Is this project an undergraduate, graduate, or faculty project?
Graduate
Project Type
individual
Campus
Daytona Beach
Authors' Class Standing
Bill Deng Pan, Graduate student
Lead Presenter's Name
Bill Deng Pan
Lead Presenter's College
DB College of Aviation
Faculty Mentor Name
Dr. Flavio Antonio Coimbra Mendonca
Abstract
The effective implementation of Safety Management Systems (SMS) at airports depends not only on compliance with regulatory requirements but also on the presence of a strong and measurable safety culture. While the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s increasing emphasis on SMS has accelerated adoption across certificated airports, many airport operators, often coming from operational, engineering, or business backgrounds, lack practical methods to assess safety culture in a structured and actionable manner. Existing guidance highlights the importance of safety culture and safety climate. However, limited research exists on how airport stakeholders perceive and experience safety culture within the airport operating environment. This ongoing research project seeks to collect and analyze safety culture perceptions among airport operations stakeholders to better understand how safety culture manifests within airport operations. The study focuses on gathering perspectives from diverse airport stakeholder groups, including airport management, operations personnel, and maintenance staff. By examining these perceptions in relation to established safety culture constructs and SMS principles, the research aims to identify patterns, strengths, and potential gaps in organizational safety practices. The study is currently in the data collection phase, during which survey responses and stakeholder feedback are being gathered. Preliminary findings are expected to provide insights into how airport personnel perceive safety culture and how these perceptions may influence SMS implementation and operational safety practices. The results of this research are intended to inform future efforts to develop structured assessment approaches or decision-support tools that could assist airport operators in evaluating and strengthening safety culture within their organizations. By improving understanding of safety culture in airport environments, this research aims to contribute to more effective SMS implementation and support proactive safety management across the airport operations industry.
Did this research project receive funding support (Spark, SURF, Research Abroad, Student Internal Grants, Collaborative, Climbing, or Ignite Grants) from the Office of Undergraduate Research?
No
Assessing Safety Culture Among Airport Operators Through Stakeholder Perceptions
The effective implementation of Safety Management Systems (SMS) at airports depends not only on compliance with regulatory requirements but also on the presence of a strong and measurable safety culture. While the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s increasing emphasis on SMS has accelerated adoption across certificated airports, many airport operators, often coming from operational, engineering, or business backgrounds, lack practical methods to assess safety culture in a structured and actionable manner. Existing guidance highlights the importance of safety culture and safety climate. However, limited research exists on how airport stakeholders perceive and experience safety culture within the airport operating environment. This ongoing research project seeks to collect and analyze safety culture perceptions among airport operations stakeholders to better understand how safety culture manifests within airport operations. The study focuses on gathering perspectives from diverse airport stakeholder groups, including airport management, operations personnel, and maintenance staff. By examining these perceptions in relation to established safety culture constructs and SMS principles, the research aims to identify patterns, strengths, and potential gaps in organizational safety practices. The study is currently in the data collection phase, during which survey responses and stakeholder feedback are being gathered. Preliminary findings are expected to provide insights into how airport personnel perceive safety culture and how these perceptions may influence SMS implementation and operational safety practices. The results of this research are intended to inform future efforts to develop structured assessment approaches or decision-support tools that could assist airport operators in evaluating and strengthening safety culture within their organizations. By improving understanding of safety culture in airport environments, this research aims to contribute to more effective SMS implementation and support proactive safety management across the airport operations industry.