Safety management
EUROCONTROL constantly strives to improve safety levels throughout the entire European network by harmonising safety management principles and implementing safety initiatives.
The Agency’s safety activities are deployed through the ESP+ Programme (European Safety Programme for ATM 2010-2014), focused on three main activities:
Improving safety measurement
The Agency helps to improve safety by applying comprehensive safety measurement processes.
This includes comprehensive monitoring of system safety performance consistent with the principles laid down by the Safety Data Reporting and Data Flow (SAFREP) Task Force and in the EU Performance Implementation Rule.
In addition, we promote the reporting of aircraft incidents through a robust implementation of the EUROCONTROL Voluntary ATM Incident Reporting (EVAIR) concept.
Further safety activities undertaken by the Agency include the development and maintenance of SKYbrary as the single point of reference for network safety knowledge, alongside the further deployment of automated tools such as the ATM Safety Monitoring Tool and TOKAI (Tool Kit for ATM Occurrence Investigation).
Ensuring safe ATM operations
EUROCONTROL also contributes to enhanced safety through:
- the introduction of an appropriate ‘safety culture’ and the implementation of operational measures to prevent airspace infringements and level busts across the entire network;
- the introduction of enhanced air-ground communication and Call Sign Similarity (CSS) mitigation;
- support to the implementation and operation of safety management systems and application of best practices in the field of human factors;
- the deployment of safety intelligence, like the balancing of safety with other performance indicators - capacity, efficiency and environment - in the decision-making processes of air navigation service providers (ANSPs) and functional airspace block (FAB) operators.
Implementing safe ATM system design
Across the European network, EUROCONTROL is helping to implement industry standards and best practices to ATM design in a consistent and harmonised way.
This includes the use of operational risk assessment and mitigation measures such as:
- safety roadmaps;
- safety assurance;
- safety best practices;
- cost of SMS;
- safety indicators for FABs.
