School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University

Total Quality Management in Aviation Maintenance  

Pragalathan Tharmarajah Supervisor: Prof.Hadi Winarto
S3103262@student.rmit.edu.au Programme Director Aerospace
Bachelor of Engineering (Aerospace) BP069 RMIT, Bundoora.

ABSTRACT: Many airlines have realized that in order to remain competitive

in this rapidly growing aviation market some changes are inevitable. This paper
describes the advantages and effectiveness of implementing Total Quality
Management principles among this increasing competitiveness within the Aviation
Industries in terms of Service and Quality of the maintenance. Given the size, nature
and complexity of the industry, there is always the prospect of problems, unforeseen
circumstances and resistance in the maintenance sector. In order to fill this gap, an
analysis into the cause of TQM implementation in Aviation maintenance sector is
truly needed. This in fact will establish a link between TQM and maintenance
performance, thus highlights the need of adopting Total Quality Management
principles in Maintenance.

Key Words: Total Quality Management (TQM), Airline Operators (AO),

Maintenance Repair Overhaul (MRO)

phase to storage, ground service to

1.0 Introduction
Airline industries are facing its most
serious crisis since economic recession,
according to a number of analysts. And as
a result, these Industries are exploiting
new technology and changing operating
procedures in an effort to combat the
impact of the relentless rise in
Maintenance Management by
implementing Total Quality Management
principles. Many airlines have realized that
in order for them to remain competitive in
rapidly growing aviation market some
changes are inevitable. In the airlines
industry, the main essence of TQM is to
provide services which will make
customers satisfied, this in turn bring about
repeat purchase thus increasing sales and
profitability of the organization. The root
of providing a good customer satisfaction
is by providing an ensured safe journey.
However the Industries’ virtual goal would
be making profit by implementing new
technologies, starting from manufacturing
maintenance, training to customer
services, laws and regulations and
Operating unit. Undoubtedly, more
Industries will disappear over the next few
years, hit by rising oil costs, 'green' taxes
and falling demand as individuals and
businesses cut back on flying unless they
focus their businesses on efficiency.
Aviation industry is not unique; it is a
cyclic industry that rises and falls like
most other industries. But sometimes the
peaks seem higher and toughs deeper than
other industries. Definitions of Total
Quality Management diverge according to
the particular context within which
managers and practitioners function. Total
Quality Management is generally
recognized, however, as a new system of
principles, tools, and practices needed to
manage a company in order to provide
customer satisfaction in a rapidly changing
global economy. Using Total Quality
Management not only eliminates product
and service defects, but it as well enhances
product design, speeds service, reduces

Final Year Project 2010 Technical Paper

 School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University
costs, and, above all, changes the culture
of organizations and improves the quality
of work life. (Ernst & Young, 1991)
2.0 Problem Specification
This Document focus on the challenges
of applying Quality Assurance and TQM
on Aviation maintenance process
concerning the growing complexities of
today’s organizations, which require a
definitive management approach to
ensure complete efficiency and
productivity. TQM was introduced in
aviation since the start, as safety was
measured of primary importance. In
order to encourage firms in implementing
TQM, great efforts have been made by
the government around the world. As a
result, an increasing number of firms
executed TQM. Therefore, it can be said
that the rate of TQM implementation is
very much elevated in aviation Industry.
However, the effectiveness of the
deployment of TQM in Aviation is still
puzzling and every time during the time
of incident or accidents questions has
been asked. According to current growth
in the aviation maintenance sector, it still
lacks effective TQM structures and
application at the firm level. Some
fundamental quality principles and recent
quality management methods have not
been broadly used by Industry. (Dean, J.
W. J. Bowen, D. E.,, (1994),) What is
TQM implementation in Aviation
maintenance? The answer is that TQM
tenders a new approach to develop
quality by advancing the working
process. All work, is a part of a process
that by producing a better service and
maintaining a good quality for a
customer and making profit for that
industry. That’s the essence of TQM.
This sounds too demanding and appears
to be a revolutionary idea. It’s true that
everyone desires to develop quality, and
everyone agrees that we better do that
soon. The main problems to be addressed
by this study therefore are: what is the
Final Year Project 2010 Technical Paper
nature and scope of TQM
implementation in aircraft maintenance
sector and the working strategy of the
Aviation Industry with the
implementation of TQM? In order to
address the need for such reflection the
following research questions could lead
to a possible solution:
i. Is the implementation of TQM as a
tool in Aviation maintenance
necessary?
ii. How it’s been used in current
models of Aviation maintenance?
iii. How does TQM manifest itself in
the Aviation maintenance Sector?
iv. What are the various sectors of
maintenance and how TQM can be
used to improve the existing
process?
v. Is TQM an effective management
mechanism for maintenance
sector?
3.0 Maintenance Issues
Identifying the concepts and problems
are vital in order to optimize the process
by implementing the proper
Management. In the most common sense,
error is seen as those intended actions
which are not correctly executed.
However, it can also be considered as
those actions suffered from unconscious
or conscious mistakes which result in an
accident.
Communication Issues:
Communication is perhaps the most
essential factor in maintenance among
maintenance managers, manufacturers,
dispatches, pilots, the public, the
government and others. Without proper
communication, safety standards would
be complicated to maintain. In the
maintenance area there is a massive
volume of information that must be
created, conveyed, assimilated, used and
recorded in keeping the fleet airworthy.
Airlines factually have warehouses full
 School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University
of paper that contain the historical
records of maintenance of their aircraft.
(Ref:Human Factors in Aircraft
Maintenance and inspection) It is most
vital that when delivering and receiving
maintenance information is
understandable to the primary members
such as inspectors and technicians who
undertake scheduled aircraft maintenance
and diagnose and repair aircraft
malfunctions. Sometimes the technical
language of the manufacturer does not
translate easily into the technical
language of the customer and the result
can be maintenance documentation that
is difficult to understand.
Training Issues:
The lack of qualified trainers is a major
problem facing maintenance programs,
where the technicians do not have
enough skills and experiences to perform
on their tasks. Therefore it is very
important to select the suitable job,
trainer, and procedure for the trainees.
Effective training should be based on
appropriate needed tasks. Such tasks
refer both to the demand for trained
individuals in the concerned substantive
areas as well as the level of knowledge of
prospective trainees. In practice,
technicians enrol in a short- term training
course at an aircraft maintenance
technician training centre which provides
training in the skills required to pass
examination given by the civil aviation
authority (CAA) to obtain technical
license or certificate. Selection of
trainees tended to be more exact for long-
term training. For short-term training of
maintenance, criteria of selection were
less well defined or inconsistently
applied. As a result, the technical
background of trainees in concluding
tended to vary quite significantly with
resulting disproportion in the assimilation
of knowledge imparted. (Evaluation
findings 1994)
Final Year Project 2010 Technical Paper
Maintenance Technicians and
Environment:
It is significant that aircraft maintenance
technicians know systems theory well.
Should be able to execute and interpret
multifaceted tests, maintain structure
elements that are dissimilar from the
characteristic rivet aluminum structures,
and evaluate sensitive electronic and
automated systems. Every Single task
assigned to a technician is vital and
should be carried out cautiously because
it can cause a major loss and damages.
Therefore aircraft technicians must be
well educated and properly trained to the
level of extent in engineering or its
equivalent. However, aircraft
maintenance is frequently performed at
night which can affect technician’s
performance as their concentration is
weaken, the probability for mistake
increases dramatically. Significant
maintenance tasks must be accomplished
quickly so that the aircraft can make its
scheduled gate time. Passengers do not
like maintenance delays and if they
happen too often on an airline, business
may be lost to a competitor. Aircraft
maintenance technicians are keenly
aware of this pressure and strive to
accomplish their work in a timely
manner. Clearly this can sometimes lead
to compromised maintenance especially
when, as so often happens, things do not
go according to plan. Management's role
is to ensure that their maintenance
organizations are provided with adequate
personnel and resources to prevent the
type of work that results in degraded
airworthiness. (Ref:Human Factors in
Aircraft Maintenance and inspection)
The environment of work place can also
have a strong effect on the performance
of the technicians. For perfect work
Conditions, it is desirable to have well
lighted, comfortable hangars for
maintenance works. However, lots of
works are not carried out under the ideal
conditions. It is very difficult to offer
 School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University
adequate lighting for all features of
maintenance work. Noise is another
crucial source. It tends to cause worsen
response to human autonomic nervous
system, i.e. fatigue. Misunderstood
communication from noise interference
can lead to serious consequences too.
Team Environment:
Technicians working in all part of the
aircraft maintenance process whether in
sheet metal/ structures, electrical/
electronic Power plant or hydraulics)
effective teamwork can produce
extraordinary results. However, that is
easier said than done, for, effective
teamwork does not happen automatically.
A great deal of effort has been expended
in recent years on the study of cockpit
teamwork. These studies have resulted in
training programs with the familiar name
of Cockpit (or Crew) Resource
Management (CRM). (Ref:ICAO
Human Factors Digest No. 2)No matter
how good a technician may be, conflicts
will inevitably occur sometime or the
other when working on assigned tasks.
The best way to counter this is to have
structured methods of resolving them. If
any faults or mistakes initiate in the
maintenance process Technicians should
have a way of expressing their opinions
without fear of causing offense to their
co worker. At times Direct confrontation
could also happen between the chief
Engineer and Technicians in a moderated
manner. Despite the fact that matters that
may have been simmering can be aired
out and cleared, this could also lead to
“you or me’ kind of attitude between
technicians. Instead of ignoring these
issues, a hands-on approach that resolves
them quickly is better. Eventually, the
conflicts can actually be used as a chance
to reveal underlying problems that may
be in existence within the team
Final Year Project 2010 Technical Paper
4.0 Elements of Quality and Six Sigma
Emphasizes
Identifying the problems and preventing
defects before the consequences are
worse is the main Six Sigma principle. It
is very essential in a field like
maintenance where lives are primary
preventions. Many of the maintenance
procedures are similar between aircraft
industries and are performed repeatedly
in the same way. Quality is a moving
target as well. There should always be
new ways of performing the tasks by
implementing soft ware’s and tools
which improves the quality and minimize
the delays. As described in “elements of
Quality”, to meet dynamic customer
needs, the industry itself must be
dynamic. The social consequences of this
would appear to be minor. One caution
exists, however, in eliminating wasteful
steps: It can mean the elimination of
positions or whole classes of work.
Employees may receive this and actively
resist against such moves. (David
Chaudron, PhD)
Figure 1: Quality Control
The Aviation Industries may have seen
too much defeatism and a negative
approach among the customers are less
likely to arise in the essence of customer
satisfaction, if the quality is high.
Unsatisfactory quality about the services
is really destructive to the Industry and
its operations. The costs of actually
performing the maintenance tasks are
reduced if errors do not have to be
corrected at later stage. In the view of
third party maintenance industries, High
quality of services brings in more
 School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University

customers and the accurate method in company. At times it is feasible to charge

place is rewarded by achievement in higher costs when service is fast.
customer satisfaction. High quality
optimistically directs to customer
satisfaction and leads to secure and well-
organized operations. If the assigned
tasks’ outcome quality is high in all the
operations processes and actions, very
few blunders will be made. This usually
means that cost of maintenance is
decreased, dependability increases and
speed of response to the tasks increases.
This is a fact that, if a maintenance task Figure 3: Dependability
is repeatedly done to accurate mistakes,
the aviation industry or the third party Delivery of the service at the right time
maintenance Industry, finds it and at the right place is the key to
complicated to respond quickly to succeed. Considering various
customers demands. (Nigel Slack, Stuart environments, externally, dependability
Chambers,Robert Johnston) increases the level of trust customers
have in operations and company’s vision.
Internally, dependable operations are
likely to be more efficient, if tagged
along in the appropriate order or pattern.
Saving cost, time and constructing
confidence are three essential terms used
for dependability. In the view of
maintenance, if the regular checks are
done at the right time and at the right
Figure 2: Speed Control company, there is no need to re-do the
process later again which saves time and
Speed is another vital factor when of course time saving leads to less cost.
performing maintenance tasks. This also leads to a good mutual trust
Customers do not like long delays. This between the customers and Industries.
is very common in the Aviation sector How can an operation which is not
where, scheduled flights are delayed due dependable ever promise its customers
to maintenance activities. Waiting for fast response?’ (David Chaudron, PhD)
the dispatch item to arrive so that the
maintenance task could be carried out,
During Night time insufficient lights to
perform regular checks are few general
delays faced by the maintenance
technicians. All these affect the Aviation
Industries systems and its operations.
Externally, the speed of delivery is bond
to customer satisfaction and internally
it’s connected with the productivity of
the operations. High external speed
increases customer satisfaction and Figure 4: Flexibility
internally there is a boost in the
effectiveness of the product and There are many occasions where
assigned tasks don’t work the way it’s

Final Year Project 2010 Technical Paper

 School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University
been designed, especially in the field like
aviation. So adjusting oneself according
to the environment is what being flexible
is about. It’s always a challenge in
maintenance field to act accordingly to
the new conditions such as technological
improvement and arrival of new Jumbo
jets. Adopting the conditions and being
flexible to the current atmosphere leads
to a greater amount of trust within the
Industry. Externally, high flexibility
increases customer satisfaction and
internally it affects the leads to high
productivity because it represents the
organizations ability to change and adapt
to new situations with new alternatives.
(Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers,Robert
Johnston)
Figure 5: Cost Control
Cost objective is all ways a universal
one. Aviation Industry is directly affected
by the cost of maintenance such as
facilities technologies, equipment,
training, materials, services etc.
Externally cost reduction allows for
additional profit margins and internally it
leads to high productivity. Nevertheless,
Cost is also affected by the other
performance objectives mentioned
earlier. If the maintenance is managed
appropriately, high quality, high speed,
high dependability and high flexibility
can not only bring their own external
rewards, they can also save the operation
cost." (Nigel Slack, Stuart
Chambers,Robert Johnston)
Final Year Project 2010 Technical Paper
5.0 Maintenance Management
To triumph over the wide challenges,
mounting numbers of Aviation firms
have implemented the principles of Total
Quality Management (TQM) to develop
the effectiveness of their maintenance
services. These adopted principles have
influenced changes in the maintenance
procedures, research and development
programs and Human resources
Development. These have significant
effects on customer satisfaction, reduce
costs, and improve productivity. (Dean,
J. W. J. Bowen, D. E.,, (1994),) An
Aviation Industry expands its
Maintenance management strategy and
tactics according to the visions of the
varying business environment. Creation
and implementation of long term and
short term management planning is a
vital tool for this development.
Nevertheless, many Aviation Industries
are still relying on conventional
maintenance. Besides, when they do
relate strategic management, they have a
propensity to take unenthusiastic
measures. Unless an Industry launches
specific means to deal with the varying
maintenance environment, TQM and
PDCA activities will not generate long
term results. (Choi .T.Y, 1995) Long
term planning leads an Aviation Industry
towards the place it wants to be in five to
ten years. It launches Maintenance goals.
Conventional long term planning, or the
setting of long term maintenance and
revenue goals, is no longer feasible.
Potentially well organized management
must be involved in long term planning
by systematically grasping the existing
maintenance movements, anticipating
user demand, developing company
approaches against competition firms,
anticipating the current atmosphere of
international markets, evaluating research
and development status, and planning the
improvement of human resources. Long
term planning should predict the future
and integrate potential modification. A
 School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University
short term plan, usually called an annual
policy, must be rehabilitated every year.
It contains specified propositions that
must be implemented within a year.
(Choi .T.Y, 1995)
The maintenance sector consists of its
Technicians and requires the involvement
of their individual aptitudes for its
development. To make complete use of
its human resources (Technicians), it
must focus its activities in an organized
way. The following are key Management
for human resource development in
dealing with brisk internal and external
change. (D.Crane)
i. Mobilizing the organization by
improving Technicians moral
ii. Increasing computerized
procedures and optimizing
Technicians participation
iii. Improving Chief Engineers
capability to innovate technically
iv. Improving Maintenance
management capability
The primary objectives in the
maintenance division are the
improvement of quality and saving time
which also reduces cost. Consecutively to
achieve this target, importance must also
be placed on equipment investment
planning and planning for improvement
in equipment and facilities. In sequence,
the following should be considered:
(Black.S.A, Porter.L.J, 1996)
i. Automating equipment and facility
and increasing flexibility
ii. Constructing new servicing control
systems
iii. Improving management ability to
deal with advanced technology and
improving engineering education
and training
iv. Increasing the speed of
communication and information
exchange
v. Mobilizing small group activity
In this unstable and continuously
changing Aviation Business, every
Final Year Project 2010 Technical Paper
organization faces the challenge of how
to vitally manage its knowledge assets to
produce value for the marketplace and
achieve competitive benefits. Such
benefits derive from special abilities that
are infrequent, valuable, non
substitutable, and expensive to
reproduce. As companies rush to extend
strategies for more proactively and
advantageously managing their
knowledge, the field of Knowledge
Management receives mounting attention
from maintenance Organizations. The
following significant factors are
considered to optimize the research and
development technology division:
(Chapas, Richard B., 2001)
i. Developing advanced and original
technologies
ii. Generating a structure that creates
original and independent
technologies
iii. Launching management principles
and long term vision for research
and development
iv. Beginning an educational system
that promotes creativity
v. Perfecting a valuation formula for
research and development themes.
6.0 Conclusions
It is proven that there are numerous
benefits derived by implementing TQM
principles in terms of customer
satisfaction, operational effectiveness and
employee satisfaction. Aviation Industries
must take maintenance issues relatively
very serious as it is a foremost determinant
of their continuous existence in the rapidly
changing Aviation Market. In the airlines
maintenance sector, the fundamental
nature of TQM is to provide services
which will make customers satisfied. This
in turn would increase the number of
customers and reputation consecutively,
thus increasing sales and profitability of
the organization.
 School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University

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