Your Safety Year: What 2025 Taught You (And What 2026 Needs)
Why every airport executive should conduct a year-end safety review - even if your SMS doesn’t require one right now.
Every December, our social feeds light up with “Wrapped” summaries from Spotify, Google, and every app that kept tabs on us throughout the year. They remind us of the music we played on repeat, the notifications we ignored, and the habits - good or questionable - we built along the way.
Airports should do the same.
Not for entertainment, of course - but because your safety system has been telling you a story all year.
Before 2026 planning solidifies and the next operating cycle begins, airport executives have a powerful opportunity:
Step back, review what your SMS learned this year, and use it to sharpen strategy, resourcing, and safety culture for the year ahead.
This week’s Insights asks one simple question:
Do you know what kind of year your safety system had?
And more importantly - can you prove it to yourself?
Why a Year-End Safety Review Matters
While many airports conduct formal Management Reviews on an annual cycle, not all do them in December. Some happen mid-year, others at fiscal year-end, and some are paired with QA cycles.
But Transport Canada provides a clear expectation in Advisory Circular 107-001, Section 4.17:
“To ensure that the SMS is working effectively the accountable executive should conduct a periodic review of the SMS processes and procedures… The review should also include an assessment of how well the organization is achieving its specific safety goals, the success of the corrective action plans and the risk reduction strategies implemented… Essentially, this is the accountable executive’s report card on how well the system is performing.”
This is more than a regulatory formality.
It is a strategic tool.
A year-end review gives executives:
A clear narrative of how safety performance evolved
Insight into what strengthened (or strained) the system
A chance to reset priorities before the next construction season, winter cycle, or budget year
A way to demonstrate leadership in building a resilient, learning-focused culture
Whether you conduct a full Management Review or a lighter “Safety Wrapped,” this moment in the year is ideal.
A Practical Model: Your Airport’s “Safety Wrapped 2025”
Think of this as a structured reflection - not an audit, not a justification exercise, not a compliance check. A learning moment.
Here’s how to break it down:
1. Look Back: What Actually Happened?
Executives should review:
The top hazards and risk themes that dominated 2025
Occurrence and incident trends - not totals, but patterns
Corrective actions that worked, and those that stalled
Whether safety goals were achieved, exceeded, or quietly drifted
Training delivered vs. training required
What frontline teams escalated most often
Activities where the system had to rely on “heroics” instead of robust processes
This isn’t about blame - it’s about clarity.
2. Look Across: What Are We Missing?
This step moves beyond the SMS binder and into operational reality.
Executives should look across:
Interfaces: airlines, handlers, contractors, ATC
Construction seasons and the pressures they introduced
Wildlife, FOD, weather anomalies, and maintenance-related risk
Equipment reliability and staffing resilience
Any data that was intended to be used but wasn’t (a red flag in itself)
Key leadership questions:
What made work harder this year?
What did we normalize that we shouldn’t have?
Where did we get lucky?
What would we absolutely regret repeating in 2026?
3. Look Ahead: What Should 2026 Start Doing?
This is where reflection turns into strategy.
Executives should identify:
The 3–5 strategic safety shifts needed for 2026
Training and competency investments that will move the needle
Areas where policy, processes, or documentation must evolve
Resource adjustments needed: equipment, staffing, software, funding
Quick wins for Q1
Structural improvements with longer timelines (e.g., risk profile renewal)
A Management Review, per AC 107-001, is fundamentally about effectiveness and improvement.
A year-end review should do the same.
Three Questions Every Executive Should Ask Before January 1
What signals told me our system became safer - or less safe - this year?
Look at leading indicators, behaviour shifts, and weak signals - not just lagging metrics.Where did we rely on people compensating for system weaknesses?
When frontline staff succeed despite the system, not because of it, that’s drift in action.What would I regret leaving unaddressed as we enter 2026?
This is the single most powerful planning question in safety leadership.
Running a Year-End Safety Review (Fast, Effective, and Collaborative)
You don’t need a full audit to do this. A 30–60 minute leadership session can produce powerful insights.
Here’s a simple structure:
Bring Ops, Maintenance, Safety, and key admin staff together.
Capture:
What happened
What worked
What strained the system
What must change
Identify 5–7 commitments for Q1.
Assign ownership and a March follow-up.
This is not about scoring the SMS.
It’s about learning from lived experience and building a system that matures year over year.
Why This Matters
When executives participate in safety reflection - not just approval - staff notice.
It builds credibility.
It builds consistency.
It builds culture.
And most importantly:
A thoughtful review now will save surprises later.
Safety is rarely improved by accident.
Before Spotify tells you what kind of year you had, let your safety system tell you what kind of year you built.
How We Can Help
A strong Safety Management System isn’t just built on policies - it’s built on rhythm, review, and real-world improvement. If your year-end reflection highlights gaps, opportunities, or the need for a more structured Management Review cycle, Acclivix can support you in several practical ways:
• Facilitate your SMS Management Review
We guide executives through a focused, AC 107-001–aligned review that evaluates effectiveness, identifies drift, and converts insights into measurable priorities for the coming year.
• Refresh your Safety Goals, Risk Profile, and Hazard Register
If it’s been a while since your last structured update, we help rebuild these foundational elements so they actually support decision-making - not sit on a shelf.
• Strengthen corrective action processes and close the loop
We review how findings are being handled, help remove bottlenecks, and design corrective action pathways that generate learning and change.
• Provide tailored training for leaders and frontline teams
From SMS Manager to HIRA and Safety Case to Intro to SMS and Human Factors, we equip your people with the skills to recognize risk, communicate effectively, and maintain a healthy safety culture.
• Offer ongoing SMS support - monthly or quarterly
For airports that need extra bandwidth, we provide advisory calls, remote oversight, and structured reviews to keep the system moving and maturing throughout the year.
If you’d like a second set of eyes on your 2025 safety story - or help with setting the right direction for 2026 - Acclivix would be glad to partner with you. Let’s build a year that your teams can be proud of. Get in touch and let’s start the discussion.