Breaking silos in aviation : the IMS cube approach to integrated management systems

Airlines have implemented over the years various management systems to address different risks. However, these have been implemented in a siloed approach and therefore overlooks the effects of potential impact of different risks from one management system to another. This results in a fragmented risk management landscape and overlook the complexity of certain risks holistically. As the aviation industry is facing increasingly complex risks, limited models are available to overcome this. This dissertation examines the current landscape of management systems within airlines and their level of interoperability. To address identified gaps, it introduces the Integrated Management System Cube (IMS Cube), a visual and process-oriented structure that promotes interoperability amongst various systems. The IMS Cube establish a unique language and process throughout all management systems to ensure they contribute to an integrated approach on risk management. The IMS Cube provides a practical, visual framework that reveals interactions and dependencies between management systems that would otherwise remain hidden, ensuring that risks are no longer obscured within individual systems but become visible through its unified structure and shared processes. This research advances the literature by delivering empirical evidence on management system interoperability in aviation, presenting a comprehensive overview of the systems airlines employ, and introducing a validated, practice-oriented integration model. The findings demonstrate that an integrated approach is both achievable and advantageous, enabling airlines to understand, manage, and mitigate risks more coherently and without internal contradictions across various management systems.