a variety of reporting systems, and act on that data. “We are good at collecting [maintenance related] data, but not very good at analyzing it,” Johnson said. Aircraft manufacturers and airlines have initiated programs and offered products that make documentation readily available through the use of mobile devices, such as iPads. Gulfstream Aerospace, makers of high-end business jets, offers good readily available documentation for AMTs and other users. But these are tools. What is needed first is a change in mindset.
Safety Culture Johnson cited Miami Air International, a small Dade County, Fla.-based charter airline, as one operator with a high corporate commitment to its SMS. “Without a safety culture, you do not have a SMS program,” Armando Martinez, Senior Director of Safety and Security for Miami Air said. Miami Air was the first charter airline to have a fully implemented SMS program under FAA’s SMS Pilot Program. The program has been very successful. In 2012, Miami Air got a $30,000 credit from its insurance underwriters to use on safety initiatives. This year, it got $50,000 to use for the same purpose. Johnson points to Pratt & Whitney (P&W) as a good example of a large company within a larger corporation that has a good safety culture. P&W, the engine
manufacturing division of United Technologies, which also owns Sikorsky Aircraft, maintains a safety culture through its Accelerating Customer Excellence (ACE) program. All UTC companies, including Pratt’s engine manufacturing and MRO units, are part of ACE. One UTC-wide safety practice worth noting are the daily, so-called “standdowns,” where every staff member stops what they’re doing and inspects their work area for any safety problems. “On the engine floor, safety procedures are built into the standard practices,” said Curtis Ray Lowery, manager, Curriculum Design and Development, Customer Training, Pratt & Whitney. Maintaining a system wide safety culture within maintenance departments is particularly important today because of the changes that have occurred within the industry, particularly at airlines. “We are trying to do more with less,” said Joaquin Villarreal, senior manager FedEx TechOps Training. “We are all trying to perform maintenance more efficiently and effectively.” To deal with this new economic reality, FedEx Tech Ops instructs its mechanics to better troubleshoot maintenance problems the first time in order to avoid a major maintenance down the road. Aiding the troubleshooting task are easy access electronic logbooks. FedEx is in the process of acquiring iPad tablets for every AMT to use
on the aircraft. iPads can be checked out by AMTs before their shift begins. AMTs can access a parts manual or order replacement parts on the tablets. While these tools are a help, it is the top-down commitment to safety which is what drives FedEx Tech Ops and other carriers to evolve its maintenance practices and training, Villarreal said. In the last five years, FedEx TechOps Training has adopted a lean continual improvement culture, which has included updating the training program for AMTs. FedEx has implemented an aircraft strike prevention program as part of its SMS program, along with YouTube style videos to better train its AMTs. AMTs also can obtain additional training on various aircraft systems online. Like other carriers, FedEx Tech Ops uses CAE’s Simfinity program to simulate maintenance problems. “We try and duplicate real life scenarios as much as possible,” said Villarreal. “This has made a real difference in the quality of maintenance performed by FedEx mechanics.”
Safety Elements A key component of maintaining a safety culture is the inclusion of Human Factors. Gareth McGraw, Human Factors Advisor, Standards Division, Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia will discuss “Safety Behaviors - Human Factors for Engineers,” at WATS 2014.
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