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By following this guide, you will use training analytics dashboards, monitor organizational mastery, and leverage the spaced repetition daily practice system to build and sustain SMS competency.
This page covers training analytics, the adaptive practice system, and spaced repetition. For assigning training and monitoring compliance, see Manage Training Programs.
Who should read this: Safety managers and training administrators responsible for SMS training compliance under 14 CFR 5.91. Crew members looking to understand the daily practice system will also benefit from the Daily Practice section.Prerequisites: Safety Manager or Admin role for training administration tasks. All workspace members can access their own training assignments and daily practice sessions.

Training Module Overview

The training module is organized into several sections, each serving a distinct function:
SectionPurposeAccess
OverviewAt-a-glance training status and compliance metrics.All roles.
CoursesBrowse and manage the training course library.Safety Manager, Admin.
AssignAssign courses to individuals or groups with due dates.Safety Manager, Admin.
ComplianceMonitor training currency across the organization.Safety Manager, Admin.
RecordsView and export individual training records.Safety Manager, Admin (own records: all roles).
AnalyticsOrganization-wide training intelligence dashboard.Safety Manager, AE, Admin.
PracticeDaily spaced repetition sessions.All roles.
Navigate to Safety > Training and use the section tabs to switch between views.

Course Catalog

The course library organizes training content by category aligned with SMS domains and regulatory requirements.
CategoryExamplesRegulatory Reference
Initial SMSIntroduction to SMS, What Is Safety Risk Management, Understanding Just Culture14 CFR 5.91
RecurrentAnnual hazard identification refresher, reporting procedures review14 CFR 5.91
Role-SpecificInvestigator techniques for safety managers, SPI management for executives14 CFR 5.25
RegulatoryPart 5 requirements overview, Part 135 operational requirements14 CFR 5.91
Each course is tagged with the specific Part 5 section it addresses (e.g., 14 CFR 5.53 for hazard identification courses). These tags provide traceability from training activities to regulatory requirements.
Use course tags during compliance audits. When an FAA inspector asks how you train personnel on hazard identification, you can filter the course catalog by “5.53” and show both the course content and completion records.

Assigning Training

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Step 1: Navigate to the Assign page
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From Safety > Training, open the Assign tab. Select the crew members or groups you want to assign training to.
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Step 2: Select courses and set due dates
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Choose which training domains or specific courses to assign. Set a due date for completion. You can assign by domain (recommended) or by individual course.
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Assigning by domain rather than individual courses ensures comprehensive coverage. The adaptive engine selects appropriate items within the domain based on each learner’s demonstrated proficiency.
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Step 3: Confirm the assignment
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Review the assignment details and confirm. The system sends notifications to assigned crew members, and the assignments appear on their My Safety dashboard.
Training assignments carry forward until completed or removed by an administrator. Removing an assignment does not delete historical completion records.

Monitoring Training Compliance

Navigate to Safety > Training > Compliance for an organizational view of training currency.
FilterWhat It Shows
By PersonEach crew member’s completion status across all assigned domains.
By DomainOrganization-wide completion rates for each training domain.
OverduePersonnel with training past their due date.
UpcomingTraining due within the next 30, 60, or 90 days.
Overdue training items create compliance risk under 14 CFR 5.91. Address overdue items promptly by either ensuring the crew member completes the training or adjusting the due date with documented justification. Persistent overdue items may be flagged during FAA surveillance.

Training Analytics

The analytics dashboard is restricted to safety managers, accountable executives, and administrators. Navigate to Safety > Training > Analytics to access it.

Mastery heatmap

A Role x Competency heatmap shows average mastery levels across your organization. Each cell represents how well a specific role group has mastered a specific competency domain. Color intensity indicates mastery level — darker cells indicate stronger mastery. This view quickly reveals organizational knowledge gaps.

Engagement metrics

MetricWhat It Measures
Total sessions (90 days)How many practice sessions were completed across the organization.
Average sessions per weekOrganizational engagement cadence with the practice system.
Average session durationTypical time spent per practice session.
Average scoreMean correctness across all responses.
Completion ratePercentage of assigned training that has been completed.

Item bank health

The item bank health panel monitors the quality and coverage of your training content:
  • Total items by status (active, draft, retired, flagged)
  • Domain coverage gaps — competency areas with insufficient training items
  • Low-exposure items that have not been presented to enough learners
  • High-exposure items that may need refreshing

Closed-loop safety integration

The analytics dashboard includes a panel linking safety events to competency gaps. When a safety report or investigation finding identifies a training-related contributing factor, this panel surfaces the connection between the event and the relevant training domain. This supports the continuous improvement cycle required by 14 CFR 5.75.

Daily Practice (Spaced Repetition)

The daily practice system is the cornerstone of long-term knowledge retention in PlaneConnection’s training module. It uses the FSRS (Free Spaced Repetition Scheduler) algorithm combined with Elo-based adaptive difficulty to personalize each session for each learner.

How it works

  1. Short daily sessions. Each practice session presents approximately 10 items and takes about 5 minutes to complete. Sessions are designed to fit into operational schedules without disruption.
  2. Adaptive difficulty. The system tracks each learner’s ability using an Elo-based rating engine. Items presented are calibrated to the learner’s current proficiency level — challenging enough to promote learning, but not so difficult as to be discouraging.
  3. Spaced repetition scheduling. After answering each item, the learner rates their confidence (Again, Hard, Good, Easy). The FSRS algorithm uses this rating to schedule the item for future review at the optimal interval for retention. Items the learner finds difficult appear more frequently; well-known items are spaced further apart.
  4. Mastery tracking. The system tracks mastery across eight competency levels (C1 through C8). As a learner demonstrates consistent correct responses over time, their mastery level increases. Mastery data feeds into training compliance records and SmartScore’s Proficiency component.

Starting a practice session

Navigate to Safety > Training > Practice. The landing page shows:
  • Due cards — how many items are scheduled for review today.
  • Mastery summary — your current competency levels across all domains.
  • Estimated time — how long the session should take based on due items.
Click Start Practice to begin. Answer each item, review the feedback, rate your confidence, and continue to the next item. At the end, a session summary shows your performance and any mastery level changes.
Consistency matters more than volume. Completing a 5-minute practice session every workday builds stronger retention than a single long session once a month. Encourage crew members to make daily practice a habit.

Keyboard shortcuts

During a practice session, you can use keyboard shortcuts for efficient navigation:
KeyAction
1Rate “Again” (review in ~10 minutes)
2Rate “Hard” (review in ~1 day)
3Rate “Good” (review in ~4 days)
4Rate “Easy” (review in ~10 days)

Exporting Training Records

Training records can be exported for regulatory inspections or internal audits:
  1. Navigate to Safety > Training > Records.
  2. Click Export in the page header.
  3. Select the date range, personnel, and domains to include.
  4. Download the CSV file.
Exported records satisfy 14 CFR 5.91 documentation requirements for safety competency training. Per 14 CFR 5.97, training records are retained for 24 months after an employee’s departure from the organization.
PlaneConnection retains training records automatically. You do not need to manage retention manually. Records for departed employees are preserved in the system and can be produced for FAA review at any time within the retention period.

Getting Started with Training

Step-by-step tutorial for first-time training setup and your first adaptive session.

Manage Training Programs

Day-to-day training administration tasks.

Track Part 5 Compliance

How training compliance contributes to your overall Part 5 readiness.

SmartScore Methodology

How training data feeds into SmartScore’s Proficiency component.
Last modified on April 11, 2026