SMS and your regulatory agency
I am curious how other country's regulatory agencies are going about implementing SMS.
In Canada, it has been written into the regulations in some sectors, but is on the verge of regulation for all sectors - although the associated Act has not yet been approved in Parliament. At the same time as advising all organizations that they must implement an SMS, and during the implementation, they are changing the very way they audit and inspect. The National Audit Program has been cancelled for instance, and the Frequency of Inspection Policy replaced by an SMS Surveillance Policy. Many people here are concerned that Transport Canada already had a difficult job of enforcement in such a large, geographically diverse country - and that operators who operate safely already have a form of SMS, while those who don't (and don't care to) can make any piece of paper look good to satisfy mere paper inspections.
Have other countries passed associated Acts? Have your regulatory agencies maintained the same audit and inspection policies, or changed them? What has your experience been with your agency during and after SMS implementation? Do you feel that SMS will make a difference to the operator who prefers to cut corners?