SSP Foundation PQs

The SSP Foundation Questions are a subset of 277 PQs based on the 2020 USOAP PQ version. This sub-set of PQs aims to assist the States to build a solid safety oversight foundation for the implementation of SSP and identify the real gap. Note that the concept of “foundation of an SSP” is intended to replace the 60 per cent EI score previously used in the Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP) as a threshold to progress into full implementation of the SSP. As of 2021, ICAO has introduced the SSP Implementation Assessment to measure compliance and collect evidence.

Although ICAO does not publish the SSP foundation questions anymore, Systemmatic has been able to mark the SSP foundation PQs with an ‘SSP’ tags. There are a total of 277 SSP foundation PQs, down from 299 because ICAO has deleted and merged PQs when migrating to the 2020 edition.

Prioritising questions

The SSP tag can be used by Systemmatic customers to prioritise questions, similar to the Priority Protocol Questions (PPQ). Priority PQs refers to PQs that have a higher correlation to operational safety risks. For example, those PQs relating to documentation, although important, have a less direct impact to operational safety risk. Some PQs, if found to be unsatisfactory, could have a significant impact on operational safety and could indicate an elevated risk of an SSC.

Similarly, the SSP foundation can be used as a prioritisation aspect, yet these PQs can be prioritised and addressed when conducting the SSP Gap Analysis or while defining the SSP implementation/action plan. You will find some overlaps with some of the PQs, as they are both priority and foundation.