Safety Performance Measurement (SPM)

Civil Aviation (Safety Management) Regulations prescribe for service providers to verify the safety performance and validate the effectiveness of safety risk controls. To achieve this, it requires the use of a combination of internal audits and the establishment and monitoring of safety performance indicators (SPIs).

Assessing the effectiveness of the safety risk controls is important as their application does not always achieve the results intended. This will help identify whether the right safety risk control was selected and may result in the application of a different safety risk control strategy.

The primary task of safety assurance is control. This is achieved through safety performance monitoring and measurement. Safety performance monitoring and measurement is the process by which the safety performance of the organization is verified in comparison with the safety policy and approved safety objectives. Safety assurance control is conducted by monitoring and measuring the outcomes of activities that operational personnel must engage in for the delivery of services by the organization.

The most important outcome of establishing a safety performance management structure is the presentation of information to the organization’s decision makers so they can make decisions based on current, reliable safety data and safety information. The aim should always be to make decisions in accordance with the safety policy and towards the safety objectives.

Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs) and Safety Performance Targets (SPTs)

SPIs are used to measure operational safety performance of the service provider and the performance of their SMS. SPIs rely on the monitoring of data and information from various sources including the safety reporting system. They should be specific to the individual service provider and be linked to the safety objectives already established.

The contents of each SPI should include:

  • a description of what the SPI measures;
  • the purpose of the SPI;
  • the units of measurement and any requirements for its calculation;
  • who is responsible for collecting, validating, monitoring, reporting and acting on the SPI;
  • where or how the data should be collected; and
  • the frequency of reporting, collecting, monitoring and analysis of the SPI data.

The Authority has developed guidance on development of Safety Performance Indicators to assist Service Providers to monitor and measure how well an organization is managing its safety risks. 

KCAA has operationalized the online submission of Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs) through the eServices portal - https://ecitizen.kcaa.or.ke  

State level SPIs have been identified as below:

Flight Operations:

  • Loss of separation reports per year
  • TCAS/RA reports per year
  • EGPWS triggers per year
  • No. of Loss of Control–In Flight (LOC-I) per year
  • UPRT per year
  • Pilot incapacitation per year
  • Go around due to unstable approach per 100 movements
  • Rejected take-off per 100 movements
  • Runway incursion per year
  • Bird & Wildlife Strikes
  • BWI incidents per quarter /per aerodrome

Maintenance:

  • In Flight Turn Backs (IFTB) and diversions per 100 take offs - due tech
  • In Flight engine shutdown per 1000 flight hours
  • Rejected take offs per 100 take offs due to technical issues
  • Internal quality final inspection reject/pickup rate (major defects)
  • deferred maintenance items per month/aircraft

Approved Training Organizations (ATOs):

  • Number of engine failures inflight
  • Number of getting lost during the flight
  • Number of SEP flights operated when meteorological conditions do not meet VFR or VMC requirements
  • Loss of separation reports
  • Number of non-compliance with ATC instructions
  • Number of RCF
  • Number of critical fuel situations
  • Number of engine failures in flight
  • Number of tire bursts
  • Number of aborted takeoff
  • Number of abnormal contact with runway (hard landings,etc)
  • Number of runway incursion
  • Bird & Wildlife Strikes
  • BWI incidents per month/ per Aerodrome
  • In Flight Turn Backs (IFTB) and diversions - due tech
  • In Flight engine shutdown
  • Aborted take offs due to technical issues
  • Number of landing gear failures due to technical problems

Aerodrome Operations:

  • Runway excursion incidents per year
  • Rejected take-off per 100 movements
  • Runway incursion incidents per year
  • BWI incidents per quarter / per aerodrome
  • Aircraft ground accident rate/year
  • Aircraft ground serious incident rate/year
  • Number of fire rescue vehicles failures per 100 operations
  • Number of runway lights defects reported/quarter

Air Traffic Services:

  • Loss of separation reports per year
  • Non-adherence to ATC procedures incidents
  • TCAS-RA occurrences per quarter
  • RCF incidents per year
  • Runway excursion incidents per year
  • Rejected/aborted take-offs per year
  • Number of tyre bursts per year
  • Runway incursion incidents per year
  • Number of In Flight Turn Backs (IFTB) and diversions due tech reports
  • BWI incidents per quarter/per aerodrome