Human Factor in Aviation Maintenance Essay

AbstractIn the aviation industry, gentle beingskindity misunderstanding is consider as a major factor in intimately aviation accidents. aid tasks that argon performed incorrectly or are overlooked by nutriment crew would vex adult male misunderstandings. Examples of human misconducts in sustainment are installation of incorrect split, essential checks not being performed and failed to install wanted parts. Among all aviation-related threats, errors made by guardianship crew are more difficult to detect and discombobulate the potential to remain dormant, affecting the safe operation of aircraft for longer duration. Although maintenance crews are responsible for their actions, organization problems also contributed to the threat of maintenance errors. Since it is not possible to eliminate all maintenance errors, introducing safety counseling systems (SMS) to aviation organizations mass help identify hazards and learn risk. humane factors issues in aviation maint enanceMaintenance tasks whitethorn be carried out in confined spaces, at heights, under burning heat or in freezing cold and worst of all, it is also physically demanding. Good communication, coordination, clerical and focusing skills are needed to perform well in this environment. Fault analysis and rectification have to be lick quickly in order to minimize turnaround time. In addition, there would be latent aro apply stress on maintenance personnel whose fake has been involved in aviation accidents.However dissimilar aircrafts, humans do not come with a set of instructional manuals that helps us to understand their military operation and capabilities. Each and every individual varies in many ways, hence one will never jockey how one maintenance task attributed to errors. Aviation industries become aware of many unpredictable accidents coming from human errors due to different contributing factors (Refer to suppose 1 for a vivid fiction on human error vs contributing facto rs) (Takahiro S, Terry L, William D, 2008)and have taken steps to implement preventive or control measures. Factors contributing to human errors in maintenanceStatistics have shown that 80% of errors are contributed due to human errors plot of land the remaining percentage is due to mechanical or other(a) failures. (Refer to mannequin 2 for a graphical object lesson on human error contribution percentile) (Strategic program plan, 2007) There is also a breakdown showing which type of maintenance activities having higher rate of human errors. (Refer to Table1, Frequency of Human error vs Type of maintenance activity) (Goldman, 2002)The Pear ModelFour important human factors of the Pear Model (Refer to Figure 5 for graphical illustration) are People who do the job, environment in which they work, actions they perform and resourcesnecessary to ended the job.PeopleHuman factors program focus on passel who perform the work and attend to physical,physiological, mental and psychosocia l factors. Organization must focus on individuals,their physical capabilities, mental state, cognitive size and circumstances that may affect theirinteraction with others. Factors like each person s size, age, eyesight, strength, endurance,experience, motivation and certification standards must be taken into consideration before eachperson is tasked to work. Sufficient breaks and rest periods must be cateredto find eachperson is not overload. Organization should encourage more teamwork and communicationsbetween colleagues so that work accomplished will be safe and efficient. Offering educationalprograms on health and fitness can help encourage good health and help cast down sick leave.Hence, a good human factors program will consider all the limitations of humans and designs thejob accordingly.EnvironmentPhysical workplace in the hanger/shop and organization environment are environmentsthat are focused on human factors program. Conditions like temperature, lighting, racket contro l,cleanliness, humidity and workplace design are considered physical environment. Cooperation,mutual respect, culture of the organization, communication, leadership, shared goals and shared set are important factors in an excellent organizational environment.ActionsThe standard human factors approach to identify skills, knowledge andattitudes toperform each task in a given job is called Job Task synopsis (JTA). It helps to identify whatinstructions, tools and other resources needed to perform each task. By following exactly to theJTA, each prole will be properly trained and each workplace will also has the necessaryequipment and other resources to perform the job.ResourcesResources are viewed from a broad angle, such as anything that is needed to get the jobaccomplished. Resources that are tangible are test equipment, tools, lifts, computers andtechnical manuals, and so forth. Amount of time given, level of communication among people ofdifferent levels, the number and qualificati ons of staff to complete a job are considered resourcesthat are less tangible. The most important element under resources is to identify the need foradditional resources.Accidents linked to maintenanceJapan Airlines line of achievement 123In August 1985, Japan Airlines feather 123 claimed the lives of 520 people when it crashed into a mountain. It was bound for a short flight of stairs from Tokyo to Osaka but at the altitude of 24,000ft, the aircraft suddenly lost control due to the failure of the evoke squelch bulkhead and caused the whole cabin to suffer a sudden decompression. The impact of the escaping air caused the separation of the perpendicular stabilizer, rudder, hydraulic lines and four pressurized hydraulic systems. Investigations revealed that the aircraft had encountered a tail strike incident a few days ago. The repair work done on the aft bulkhead did not comply with the OEM recommended procedure as ii doubler plates instead of a single plate were used to do t he splice. (Refer to Figure 3 for an illustration of the repair)Eastern Airlines Flight 855On May 5, 1983, Eastern Airlines flight 855 was on a flight from Miami, U.S. to Nassau, Bahamas. The plane carried a total of 172 people. While making a descend, the low oil pressure warning index number on the center engine lighted up. The flight crew shut-off the center engine and decided to fall back to Miami with the remaining two engines. On the way back to Miami, the aircrafts low oil pressure warning indicators for the remaining two engines lighted up followed by flamed out within minutes. Luckily the flight crew managed to re-start the center engine again after the aircraft descended from 13,000ft to 4,000ft without any power. After the aircraft landed safely at Miami airport with one engine, no live loss or injuries were claimed.The investigation board concluded the cause of the incident was due to all three magnetic chip detectors on the engines had been installed without O-ring (R efer to Figure 4 for an illustration of the Chip) causing oil to leak from the engines during flight. This accident could be avoided if the engineers involved were discipline and carried out the maintenance tasks professionally.British Airway Flight 5390On 10 June 1990, British Airlines flight 5390 was on a flight from Birmingham, England to Malaga, Spain. utterly at about 17,300ft, the left windscreen on the senior pilots side of the cockpit blew out from the cockpit. The captain was sucked out of his seat with half of his body hanging out of the plane and the other half resting on the flight controls. No lives were lost on this flight, but the captain suffered frostbite, bruising, andfractures to his sound arm, left thumb and right wrist while flight attendant who aided the captain suffered a dislocated shoulder, frostbitten depend and some frostbite damage to his left eye. Investigators found that the maintenance manager who worked on the windscreen had used incorrect bolts d uring a windscreen repair. Other issues highlighted were failed to check tolerance specification of the bolts, staffing shortage during night shift, parts storage and involvement of supervisors in hands-on maintenance work.Safety Management schemasA safety counsel system (SMS) is a systematic way to managing safety, policies, procedures, accountabilities, and including the necessary organisational structures. The objective of a Safety Management System is to provide a structured trouble approach to control safety risks in trading operations. Therefore in order to have an effective safety management, the organisations specific structures and processes related to safety of operations must be taken into account. safety management requires planning, organising, communicating and providing direction.The first step of the SMS progession begins with setting the organisational safety policy. It lay outs the strategy for achieving acceptable levels of safety within the organisation and d efines the principles upon which the SMS is built and operated. In order to palliate and limit risk during operations in the designed processes, safety planning and execution of safety management procedures are needed.Only with these controls in place, quality management techniques then can be utilised to mark the intended objectives are met by deployment of safety assurance and if fail, evaluation processes are needed to provide consecutive montioring of operations and for identifying areas of safety improvement. Furthermore, SMS also provides the organisational framework to set up and encourage the development of a plus safety culture.Finally, the implentation of SMS provides the organisations management a structured set of tools to meet their respomsibilites for safety delineate by the regulator.ConclusionAviation industries have realized that it is not possible to entirely eliminate maintenance errors but to take an approach to identify, correct and minimize the consequence s of those errors. And with the implementation of SMS, hazards could be identify and risks could be control. In conclusion, all these human factor studies help aviation industries to make continuous improvement and implementation of solutions to reduce maintenance errors.ReferencesStrategic program plan. (2007, August 01). Retrieved from http//libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/StrategicProgramPlan.pdf Takahiro Suzuki, Terry L. Von Thaden, William D. Geibel. (2008). Influence of time pressure on aircraft maintenance errors. Informally published manuscript, University of Illinois, Retrieved from http//www.aviation.illinois.edu/avimain/papers/research/pub_pdfs/miscconf/AAvPA_suzuki_final.pdf Micheal E. Maddox. (2007). Human factors. Daytona Beach, FL 32114 Embry-Riddle aeronautical University. Retrieved from http//libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/guide/chapter1.pdf LindaWerfelman. (2008, April). W orking to the limit. AeroSafety World, 3(4), 14-18. Retrieved from http//flightsafety.org/aerosafety-world-magazine/past-issues/aerosafety-world-april-2008 Colin G. Drury. (2007). Establishing a human factors/ergonomics program. Daytona Beach, FL 32114 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Retrieved from http//libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/guide/chapter2.pdf Hobbs, A. Australian Transport Safety Bureau, (2008). An overview of human factors in aviation maintenance (AR-2008-055). Retrieved from Australian Transport Safety Bureau website http//www.atsb.gov.au/media/27818/ar2008055.pdfSKYbrary. (2013, September 14). Safety Management System. Retrieved from http//www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Safety_Management_System James T. Burnette. (2007). Workplace safety. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical UniversityDaytona Beach, FL 32114. Retrieved from http//libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/guide/chapter3.pdf Miche al E. Maddox. (2007). Shiftwork and scheduling. Daytona Beach, FL 32114 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Retrieved from Micheal E. Maddox. (2007). Facility design. Daytona Beach, FL 32114 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Retrieved from http//libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/guide/chapter5.pdf James Reason. (2007). Human error. Daytona Beach, FL 32114 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Retrieved from http//libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/guide/chapter14.pdf FAA. (2012). Human Factors. Retrieved from http//www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aircraft/media/AMT_Handbook_Addendum_Human_Factors.pdf Terrell N. Chandler. (2007). Training. Daytona Beach, FL 32114 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Retrieved from http//libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/human-factors-in-aviation-maintenance/guide/chapter7.pdfFigure 1. Human error vs Contributing factors. (Takahiro S, Terry L, William D, 2008)Figure 2. Human error contribution percentile. (Strategic program plan, 2007)Table 1. Frequency of Human error vs Type of maintenance activity. (Goldman, 2002)Figure 3. Comparison of the correct and incorrect method of the doubler plate repair. (Hobbs, 2008)Figure 4. Location of O rings on magnetic chip detector. (Hobbs, 2008)Figure 5. The PEAR Model (FAA, 2012)