AVIATION MAINTENANCE

MANAGEMENT
Lecture –
Oversight Functions – Quality Control & Assurance
Quality & Safety

Quality assurance (QA) is the organization responsible for carrying out certain
administrative actions for the director of Maintenance Program Evaluation and
for conducting annual audits of all M&E organizations, including those outside the
airline that provide work or other assistance to the airline.

Quality control (QC) looks specifically at maintenance practices and the actual
conduct of the maintenance work. They are also responsible for special inspections
and the calibration of tools and test equipment.

The reliability organization has the responsibility of monitoring failure rates,

removals, etc. of aircraft systems and components to measure the effectiveness of
the overall maintenance program. If any deficiencies are noted, reliability turns
the problem over to engineering for investigation and development of an adequate
solution.

The remaining oversight function is safety. The safety organization looks

specifically at the health and safety issues involved in the M&E activities. This
means establishing the health and safety program and overseeing its
implementation
Quality Assurance
Quality assurance has been in the corporate world and industry for many years. It
is indicative of excellence and compliance with standards. In simple terms,
Quality is the standard of something as measured against other things
of a similar kind; the degree of excellence or an improvement in
product quality.

Quality assurance focuses on planning, approach, techniques, and processes. It is

working as a managing tool to prevent defects. It is proactive and preventative in
nature.

According to ISO definition, it states that quality assurance is all those

planned and systematic actions necessary to provide adequate
confidence that an entity will fulfill requirements for quality. Both the
customers and the managers have a need for quality assurance as they
cannot oversee operations for themselves.

Aviation quality assurance is a system for monitoring aviation equipment,

programs, and procedures to ensure that the ICAO and state civil aviation
regulatory quality standards are being met.
Contd

To address and subsequently resolve any problems or issues related

to findings of any of the other oversight activities, the airline should
establish a Maintenance Program Review Board (MPRB). This board
replaces the Reliability Control Board (RCB) mentioned above. Since
the oversight functions vary in scope, the actions of the MPRB will
also vary.

• For example, writeups resulting from the QA audits will primarily be

infractions of the airline or FAA rules and regulations and thus
corrective action will be to bring the unit into compliance. If, on
occasion, the QA write-up requires a change in rules or procedures,
the MPRB will be enlisted to discuss the matter and determine the
necessary approach. If FAA regulations are involved, the director of
MPE will coordinate MPRB action with the FAA. For QC, reliability,
and safety issues, the analysis and corrective action will vary with the
type of problem and the units involved. Likewise, the MPRB
involvement will vary.
Requirement for Quality Assurance (QA)
For each type of aircraft flown, the airline must generate the
operations specifications (Ops Specs) that establish, among other
things, the maintenance and inspection programs to be used to keep
the aircraft in an airworthy condition.

This is referred to as the continuous airworthiness maintenance

program or CAMP and is defined in the operator’s Ops Specs. The
Ops Specs is approved by the FAA, but it is not enough to ensure that
such programs are effective.

Although the airline has an FAA-approved maintenance and

inspection program in place, they must monitor these programs to
determine their effectiveness and implement appropriate corrective
action whenever any portion of such programs proves to be
ineffective. This requirement of the operating airline covers not only
the work they perform themselves but also any work performed for
them by third-party organizations including other airlines.
Functions of Quality Assurance (QA)

The functions of QA are:

a) The administration and management of QA and CASS

activities;

a) The conduction of QA audits of all M&E organizations;

a) The maintenance of technical records; and

a) Liaison with the regulatory authority for all M&E functions.

Quality Audits

• A quality audit should be performed on each and every unit

within the M&E organization. Generally, this would be done on
a yearly basis, but other schedules (more or less often) may be
appropriate for certain areas. This audit should be a detailed,
fact-finding effort designed to look at all aspects of the
operation, determine any discrepancies, and establish a
corrective action with a finite time for correction of each such
discrepancy
 Quality Audits

In relation to work performance, they will look at

(a) the adequacy of tools, test equipment, and facilities;

(a) the competency of assigned personnel (licenses, training,

skills, and skill levels, etc.);

(a) shop and office orderliness; and (d) the use and handling of
tools, parts, supplies,

(a) and paperwork

Contd
The following is a sample, but not exhaustive, list of airline activities that should be
audited.

1. Processes and procedures related to line, hangar, and shop maintenance: logbooks;
completed checks; conduct of transit, daily, and 48-hour maintenance checks;
handling of deferred maintenance; fueling activities; quality control inspections;
procedures related to work transfer at shift change; and procurement of parts and
supplies.

1. Processes and procedures related to material: receiving, storing, labeling, and

handling of parts and supplies, including high-value, time-limited, and flammable
items; tracking of time-limited parts; processing of warranty claims; establishment
and replenishing of fly-away kits; hangar, line, and outstation parts allocations.

1. Processes and procedures related to engineering: development of maintenance

program; investigation of problem areas; establishment of policies and procedures;
procedures for the evaluation of service bulletins, service letters, and airworthiness
directives.

1. Processes and procedures related to training of maintenance and inspection

personnel in the use of computing systems, manuals, documentation, technical
libraries, and safety equipment.
contd
Certain other types of audits can be performed either on a yearly or on an as
necessary basis. These are audits of certain processes, procedures, or
functions, which may span two or more organizations or activities within
M&E. Each organization involved would be audited for their part in the larger
process, procedure, or function without a full audit of their organization
(unless that is deemed necessary due to these or other findings). These audits
include the following:

1. Ramp operations. All line maintenance and support functions related to activities in the
airport ramp and gate areas. This would include parking, taxiing, refueling, aircraft servicing,
loading and unloading (passengers, cargo, etc.), and turnaround maintenance. Such an audit
might be performed in conjunction with a problem concerning delays and cancellations or with
terminal operations in general.

1. Airplane tire pressures. The process for checking and adjusting tire pressures
(inspection techniques, use of nitrogen, etc.) throughout the fleet might be audited. This
would include all model aircraft, all stations where such work is likely to be done, and the
crews involved.

1. Shop records. Although this subject would normally be part of a standard audit for any
unit where records are kept, situations may arise that require an audit of the record keeping
process airline-wide. New procedures, new computer processes, or reliability program
findings, for example, could necessitate such an audit.
Contd
4) Required inspection items (RIIs). Again, this would be included in the standard audit each time any unit involved with RIIs is
audited. But it may be necessary to check the RII process itself, as well as to review the authorization of those mechanics performing RIIs.

4) AD and SB compliance. All ADs are required to be implemented within some specified time limit and often apply to specific aircraft
(by tail number, model, or dash number, etc.). Service bulletins, although optional, must be reviewed for proper compliance if
incorporated. Sometimes an AD is generated for an already released SB. Even if the airline rejected the SB (for whatever reason) as an AD
it must be incorporated. This audit would look at engineering for the handling of ADs and SBs and the subsequent generation of EOs and
other work orders; it will also look at appropriate units involved in the incorporation of these modifications (maintenance, material,
training, etc.).

4) Major repairs and alterations. These audits are usually performed to ensure compliance with requirements whenever major
aircraft repairs or alterations are done. These modifications would be performed on a fleet of aircraft, but the audit would normally be
done only once.

4) Safety equipment. Availability and accessibility of safety equipment in the various work centers may be part of the center’s normal
audit, but a special audit of all safety equipment may be desirable at times. This may include an audit of the safety organization itself.

4) Safety training. Training in the location and use of safety items and the proper employment of safety measures is also done in
conjunction with work center audits, but again, a special audit of the entire safety program may be in order.

4) Accident/incident reporting. These processes and procedures would be addressed in an audit of the safety organization, but an
audit may be necessary of the total program, including other work centers.

4) Fire protection/prevention. All systems, equipment, and procedures related to fire protection and fire prevention may be the
subject of a onetime audit.

4) Hazardous materials handling. The proper handling of these materials requires training of personnel who have contact with such
materials. The overall program, spanning several work centers, may be audited.
ISO 9000 Quality Standard
• Most of industry throughout the world is adopting the international
standard of quality, known as ISO 9000 (ISO, International Standards
Organization). This standard establishes the requirement for a quality
system in organizations performing design and/or manufacturing or
providing technical service to others. It identifies three types of
organizations, with the ISO 9000 specification tailored to each one

• ISO 9001 is for facilities that design/develop, produce, install, and service
products or provide services to customers who specify how the product or
service is to perform.

• ISO 9002 is for facilities that provide goods or services to the customer’s
design specifications.

• ISO 9003 is for those doing final inspection and testing.

ISO 9000 Quality Standard
• Table