1 393sys airport engineering practice lecture 4 development of maintenance programs

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393SYS 393SYS Airport Engineering Airport Engineering

PracticePractice

Lecture 4Lecture 4Development of Development of

MaintenanceMaintenanceProgramsPrograms

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4.0

Documentation for Maintenance

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4.0 Documentation For Maintenance

Types of Documentation

Main types of documentation –

1. Manufacturer’s Documentation

2. Regulatory Documentation

3. Airline Generated Documentation

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Regulatory Documentation

In the United States, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) issues many documents on aircraft maintenance. The most significant ones are –

● Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs)

● Advisory Circulars (ACs)

● Airworthiness Directives (ADs)

● Notice Of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM)This last one is issued by the FAA whenever the FAA intends to change a FAR. It is issued in advance of the change to give aviation industry plenty of time to study and comment on the proposed change.

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The following figure shows the process from initial Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), consultation and comment period, to the publishing of the Final Rule in the Federal Register and finally in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR 14).


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Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs)

These are the laws of the United States which relate to all aspects of aviation including private, commercial and experimental aircraft; airports; navigational aids; air traffic control; training of pilots, air traffic controllers, mechanics etc.

Example FAR

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Advisory Circulars (ACs)

Designed to help airline operators meet the requirements of FARs.

An AC often states that something is “a means, but not the only means” of complying with a regulation.

Airworthiness Directives (ADs)

The airworthiness directives are very important regulations issued by the FAA to correct an unsafe condition that exists in an –

● aircraft● aircraft engine● propeller,● aircraft appliance

8Example AC

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Aircraft owners or operators are required to maintain aircraft in compliance with all ADs.

Typically an AD will include –

a) a description of the unsafe condition

b) the item to which the AD applies

c) the corrective action required

d) date of compliance

e) where to get additional information

f) information on alternative methods of compliance (if applicable)

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Effective, November 12, 2002 Airworthiness Directives;

Boeing Model 737 Series Airplanes

Applicability: All Model 737 series airplanes; certificated in any category.

To prevent an uncommanded rudder hardover event and consequent loss of control of the airplane due to inherent failure modes, including single-jam modes, and certain latent failure or jams combined with a second failure or jam; accomplish the following: ….

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Airline Generated Documentation

Operations Specification (“Ops Spec”)

• Written by the airline in accordance with strict FAA requirements.

• The Ops Spec is required for each aircraft type flown by the airline.

• It details the airline’s maintenance, inspection, and operations programs.

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Technical Policies and Procedures Manual (TPPM)

The airline’s Maintenance & Engineering (M&E) operations manual.

Defines exactly how all M&E functions and activities will be carried out.

A detailed document – may be several volumes.

Personnel in M&E must be trained on the TPPM.

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Inspection Manual (IM)

Usually a chapter in the TPPM.

Contents relate to -

a) mechanic inspection tasks

b) QC inspector tasks

c) special inspections (hard landings, bird strikes, etc.)

d) airlines required inspection item (RII) program

e) paperwork and forms to carry out these functions

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Quality Assurance Manual (QAM)

This could be either

a special manual for QA auditors only, or

a separate chapter in the TPPM.

Defines procedures used in the annual QA audits conducted on the M&E units, suppliers and outside contractors.

Includes formats for forms and reports to be used in the QA procedures.

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Minimum Equipment List (MEL)

The aircraft manufacturer produces the Master Minimum Equipment List (MMEL).

This includes all aircraft configurations available for a particular model of aircraft (e.g. Boeing 747-100, 747-200, … etc.).

For some models of aircraft, customers can choose –

engines from three different manufacturers

various auxiliary systems as buyer options

.. much of this is not applicable to some operators.

The airline operator is therefore required to customize the MMEL for their aircraft engine / airframe configurations.

The customized MMEL becomes the MEL.

Copies of this MEL must be carried in each aircraft for flight crew reference.

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Task Cards

Certain tasks defined in the AMM for - removal/installation, testing, servicing and similar maintenance - are reproduced on separate cards or sheets so that the mechanic can perform a particular maintenance task without having to carry the entire maintenance manual around

with them.

These tasks may call for the mechanic to open panels, set certain circuit breakers “in’ or “out”, turn other equipment “on” or “off”, etc., before they can do the maintenance task, and then they must reverse these steps when they have completed the maintenance task.

However, much of the work done during an aircraft check involves a combination of several tasks applied in the same area of the aircraft.

To avoid repeating the same tasks and unnecessary opening and closing of the same panels, most airlines write their own task cards to combine these maintenance activities.

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5.0

Requirements for a Maintenance

Program

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5.0 Requirements For A Maintenance Program

Objectives Of A Maintenance Program

These are as follows :

1. To ensure the inherent (i.e. designed-in) safety and reliability levels of the equipment.

2. To restore safety and reliability to their inherent (designed-in) levels when deterioration has occurred.

3. To obtain the information necessary for the adjustment and optimization of the maintenance program when these inherent levels are not met.

4. To obtain the information necessary for design improvement of those items whose inherent reliability proves inadequate.

5. To accomplish these objectives at a minimum total cost, including the cost of maintenance and the cost of residual failure.

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This section outlines the main ingredients of a maintenance program for achieving these five objectives.

Airworthiness Responsibility

Under aviation regulations such as those issued by the FAA, an airline operator is responsible for all maintenance on it’s fleet of aircraft.

The airline must have operating specifications for each model of aircraft flown.

It must adhere to the approved maintenance program identified in the Ops Spec.

The airline must follow both its own policies and those of the regulatory authority in carrying out maintenance and

inspection.

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In some cases, an airline may have another airline or a third party maintenance organization do some or all of its

maintenance under contract.

However, the airline is responsible for ensuring that any work done for them by these outside contractors is done to their own maintenance schedule, standards and requirements, and is in accordance with the airline’s regulatory authority

requirements.

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Maintenance Manual

Earlier, we identified the manuals provided by manufacturers and other vendors of aircraft parts and systems.

These manuals provide of the equipment to be maintained and the procedures to be used to achieve this maintenance.

This section, however, refers to other areas of concern such as –

the management and administration of maintenance,

the procedures for work performance, and

the procedures for inspection, audit, and analysis of the maintenance work.

The maintenance manual referred to here is therefore the primary, all-inclusive document of how the maintenance program will be

conducted, monitored and improved.

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Maintenance Organization

The FAA states that an airline must have a maintenance organization -

“that is able to perform, supervise, manage, and amend your program, manage and guide your maintenance personnel, and provide the necessary direction to achieve your maintenance program objectives.”

The essential elements of this organization are as follows :

1. An organization that is capable of doing the work.

2. A Director of Maintenance (or similar title) responsible for the overall activity (must be

suitably licensed).

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5.0 Requirements For A Maintenance Program3. For certain categories of operators, a Chief Inspector (or

similar title).

4. An organization or process to develop and upgrade a maintenance manual that describes all aspects of the maintenance program.

5. Supervisory activities to ensure that maintenance is accomplished in accordance with the airline’s manual.

6. An inspection function for required inspection items (RII) that is separate from other routine inspection and

maintenance functions.

7. Competent personnel and adequate facilities available for maintenance to be performed.

8. Procedures to ensure that each aircraft released for service after maintenance is airworthy and properly maintained.

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9. Efforts to ensure that the maintenance program remains effective as conditions change.

10. Management personnel who are qualified and have sufficient experience and expertise to effectively organize, manage, and control the maintenance program.

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Maintenance Schedule

The FAA (for example) requires an airline to have a maintenance schedule which identifies –

what maintenance will be done

how it will be done, and

when or how often it will be done.

This maintenance schedule is derived from data supplied by the aircraft manufacturer in various documents delivered with the aircraft.

In the USA, they are identified in the Maintenance Review Board (MRB) report which is an FAA approved document.

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In the USA, they are identified in the Maintenance Review Board (MRB) report which is an FAA approved document.

tasks are divided into groups based on the suggested interval – flight hours, flight cycles, or calendar time.

These manufacturer’s documents, however, are only guidelines.

Each operator is different – different airplane configurations, operational and environmental conditions.

Therefore, it is an airline responsibility to adjust the initial MRB schedules to comply with the individual airline needs.

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Maintenance and Record Keeping

Commercial aircraft are delivered to the airline operator with a standard airworthiness certificate.

It is the airline’s responsibility to keep that aircraft in airworthy condition.

To ensure that this happens, the airline is required to keep accurate records of maintenance.

Failure to keep accurate records can result in substantial fines or imprisonment for the airline operator.

Two types of record are required – “summary information” and “airworthiness information.”

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Contract Maintenance

Although an airline has responsibility for all maintenance on its aircraft, very often, some, or all, of the maintenance may be performed under contract with some other airline or some third party maintenance organization.

Under these circumstances, the airline maintenance program must include procedures for making sure the work is done

properly.

This means an airline is responsible for providing the outside maintenance organizations with proper training on its

maintenance procedures.

Also, the airline must make sure that the outside organization has the personnel, skills, and facilities to do the work

required.

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Continuing Analysis and Surveillance System (CASS)

Airlines need to be able to demonstrate to the relevant authorities that the maintenance and inspection programs outlined in the Ops Spec are effective.

This is done by adopting suitable QA programs.

Essentially, CASS is a program to detect and correct deficiencies in maintenance program effectiveness and performance.

It looks at possible problem areas, determines the corrective action required, and tracks the activity afterward to

determine the effectiveness of the correction.

This accomplished through data collection and analysis.

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Personnel Training

The USA FARs are very brief in stating the training requirements for aviation maintenance –

airlines should “have a training program to ensure that each person (including inspection personnel) who determines the adequacy of work done is fully informed about procedures

and techniques and new equipment in use and is competent to perform his duties.”

Another part of the FARs provides further elaboration by discussing the requirements for Aviation Maintenance Technician Schools.

In these schools, you can earn an airframe and power plant (A&P) license, but this license does not fully qualify you to work on the aircraft of a particular airline.

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The A&P license simply means that the person having the license is qualified for the job of maintenance mechanic.

In order to be qualified to do the airline’s work, a mechanic must receive orientation training on the airline’s policy,

procedures, and its equipment configuration.

The airline must validate the mechanic’s skills using the appropriate testing methods, and must ensure that the mechanic is up to date in all aspects of the job.

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Hazardous Materials and Dangerous Goods

Examples include –

caustic substances dangerous to eyes, skin and lungs, as well as to metal, fabric, and other materials

radioactive substances,

flammable materials,

Safety issues including heavy and unstable loads, set up and use of scaffolding and stands, working in high places, even

fatigue and other human conditions fall into this area of concern.

The airline is required to identify these and to provide employees with the necessary equipment and training on protection, storage, handling, etc.

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Summary

Documentation For Maintenance

Regulatory Documentation

Airline Generated Documentation

Requirements of a Maintenance Program Objectives of a Maintenance Program

Airworthiness Responsibility

Maintenance Manual

Maintenance Organization

Maintenance Schedule

Maintenance and Record Keeping

Contract Maintenance

Continuing Analysis and Surveillance System

Personnel Training

Hazardous Materials and Dangerous Goods

Summary

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What you need to know for the exam ! Can you identify the four main types of regulatory documentation

issued by the FAA in the United States ?

Explain, briefly, the purpose of the following : Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs), Advisor Circulars, Airworthiness Directives and Notices Of Proposed Rule Making (NPRMs).

Provide a brief description of the different types of documentation generated by airlines.

What are the five objectives of an aviation maintenance programme ?

Explain, briefly, the nature of the different areas relating to aviation maintenance which contribute to the five objectives of an aviation maintenance programme.

1 393sys airport engineering practice lecture 4 development of maintenance programs

Documents

documentation slide

maintenance slide

aircraft maintenance

maintenance airline

manufacturers documentation

maintenance aircraft

aircraft appliance slide

applicable slide