Configure the risk matrix and operational areas
Safety Hub rates every hazard and flight risk assessment against a risk matrix — a grid that turns a likelihood and a severity into a single risk level. It also groups work by operational area. Both are configured in SMS Settings, and both shape how risk shows up across the whole app. This article is for admins who set up the Safety Management System.
To open the settings, select SMS under the Settings group in the left sidebar. The page is titled SMS Settings and opens on the General tab.
Find your way around SMS Settings
SMS Settings has six tabs across the top:
General — the risk matrix and operational areas.
Statuses — the status labels used on records.
Forms — form configuration.
Hazards — hazard types and settings.
Corrective Actions — corrective action settings.
Documents — document types for the library.
This article covers the General tab. Select a cell, label, or button only when you are ready to change the configuration — these settings apply to everyone in your operation.
Read the risk matrix
The General tab opens on Risk Matrix Configuration, a color-coded 5×5 likelihood × severity grid.
Rows are Likelihood, from 1 – Extremely Improbable at the bottom to 5 – Frequent at the top.
Columns are Severity, labeled A – Catastrophic through E – Negligible.
Each cell shows the resulting risk level — High (red), Medium (yellow), or Low (green).
To read the matrix, find the likelihood row and severity column for a hazard; the cell where they meet is its risk level.
Change a cell's risk level
You can retune which combinations count as High, Medium, or Low.
On the General tab, find the cell you want to change in the Risk Assessment Matrix.
Select the cell to cycle or set its risk level.
When you are done, select Save Changes.
To start over, select Reset to Default to restore the standard matrix.
Edit the scale labels
The likelihood and severity labels are editable, so you can match your operation's wording.
Select a row or column label — for example, 3 – Remote or B – Hazardous.
Edit the description.
Select Save Changes.
Below the matrix, three reference panels explain what the levels mean:
Risk Level Legend — what High, Medium, and Low risk require (for example, High risk means "immediate action or flight cancellation").
Likelihood Scale — the probability behind each likelihood step.
Severity Scale — the potential impact behind each severity step.
Review these so your team reads the matrix the same way you set it up.
Manage operational areas
Also on the General tab is the Operational Areas manager. Operational areas are the categories you file reports, hazards, and corrective actions under (for example, Aerodrome, Air Navigation, Operations, Maintenance, and Design & Manufacturing). They feed the filters and the "Reports by Operational Area" chart on the Safety Dashboard.
Add an area — select Add Area, name it, and save.
Edit an area — select Edit on an area to rename it.
Set the default — select Set as default so new records land in that area unless changed. One area is marked as the default (for example, Aerodrome).
Archive an area — select Archive to retire an area you no longer use. Archived areas move to an Archived Areas list and stop appearing on new records, but stay on existing records for history.
Because operational areas span all safety concepts, filtering, and reporting, rename rather than archive an area if you only want to change its wording.