CANSO Global Safety Conference 2025 – Getting the best from your SMS
As the CANSO Global Safety Conference approaches we had a short conversation with Dianna Millar on the Best Practices in Safety Management Systems (SMS). Dianna will be exploring further this topic on the first day of the conference on Tuesday 25 March in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Dianna Millar has over 20 years of experience in the aviation industry. As NAV CANADA’s Manager of Safety Strategy, Planning and Research, she sets the company’s long-term #safety direction, advances its safety management system (SMS), identifies safety risks, and develops solutions. Her portfolio includes safety strategy, SMS advancement, safety risk management, and safety research.
Over her five years at NAV CANADA, Dianna co-led the creation of the company’s first safety strategy, revamped its SMS framework and governance documentation, developed a new approach for evaluating SMS effectiveness, and enhanced the Unit Risk Registry (URR) process and tool.
Dianna has recently joined the CANSO NXGN SMS working group as Co-Chair and looks forward to collaborating with her colleagues to improve safety management practices across the aviation sector.
Can you provide an overview of what qualifies as a CANSO-recognised best practice in Safety Management Systems, and why this recognition is so important?
CANSO-recognised best practices set new standards of excellence and are an enabler for exceptional results. Recognition boosts an ANSP’s SoE maturity score, but more importantly, it showcases a commitment to safety, fosters continuous improvement, and enhances credibility while helping to stay ahead of emerging challenges.
How can ANSPs apply real-world examples of SMS best practices to drive improvements within their own organisations?
ANSPs can leverage best practices from other organisations, adapting them to their own unique operational environments. By building on proven successes, they can save time and resources while implementing improvements that are tailored to their specific needs. This is a significant advantage of being a member of the CANSO safety community.
What are the key benefits of adopting these best practices, and how do they contribute to a more robust safety culture in aviation?
Adopting a best practice allows organisations to improve efficiency, achieve positive results, and reduce risks by leveraging proven, effective strategies. In turn, this fosters a culture of continuous improvement, ultimately driving long-term success and credibility.
What guidance do you offer for organisations aiming to become a part of the best practice recognition process, and how can they get started?
If you’ve answered Yes to all the Level D questions in a particular study area of the CANSO SoE in SMS, check SKYBrary as a second data point, and if you think you have something unique that other ANSPs could benefit from, complete the summary form and submit it to your SoE assessor.
