GE Aerospace Helps Suppliers Build Safety Management Systems, Including Woodward
Why It MattersThe effort signals a broader push toward proactive, systems-based safety culture across the aerospace supply chain rather than reliance on compliance alone.
GE Aerospace is working with suppliers to establish Safety Management Systems (SMS), structured frameworks for identifying hazards, assessing risks, and fostering a safety culture, as part of a wider push to strengthen aviation supply-chain safety. Among the suppliers involved is Woodward, which makes fuel-delivery and engine-control components and actuation systems for commercial and defense aircraft; GE Aerospace supported Woodward in standing up an SMS for its manufacturing operations through training, shared best practices, and ongoing support. Woodward's Vice President of Quality, Jeremy Nelson, said the collaboration would help the company move "from a traditional compliance-driven mindset to a proactive, systems-based approach."
GE Aerospace established its own SMS a decade before the FAA mandated such systems for certain manufacturers in 2024, and was the first company to have a voluntary SMS accepted by the FAA. While an SMS is not currently required for most suppliers, GE Aerospace is working with several to build or enhance their systems.
The initiative runs alongside GE Aerospace's Partnership for Safety, launched in 2022 after inspections identified contamination in some raw materials before any incident occurred, reinforcing the need for deeper supplier collaboration, particularly for materials used in rotating engine parts exposed to extreme forces and temperatures. That program focuses on transparency, data sharing, and issue resolution, including real-time progress reviews and leadership-level meetings, and in some cases suppliers have asked to see finished engine components made from the materials they produce. GE Aerospace also co-founded the Aviation Supply Chain Integrity Coalition to prevent unapproved parts from entering the supply chain. Terri Braun Voutsas, head of GE Aerospace's Flight Safety Office, said "safety transcends business rivalries" and that the industry has an opportunity, and a responsibility, to build on that foundation.
