unit 3: Safety performance management

Safety performance indicators and targets.
Leading versus lagging indicators.
Data collection, reporting, and analysis.
Acting on trends before they become incidents.

Unit 4: Safety culture and human factors

Building a just and reporting culture.
Human-factors models and error management.
Fatigue, workload, and organizational pressures.
Encouraging open hazard reporting.

Unit 5: SMS audits and continuous improvement

Safety assurance and internal auditing.
Management of change and its safety review.
Investigation findings feeding back in.
Management review and the improvement loop.

How the course is delivered

The course is delivered through facilitated discussion, worked examples, and documented case studies of safety management systems and incidents, with structured analysis of hazard and performance data. It builds practical capability and is educational; it does not certify an organization or confer a regulatory approval.

Who should attend

The course suits safety managers and officers, HSE professionals, operations and quality staff, and managers responsible for an SMS in aviation, industry, energy, or transport. Those building the cultural foundation will find Developing Safety Culture in the Workplace a useful companion.

About EuroQuest International Training

EuroQuest International Training, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Bratislava, delivers professional courses to more than 15,000 participants across over 1,000 titles, in cities including Dubai, London, Barcelona, Istanbul, Vienna, Paris, and Geneva, led by experienced practitioners.

Frequently asked questions

Is this course only for aviation?

No. It uses ICAO Annex 19 as a well-developed reference model, but the four-pillar SMS approach applies across industry, energy, and transport. The principles transfer directly to any high-hazard operation.

Does the course certify our SMS or our people?

No. It treats standards as educational subject matter and builds the capability to design, run, and audit an SMS. Formal certification or regulatory approval is a separate process handled by the relevant authority.

Do I need prior safety qualifications?

Some safety experience helps, since this is the advanced level, but the course explains each pillar as it goes and suits anyone responsible for a safety management system.