Management System Assessment Tool (MSAT)
Management System Assessment Tool (MSAT)
Description
The EASA Management System Assessment Tool (MSAT) is intended to support competent authorities with the assessment of the effectiveness of management systems (MS), both during initial certification and the subsequent oversight. It may also be used by organisations to self-assess the effectiveness of their own MS.
The tool focuses on two elements of the MS within the EU context:
- the safety management system elements, which refers to ICAO Annex 19 and follows the ICAO framework
- the compliance monitoring system as described in the EU system
The tool assesses the compliance and effectiveness of the MS by examining a series of features (related to e.g. the safety policy, the safety objectives, accountabilities and responsibilities, etc.). Each feature is reviewed and assessed as one of the following:
- Present. There is evidence that the relevant item is documented within the organisation's MS Documentation.
- Suitable. The relevant item is suitable based on the size, nature, complexity of the organisation and the inherent risk in the activity.
- Operating. There is evidence that the relevant item is in use and an output is being produced.
- Effective. There is evidence that the relevant item is achieving the desired outcome and has a positive safety impact.
The tool can be used to assess the MS of an organisation of any size. However, due consideration should be given to the size, nature and complexity of an organisation to assess whether the individual feature of the MS is "Suitable".
The tool is designed to capture the generic MS requirements. As currently there are no common EASA requirements across all the domains (e.g. air operations, ATM, maintenance), there may be some additional sector specific requirements to be considered. Therefore, customisation to specific sectors is recommended.
It should be kept in mind that an MS assessment differs from the traditional compliance-based approach. Therefore, correct application of the tool requires appropriate training.
MSAT was initially developed by a group of subject matter experts and was updated to Issue 2 in 2023.
Related Articles
Further Reading
- Management System Assessment Tool, Issue 2 (2023)
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