b'50 DENSAFETYDenver Intl Achieves Major Safety Milestone With FAA Approval of SMS Manual BY JODI RICHARDS For more than a decade, DenverDENs manual includes and reflects the International Airport (DEN) has beenofficial SMS pillars:developing its Safety Management Safety Policy: a commitment from System (SMS) Manual to comply with theleadership to integrate safety at all levelsFAA Safety Organizations ruling for Part 139Safety Risk Management: systematic Operators. In doing so, airport leadershipidentification and mitigation of potential has made a concertedhazardseffort to integrate safetySafety Assurance: continuous throughout the facility,monitoring and improvement of safety FACTS&FIGURESacross all operations.processesProject: Developing & Implementing a SafetyWe really took a full-Safety Promotion: training, Management Systems (SMS) Manualon approach, says Traviscommunication and fostering a safety-Location: Denver Intl AirportKrabbenhoft, director offirst mindsetUmbrella Objective: Making safety an airport- airport safety and SMSTRAVIS KRABBENHOFT Safety Culture: ensuring safety is wide priority manager at DEN.a shared responsibility among all Timeline: Initial policies & procedures wereThe comprehensive, long-term effort wasemployees and stakeholdersdeveloped over 12 years; refinements will be ongoing;validated in April, when DEN learned that formal review via internal or external audits every FAA had accepted its SMS Manual.System-Wide Approach3 yearsThe federal agency emphasizes safetyAirport officials kicked off the SMS Manual Key Milestone: FAA acceptance of SMS Manual inmanagement as a fundamental process todevelopment process by creating a unified April 2025 be considered in the same manner as othersafety team, consisting of members with Software Platform: ProSafeT, from ProDIGIQ aspects of business management. It is thediverse safety backgrounds, that reports Cost: $250,000/yr. (not including staff costs)formal, top-down strategy that includes adirectly to the executive office. Our CEO Tactical Tools: Anonymous reporting app; awardsystematic approach to managing safety,(Phillip A. Washington) has been a great tokens to acknowledge safe practices on the spot;including the necessary organizationalpartner, making it a real core function, says quarterly safety bulletins (more if needed); stop-workstructures, accountabilities, policies andKrabbenhoft. We dont want to be a reactive authority for all employeesprocedures. July | August 2025AirportImprovement.com'