Combining soft system methodology and Pareto analysis in the assessment of safety management performance: an aviation case

Although reengineering is strategically advantageous for organisations in order to keep functional and sustainable, safety must remain a priority and respective efforts need to be maintained. This paper suggests the combination of soft system methodology (SSM) and Pareto analysis on the scope of safety management performance evaluation, and presents the results of a survey, which was conducted in order to assess the effectiveness, efficacy and ethicality of the individual components of an organisation's safety program. The research employed quantitative and qualitative data and ensured a broad representation of functional managers and safety professionals, who collectively hold the responsibility for planning, implementing and monitoring safety practices. The results showed that SSM can support the assessment of safety management performance by revealing weaknesses of safety initiatives, and Pareto analysis can underwrite the prioritisation of the remedies required. The specific methodology might be adapted by any organisation that requires a deep evaluation of its safety management performance, seeks to uncover the mechanisms that affect such performance, and, under limited resources, needs to focus on the most influential deficiencies.