LECTURE NOTES

915151 AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE & CREW

MANAGEMENT
BBA – AIRLINE AND AIRPORT MANAGEMENT
SEMESTER – V

1
 UNIT – 4

DATA ON INCIDENTS / ACCIDENTS

HUMAN PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

Effective Human Performance is fundamental to operational safety in aviation.

The majority of undesired outcomes are attributable to the people who populate
the aviation system. They may especially occur in relation to the interface
between people and complex procedures and equipment which exist to support
the safe and efficient completion of their duties. The ’human factors’ to which
they are subject sometimes lead to unintended errors of task management and
professional judgement.

The organisational framework within which people function may not always be
conducive to achieving the best from them - procedures may be inappropriate or
ineffective. Ultimately, the goal is to minimise errors, and the consequences of
those that remain, using either the monitoring or cross-checking of colleagues or
technical solutions.

Human Performance Subjects

 Human Behaviour is about self awareness of human factors - factors

which affect personal performance but also affect interaction with others,
which often defines overall safety performance.
 Design Philosophy for systems, aids, tools and procedures must provide
an credible interface with the human user and, where appropriate, offer
fail-safe functionality, recovery from human application errors and
protection against non-reversible effects.
 Human Performance Modelling is about representing reality in a
simplified way and providing easy-to-understand analogies of the more
complex world which really exists.
 Organisation and Human Performance covers understanding and
awareness of the way human factors issues are influenced by their
institutional context and perspectives.
 Human Factors Training covers both initial and recurrent training on
human behaviour issues for both the managed and the managers and
recognises the role played by support functions in maintaining
operational safety.

2
EVALUATION OF FLIGHT CREW CRM SKILLS

CRM will provide participants with everything they need to set up and manage
an effective CRM Evaluation Program. It is relevant, as the assessment of pilot
CRM skills is an important part of air operator safety management. Under EU-
OPS, the following capability must be in place and will be discussed:

The flight crew must be evaluated/assessed on their CRM skills in

accordance with a methodology acceptable to the Authority and
published in the Operations Manual.
The purpose of such an assessment is to: Provide feedback to the
individual and serve to identify retraining; and be used to improve the
CRM training system.
CRM evaluators must also be trained in group facilitation skills. This
course will provide the training necessary for Line and Simulator
instructors and Examiners to satisfy regulatory requirements.

There are six major areas to be taught:

1. Communication and interpersonal skills

2. Situational awareness
3. Problem solving, decision making and judgment
4. Leadership and ‘followership’
5. Stress management
6. Critique and self-critique

3
To be effective, CRM concepts must be permanently integrated into all aspects
of training and operations. While there are various useful methods in use in
CRM training today, certain essentials are universal:

 CRM training is most effective within a training program centered on

clear, comprehensive SOPs.
 CRM training should focus on the functioning of crewmembers as a team,
not as a collection of technically competent individuals.
 CRM training should instruct crewmembers how to behave in ways that
foster crew effectiveness.
 CRM training should provide opportunities for crewmembers to practice
the skills necessary to be effective team leaders and team members.
 CRM training exercises should include all crewmembers functioning in
the same roles (e.g., captain, first officer, flight engineer, flight
attendants) that they normally perform in flight.
 CRM training should include effective team behaviors during normal,
routine operations.

COMMUNICATION: A RELEVANT FACTOR IN AVIATION SAFETY

Many aspects of human factors are associated with the operational safety of
commercial airplanes, including the following:

 Design factors associated with aircraft controls, aircraft system controls,

warning systems, air traffic control systems, flight deck, passenger
seating and egress, etc.
 Operational factors associated with the selection and training of flight
crews, crew assignment policies related to the distribution of experienced
personnel and the minimization of flight crew fatigue, checks on crew
members' health, and policies on preflight information
 Maintenance factors related to training maintenance workers; the clarity
of maintenance procedures; and designing aircraft equipment and
maintenance tools to make it easier for workers to perform maintenance,
avoid errors, and detect abnormal conditions
 National and international regulatory factors associated with
airworthiness standards, separation standards, and communications
standards

4
Current processes, which are both thorough and complex, have resulted from a
large accumulation of flight experience, analytical and computer studies, and
reviews of human factors. All of this information represents a complicated web
of interrelated factors that makes it difficult to define a clear and simple road
map for progress. Complexity, however, is inherent in many human factors
issues.

Provides a greatly simplified view of human factors initiatives related to

aviation. A much more detailed picture of the breadth and depth of current work
and what needs to be done is available in the following publications:

The detailed report of the FAA Human Factors Team, Interfaces Between Flight
Crews and Modern Flight Deck Systems (1996), includes more than 50 well
formulated recommendations.

 The Proceedings of the FAA Workshop on Flight Crew Accident and

Incident Human Factors (1995) explores three human factors objectives.
 The April 1997 International Symposium on Aviation Psychology
includes more than 300 papers on human factors associated with flight
safety.
 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration report, Principles
and Guidelines for Duty and Rest Scheduling in Commercial Aviation
(1996), defines numerous general principles, specific principles,
guidelines, and strategies for improving duty and rest scheduling
practices.
 The NTSB review, Flight-Crew-Involved Major Accidents of U.S. Air
Carriers, 1978 through 1990 (1992), includes five broad
recommendations.
 Human Factors Guide for Aviation Maintenance (FAA, 1997), published
by the FAA's Office of Aviation Medicine, presents basic concepts on
reducing human errors in maintenance.

5
LINE OPERATIONS SAFETY AUDIT CRM SKILLS

Managing risks has become increasingly important in modern organizations.

The aviation industry is maturing in its preference for proactive intervention
over post-accident remediation. Systems such as National Aeronautics and
Space Administration Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) and the
Maintenance Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) encourage air carrier and
repair station employees to voluntarily report unsafe conditions. However, those
systems are used proactively following adverse events. Line Operations Safety
Assessments (LOSA) address aviation safety proactively.

The development and success of LOSA was based on ten essential

characteristics:

 Peer-to-peer observations during normal operations

 Anonymous, confidential, and non-punitive data collection
 Voluntary participation
 Trusted and trained observers
 Joint management/union sponsorship
 Systematic observation instrument based on Threat and Error
Management (TEM)
 Secure data collection repository
 Data verification roundtables
 Data-derived targets for enhancement
 Feedback of results to the workforce.

6
Mx and Ramp LOSA Development

The development of the Maintenance (Mx) and Ramp LOSA forms, procedures,
and software took an immense amount of effort spanning several years. The
development of Mx and Ramp LOSA was under the direction of Airlines for
America (A4A), formerly the Air Transport Associations (ATA) Human Factors
(HF) Task Force. The A4A HF Task Force consulted numerous airline safety
representatives who were engaged in current Mx and Ramp LOSA efforts.
These personnel brought experience from thousands of LOSA observations
from around the world. All known existing Mx and Ramp LOSA programs
were examined for lessons learned and persons knowledgeable of those
programs were consulted. Extensive contributions to the A4A/FAA Mx and
Ramp LOSA program were made by Dr. James Klinect of the LOSA
Collaborative and Dr. Jiao Maggie Ma from Saint Louis University. After initial
development, beta testing allowed input from over 100 maintenance technicians
and ramp personnel.

Existing LOSA and non-LOSA programs were also examined in detail to

benefit from lessons learned and existing knowledge. The R-LOSA data
collection forms were developed by reviewing and aggregating audit forms and
related references provided by five organizations: Continental, Delta, Qantas,
Servisair and Singapore Airlines. The Airport Handling manual by IATA was
also reviewed. Review of flight deck LOSA and existing LOSA themed
programs in maintenance and ramp operations informed the design and
prototyping of an electronic database for storage of observational data.

COMPUTER PROGRAM MODULES

Aviation maintenance software tracks and simplifies the constant maintenance,

repair and overhaul (aviation MRO) operations associated with the aviation
industry. It performs a number of essential functions, such as:

 Monitoring inventory.
 Supporting preventive and essential maintenance and repairs.
 Scheduling work orders.
 Tracking and documenting compliance.

Aircraft MRO software is a comprehensive solution that provides aircraft

component maintenance scheduling, logbook tracking, work order management,
service bulletins management, and electronic task card management. Operation

7
management provides solutions for supply chain management, engineering, and
CAMO.

SELECTING A COMPUTER SYSTEM

Maintenance Software

Avantext offers an AD Regulatory Compliance Tool with built-in

reporting capabilities, searchability within the software, and ongoing
customer training and support. For more information call (610) 862-1057
or visit www.avantex.com.
AV-BASE Systems’ WinAir is a structurally integrated maintenance and
inventory control software. Fixed and rotary wing operators can upgrade
between editions or select additional modules for increased functionality
and request customization based on their requirements. For more
information call (519) 691-0919 or visit www.avbasesystems.com.
Aviation Core Matrix LLC offers Aviation Skills Matrix with
STAReport. It utilizes data that defines employee/technician capabilities
to ensure regulatory compliance, mitigate risk, and increase efficiency.
For more information call (765) 848-1700 or visit
www.aviationskills.com.
AviIT Inc. offers eMan, an electronic document library and application
management system. A server-based software solution, it enables any
format of electronic documentation and any application to be stored in
one client or AviIT hosted location. For more information call (866) 922-
8448 or visit www.aviit.com.
Avtrak LLC empowers the Gulfstream CMP.net system, Gulfstream’s
factory maintenance tracking service, and provides web-based, analyst-
supported compliance tracking services for more than 170 different
aircraft types (both fixed and rotary wing). For more information call
(303) 745-5588 or visit www.avtrak.com.
C.A.L.M. maintenance software will handle any make/model aircraft.
Integrated features available include maintenance, bulletin, and periodic
inspection tracking, inventory control, purchasing, repair orders, work
orders and job costing, budget forecasting, CAS (Continuous Aircraft
Surveillance) and bar-coding. For more information call (888) 545-2256
or visit www.calm-systems.com.
CAMP’s web-based Maintenance Tracking System provides a
maintenance schedule based on the manufacturer’s technical publications.
8
The system features electronic logbooks and data archiving. For more
information call (631) 588-3200 or visit www.campsystems.com.
Click Commerce provides enterprise software solutions for airlines,
OEMs, and maintenance providers to manage aftermarket service
networks and spare parts. Maintenance paying customers receive 24/7
support. For more information call (312) 482-9006 or visit
www.clickcommerce.com.
Component Control’s Quantum Control includes MRO, aircraft services,
hangar management and manufacturing capabilities, contact management,
distribution and rotable management, accounting, e-commerce, and more.
For more information call (619) 696-5449 or visit
www.componentcontrol.com.
Conklin & de Decker’s MxManager is designed to help improve the
productivity of the maintenance manager and the maintenance department
by reducing the need for duplicate data entry and streamlined reports. For
more information call (817) 277-6403 or visit www.conklindd.com.
Continuum Applied Technology’s CORRIDOR Aviation Service
Software features modules including work order, inventory, rotable
management, accounting integration, line sales and management, quoting,
purchasing, regulatory compliance (aircraft records), and more. For more
information call (512) 918-8900 or visit www.corridor.aero.
DatcoMedia has software for general aviation shops, GSE, and fleet
needs, and to run commercial airlines’ maintenance needs. Software
tracks all costs, parts, labor, and forecasting. For more information call
(775) 787-9446 or visit www.datcomedia.com
EmpowerMX’s Fleet Cycle Maintenance ERP suite of applications
focuses on increasing labor productivity and reducing maintenance costs.
It provides total visibility on the complete maintenance cycle —
encompassing both internal and third-party MRO processes. For more
information call (651) 788-8888 or visit www.empowermx.com.
Flightdocs Inc.’s Maintenance Tracking Information Center is a web-
based maintenance tracking program with 24-hour analyst support. For
more information call (631) 737-4060, Ext. 404, or visit
www.flightdocs.com.
Horizon Business Concepts’ TotalFBOweb provides software hosting.
TotalFBOweb is a subscription service, where one flat fee provides the

9
hosting service, access to the software, and 24/7/365 software support.
For more information call (800) 359-9804 or visit www.totalfboweb.com.
Infospectrum’s infoTRAK is a fully web-based FAA/GAAP-compliant
enterprise software solution supporting maintenance and engineering and
MRO organizations performing asset management/maintenance,
component repair, and aerospace manufacturing. For more information
call (818) 874-9226 or visit www.infotraksolutions.com.
Mxi Technologies offers Maintenix Software that allows maintenance
professionals to focus on the skilled activities. It has online workflows
and automation of routine tasks such as data entry and searching. For
more information call (613) 747-4698 or visit www.mxi.com.
Omega’s Ames suite of airline maintenance planning tools enables
maintenance organizations to create optimized, complete maintenance
schedules to fit any business model. It works with maintenance and IT to
tie all of the MRO systems together. For more information call (972) 775-
3693 or visit www.omegaair.com.
Pentagon 2000SQL offers its ERP System, a fully integrated software
system that covers all aspects and procedures of MRO operations
including financials, heavy maintenance, component work orders, flight
ops, aircraft records, engines and subcomponents, and advanced materials
management. For more information call (800) 643-1806 or visit
www.pentagon2000.com.
QAV Aviation Systems’ MX System provides capabilities for
maintenance component and document tracking, reliability analysis,
maintenance planning, flight log, maintenance control, maintenance
program, workcards, check package control, purchasing and inventory
control, and more. For more information call (818) 729-9599 or visit
www.qavsys.com
SkyBOOKS Inc. (a Textron company) offers SkyBOOKS which features
Flt Ops, maintenance tracking, and document vault. Account Analyst
support and manage system updates available. For more information call
(904) 741-8700 or visit www.skybooks.com.
Tdata Inc. offers MTrax, its software for maintenance tracking and
forecasting for an unlimited number of aircraft. It features the ability to
create a variety of reports, 24/7 email support, and the inclusion of
technical support and software upgrades for two years. For more
information call (800) 783-2827 or visit www.tdata.com .

10
WinWare Inc.’s CribMaster Tool Tracking System (software, barcode,
and RFID) offers FOD control and cost reduction for tools, MRO, and
other indirect material. For more information call (770) 419-1399 or visit
www.cribmaster.com.

***********************

11