SeMS and sensibility: Security management systems and the management of risk in the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority

Following International Air Transportation Association requirement for all member airlines and airports to have a security management system (SeMS) beginning 1 March 2007, many organizations are looking to learn from safety and quality management systems. Without specific guidelines or best practices, organizations are forced to imitate these processes designed for different goals. Since safety, quality, and security environments operate on radically different principles, SeMS implementation must take a different tack. The case of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority illustrates the importance of a custom-designed program that meets public and corporate needs. The Authority is responsible for security screening of passengers, non-passengers, and baggage within selected airports. As a crown corporation with a precise statutory mandate and regulatory environment, the development of a SeMS illustrates some of the key problems for the application of SeMS to larger organizations.

[1]  D. Paton,et al.  Disasters and communities: vulnerability, resilience and preparedness , 2001 .

[2]  A. Schwaninger,et al.  Measuring visual abilities and visual knowledge of aviation security screeners , 2004, 38th Annual 2004 International Carnahan Conference on Security Technology, 2004..

[3]  Ronald J. Burke,et al.  Effects of 9/11 on individuals and organizations: down but not out! , 2005 .

[4]  Veronica Kitchen.  Smarter Cooperation in Canada-US Relations? , 2004 .

[5]  W. Waugh.  The “all-hazards” approach must be continued , 2004 .

[6]  T. Birkland.  Learning and Policy Improvement After Disaster , 2004 .

[7]  M. Bazerman,et al.  Airline Security, the Failure of 9/11, and Predictable Surprises , 2005 .

[8]  Margaret Crawford,et al.  Auditing Risk Management: Fine in Theory but who can do it in Practice? , 2002 .

[9]  Todd R. LaPorte,et al.  Airport Security, High Reliability, and the Problem of Rationality , 2002 .

[10]  Youn Chul Choi,et al.  Analytic Hierarchy Process Approach for Identifying Relative Importance of Factors to Improve Passenger Security Checks at Airports , 2006 .

[11]  Paul F Deisler.  A perspective: risk analysis as a tool for reducing the risks of terrorism. , 2002, Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis.

[12]  F. Preston,et al.  Airline Security After the Event , 2004 .

[13]  Richard Victor Ericson,et al.  Ten Uncertainties of Risk-Management Approaches to Security , 2006 .

[14]  R. Perl,et al.  Combating Terrorism: The Challenge of Measuring Effectiveness , 2007 .

[15]  P. Seidenstat.  Terrorism, Airport Security, and the Private Sector , 2004 .

[16]  R. Ericson,et al.  Catastrophe risk, insurance and terrorism , 2004 .

[17]  Douglas H. Harris,et al.  How to Really Improve Airport Security , 2002 .

[18]  Joseph S. Szyliowicz,et al.  Aviation Security: Promise or Reality? , 2004 .

[19]  Randy K. Lippert,et al.  Security Assemblages: Airport Security, Flexible Work, and Liberal Governance , 2003 .

[20]  L. Freedman.  The politics of warning: Terrorism and risk communication , 2005 .

[21]  S. Borins,et al.  Managing airports: a test of the new public management , 2001 .

[22]  F. Mannering,et al.  Airport Security Screening and Changing Passenger Satisfaction: An Exploratory Assessment , 2006 .

[23]  Milan Janic,et al.  AN ASSESSMENT OF RISK AND SAFETY IN CIVIL AVIATION , 2000 .

[24]  Jan Martin Lemnitzer,et al.  WHY DO EUROPEANS FLY SAFER? THE POLITICS OF AIRPORT SECURITY IN EUROPE AND THE US , 2003 .

[25]  D. Lyon.  Airport Screening, Surveillance, and Social Sorting: Canadian Responses to 9/11 in Context , 2006 .

[26]  Paul Goodwin,et al.  Aviation Risk Perception: A Comparison Between Experts and Novices , 2004, Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis.

[27]  H. Kunreuther,et al.  IDS Models of Airline Security , 2005 .

[28]  Lersy Pagano,et al.  Security Management Systems , 1974 .