I read with great interest the article discussing SMS by William Voss (see, “SMS Reconsidered”), and the letter by Jeff Whitman (see,“Letters From Our Readers June 2012”), and I have to agree with both of them on their assessments. However, I want to add some thoughts on the role of innovation in framing the future of SMS.
The definition of innovation is “a new idea, device, or method, or “the act or process of introducing new ideas, devices, or methods.” It has been my observation that most innovation does not come from government or academia, and, in fact, they often suppress creativity. Many of the initiatives passed through academia and the government are led by individuals who don’t want to challenge the status quo. Additionally, we in the aviation community tend to be “rule followers,” which makes us mostly compliant. This is…
