Date(s): March 4 | 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
March 5 | 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

Understanding and Implementing an Effective SMS

Professional Education Course (PEC)
Instructor: Christopher Young, CY Consulting Solutions, and Tom Baldwin, Global Medical Response

Price by Jan. 13: $490 Member | $720 Nonmember
Price after Jan. 13: $635 Member | $925 Nonmember

Effective risk management compels organizations to closely examine their operational activities and the safety decisions made involving those activities. A safety management system (SMS) is an organization-wide, comprehensive, proactive approach to controlling risk exposure. Using the knowledge and skills gained from this course, attendees can effectively implement a real-world SMS in their organizations, benefiting safety and quality outcomes as well as business performance.

Learning Objectives: By the conclusion of the course, attendees will have learned:

  • The principles of SMS, including planning and measuring safety performance
  • How to identify hazards and manage risks
  • How to conduct an operational safety assessment
  • How to review and update risk-mitigation strategies.

Instructor Bio

Chris Young is a broker with Pik West Insurance Agency and the executive director of the Tour Operators Program of Safety (TOPS). He has 30 years of aviation and leadership experience from the US Navy as well as the helicopter air ambulance, aircraft manufacturing, aviation safety, technical publications, and insurance segments, with over 2,900 flight hours as a pilot. He understands the unique complexities that all types of aircraft operators face when implementing risk-management strategies. In addition to brokering insurance, Chris offers practical guidance on safety and quality analyses, hazard assessments, incident investigations, compliance evaluations, and continuous improvement opportunities. He is active in the helicopter safety community as the cochair of the USHST Outreach Team and secretary of the HAI Safety Working Group.

Tom Baldwin is the VP of safety for Global Medical Response, leading a 42-person professional safety team that supports 7,000 ground ambulances, 450 air medical aircraft, and 150 fire apparatus. He is active in the safety community, sitting on the Florida Chamber Safety Advisory Board and the Air Medical Operation Association Safety Committee, and is a faculty instructor at the AAMS Safety Management Training Academy. He speaks nationally on a variety of topics, including safety culture, safety management systems, and just culture.

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