To further strengthen the knowledge of the operators on safety management concepts, in order that the operators can better implement their Safety Management Systems (SMS), hence creating the environment for adopting the same safety culture, the Civil Aviation Authority (AACM) organized an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Safety Management Systems (SMS) course on 15 to 19 April 2013 to train the industry on the safety concepts and the elements of the Systems, with the objective that the industry can reinforce their understanding of the importance of safety management responsibilities, ultimately building a safe and reliable aviation hub for Macao's aviation. The SMS course is a five-day training programme with ten modules. Apart from lectures on theories on safety concepts, safety policy and objectives, safety risk management, safety assurance, safety promotion, as well as the relationship between the State Safety Programme (SSP) implemented by the regulatory body and the SMS implemented by the operators, the course was also incorporated with practical exercises to allow attendees to put theories into practice through working on a number of simulated and real cases. The attendees were divided into small groups and based on the given scenarios, they discussed about hazard identification, risk index setting, action plan formulation and SMS implementation plan formulation. An examination, in which attendees were required to sit for, followed after all theory and practical exercise sessions were done. Those who have successfully completed the course were awarded with the certificate. The course was lectured by three instructors, namely 1. Chief Technical Advisor, Cooperative Development of Operational Safety & Continuing Airworthiness Programme – South East Asia, ICAO, Mr. Kim Trethewey, 2. Senior Safety Officer, Flight Standards & Licensing, AACM, Mr. Joe Fong, and 3. Deputy Manager of Flight Safety of Hong Kong Government Flying Service (HKGFS), Captain Erik Young. Mr. Kim Trethewey has enriching experience in lecturing SMS. He has been invited by Macao in the past to lecture similar topics and is familiar with the safety management environment in Macao. He is able to convey to the Macao attendees the experiences in other countries as reference for application in Macao. Mr. Joe Fong has worked in AACM for over 10 years and is experienced in safety oversight work. He is also the coordinator for the task force on SMS and SSP. He completed the "ICAO SMS Train-the-Trainer Course" in the Singapore Aviation Academy in 2012. This time, his instructor role in the SMS training course for this week is his on-the-job training for acquiring the instructor qualification of ICAO SMS course. Captain Erik Young has 18 years of flying experience. His main duties in HKGFS include search and rescue and fire fighting. He is also a helicopter training captain in his organization. Like Joe, he has also completed the "ICAO SMS Train-the- Trainer Course". The SMS course was convened in AACM office with participation of more than 30 people, most of whom were management and technical staff responsible for flight safety, quality control, security and aircraft maintenance working in AACM, Air Macau Co. Ltd., East Asia Airlines Ltd., JetAsia Ltd., Fortuna Jet Aviation (their Air Operator Certificate application is undergoing AACM's assessment), Macau Jet International Co. Ltd, Administration of Airports Ltd., and Menzies Macau Airport Services Ltd. In his closing remarks, the President of AACM, Mr. Simon Chan said that it was important to work together with the industry to strengthen the management of safety and create a good safety culture. In achieving this goal, he said that AACM being the regulatory body in aviation safety matters has been organizing regular training courses for the industry operators to enhance their technical knowledge and help them better understand Macao's aviation regulations as well as ICAO standards and recommended practices. Mr. Chan concluded that AACM will continue to organize training courses with different technical aspects for the industry. Up till this moment, AACM has trained more than 180 industry personnel by the various SMS courses they organized here in Macao. The SMS is a systematic approach to managing safety and is implemented by the airlines, maintenance organizations, air traffic service providers and airport operators. Its elements include organization structure, accountabilities, safety hazard identification, safety risk classification, corrective action plan implementation, safety promotion and so on. In accordance with the Convention on International Civil Aviation, all aviation operators are required to implement SMS no later than 2009. In what regards the Macao aviation operators, all of them have complied with this requirement and implemented their SMS on time.