Safety Assurance and Quality Assurance: There are Important Differences

摘要

Many aviation organizations may not be fully recognizing the differences between Safety Assurance (SA) and Quality Assurance (QA). In some instances, Quality Assurance is being imbedded within Safety Management Systems (SMS) while in others safety assurance is being embedded into one integrated management system (i.e., safety, quality, environmental, security). As well, other organizations have based SA completely on QA processes. In order to effectively and appropriately manage safety, assurance activities must be: separate; clearly delineated; incorporate a variety of hazard-based tools and independent of line authority. The purpose of this paper is to present the differences between safety assurance and quality assurance as well as provide reasons as to why these differences should be recognized and addressed within an organization’s SMS. Prior to exploring these differences, the elements of safety, quality and their respective systems will be discussed. Finally, the paper will present a brief overview of just some of the tools that may be used within an organization for the purpose of safety assurance as effective safety assurance relies on the use of a variety of processes.