Transport Canada's vision is that SMS will be implemented in all regulated civil aviation organizations by 2007. However, SMS implementation depends on the date regulations come into force and following which will be phased in over three years.

Updated:  November 10, 2005

*The Part III Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) (NPA 2005-015) no longer differentiates between international and non-international airports. The safety management system (SMS) regulations will be the same for these two groups; only the planned in-force dates for the regulations are different.

Legend

Areas highlighted in blue, in the left column, are those parts of the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs) that have completed the consultation process for the SMS Notices of Proposed Amendments (NPAs).

Areas highlighted in orange, in the left column, indicate that the consultation process has not yet started or has not yet been completed for those parts of the CARs.

Areas highlighted in yellow, indicate dates that are currently forecasted for the specified activity. The planned in-force dates are predicated on:

• The timely acceptance of NPAs by CARAC Technical Committees; and
• Meeting the Canada Gazette Part I and II timings.

In addition:

• Delays in acceptance of NPAs by the CARAC Technical Committee or delays in the Canada Gazette Part I or II activities may require that the in-force dates for specific CARs Part regulations be revised to a later date;
• A number of NPAs have not as yet been submitted to the CARAC process and none of the NPAs have completed the Canada Gazette Part I or II process; and
• All in-force dates are subject to change.

A phased-in approach

The implementation of SMS involves a progressive development. Transport Canada is taking a phased-in approach to implementation. The four phases extend over 3 years.

Phase 1: Initial Certification

Within 3 months of the publication of the SMS regulation, initial certification requires that applicants provide Transport Canada:

• The name of the accountable executive;
• The name of the person responsible for implementing the SMS;
• A statement of commitment to the implementation of SMS (signed by the accountable executive);
• Documentation of a gap analysis between the organization’s existing system and the SMS regulatory requirements; and
• The organization’s implementation project plan, based on the requirements of the exemption and the certificate holders internal gap analysis.

Phase 2: One-Year Follow-up

At one-year, certificate holders will demonstrate that their system includes the following components:

• Documented safety management plan;
• Documented policies and procedures relating to the required SMS components; and
• A process for occurrence reporting with the associated supportive elements such as training, a method of collecting, storing and distributing data, and a risk management process.

Phase 3: Two-Year Follow-up

Two years after initial certification, the certificate holder will demonstrate that, in addition to the components already demonstrated during Phase 2, they also have a process for the proactive identification of hazards and associated methods of collecting, storing and distributing data and a risk management process.

Required components:

• Documented safety management plan;
• Documented policies and procedures;
• Process for reactive occurrence reporting and training; and
• Process for proactive identification of hazards.

Phase 4: Three-Year Follow-up

One year following phase 3, certificate holders will demonstrate that, in addition to the components already demonstrated during phases two and three, they have also addressed:

• Training;
• Quality Assurance; and
• Emergency preparedness.