SAFETY INTELLIGENCE & SDCPS · Aero Support Group FZCO · Updated 23 October 2026
What is an SDCPS?
A safety data collection and processing system (SDCPS) is the term ICAO uses for the processing and reporting systems, safety databases, schemes for exchange of information and recorded information used to manage safety data and safety information. Annex 19 Chapter 5 sets the requirements, and the Safety Management Manual (Doc 9859) explains how to build one.
For a State, the SDCPS supports the State Safety Programme and its oversight priorities. For a service provider, it supports hazard identification, risk assessment and safety performance monitoring in the SMS.
What Annex 19 expects
- Collection: mandatory and voluntary safety reporting systems, plus other sources such as flight data, audits and investigations.
- Analysis: the capability to analyse the data and information collected, to identify hazards and trends and to support decisions.
- Protection: safety data and safety information must be protected so that they are used only to maintain or improve safety, following the protection principles in Annex 19 and the guidance in Doc 10053.
- Sharing: States promote the exchange of safety information within the aviation system and with other States.
USOAP CMA protocol questions in the SSP and accident investigation areas test whether these elements exist and work in practice.
From descriptive to predictive analysis
- Descriptive: what happened. Counts, rates and distributions of occurrences.
- Diagnostic: why it happened. Contributing factors, links between events, findings from investigations.
- Predictive: what is likely to happen. Trends and leading indicators that show drift before an event.
- Prescriptive: what to do about it. Prioritised mitigations with expected effect, fed into the safety review board or State safety decisions.
Most organisations stop at the first level. The value of an SDCPS comes from reaching the second and third with data good enough to support decisions.
Where SDCPS implementations fall short
- Reporting systems exist but the volume is low because reporters do not trust how the data will be used.
- Reports sit in spreadsheets with free-text fields and no taxonomy, so they cannot be trended.
- Data from audits, investigations, flight data monitoring and maintenance are kept in separate systems.
- SPIs are defined but nobody owns them, and alert levels never trigger action.
- Protection of safety information is not written into legislation or company policy.
How ASG helps
- Assessment of existing reporting and data systems against Annex 19 Chapter 5 and Doc 9859.
- Design of mandatory and voluntary reporting schemes, including just culture and protection provisions.
- Taxonomy selection and database structure, aligned with ADREP where interoperability is needed.
- SPI and alert level design, with dashboards and a review cycle tied to safety review boards or State safety committees.
- Training for safety analysts and managers in trend analysis and risk-based decision making.
- For authorities: support with SSP implementation and USOAP CMA preparation in the safety data areas.
Conclusion
An SDCPS earns its keep when it changes what an organisation or State decides to do. That needs trusted reporting, consistent classification, protected information and people who analyse the data and take it to decision makers. ASG helps build each of those parts.
Frequently asked questions
Safety data collection and processing system, the ICAO term for the reporting systems, databases and exchange schemes used to manage safety data and safety information under Annex 19.
Annex 19 Chapter 5 sets the requirements. The Safety Management Manual (Doc 9859) gives guidance, and Doc 10053 covers the protection of safety data and information.
Service providers must collect and analyse safety data as part of their SMS hazard identification and safety performance monitoring. States must establish an SDCPS supporting the SSP.
ICAO recommends ADREP and the CAST/ICAO Common Taxonomy so data can be compared across organisations and States.
Key takeaways
- SDCPS is the ICAO term for safety reporting systems, databases and exchange schemes
- Annex 19 Chapter 5 sets the requirements; Doc 9859 and Doc 10053 give guidance
- Protection of safety information underpins reporting volume
- A consistent taxonomy is needed for trend analysis
- Value comes from analysis that drives decisions
Building safety intelligence capability?
Tell us about your reporting systems and data sources. ASG will assess them against Annex 19 and set out a practical development plan.