A combined approach for selecting drone management strategies based on the ICAO Safety Management System (SMS) components

Abstract

With the increasingly widespread use of drones, there has been a marked increase in occurrences involving restricted area incursions or damage to personnel and property. Ensuring safety, assessing risks, and prioritizing sustainability to improve community acceptance is a major challenge in the development of regulations and safety management strategies. This study combines the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP), importance-achievability analysis (IAA), and zero-one goal programming (ZOGP) to develop management strategies for drones, as based on the four pillars of the ICAO Safety Management System (SMS). The top priority strategies were measured through literature review, an expert questionnaire, FAHP, and IAA. ZOGP was further applied to solve the strategies selection problem under resource constraints, such as time, manpower, and budgets. The strategies in the top priority implementation zone with high importance and achievability include setting safety performance targets, ensuring that regulations are in line with international standards, designating testing and certification authorities, and promoting drone education programs. This paper provides a framework for strategic thinking from a macro perspective, and it is expected that this systematic combination method can be extended and applied to strategic management issues in other countries/regions. By verifying priorities and resource constraints, government and industry can make better decisions to set up policies and management strategies.