AoC number
Primary domain
Secondary domain
Description
Increasing financial pressure on airlines is resulting in steady reductions of maintenance staff at out stations. As a result of this phenomenon, flight crew are increasingly reluctant to report aircraft defects when away from home base. Statistics bear this out. A 2009 Airline Engineers International survey revealed that airlines, including majors reported inbound defects as high as 94% over only 6% outbound defects. Until recently, such behavior may have resulted only in incidents, albeit that well documented cases are scarce. This phenomenon may have been a root cause of at least one recent accident (Turkish Airlines, Schiphol, 2009).
One of the largest contract labor providers is the process of recruiting labor from outside the United States. This organization is currently in the process of gaining Department of Labor and Immigration and Naturalization approval in order to offer jobs and obtain appropriate visas. One of the potential sources being investigated is the UK, where they are also experiencing a shortage of qualified aircraft maintenance technicians. Not only is the contract aircraft technician labor pool growing and due to the shortage of qualified candidates, is now on the brink of becoming an international issue.
Potential hazard
- Lack of timely servicing of aircraft with potentially flight-critical component or system problems.
- Poor quality aircraft servicing due to hiring of minimally-qualified staff
- Over-reliance on Minimum Equipment List (MEL) procedures as safety nets
- Incorrect information on the MEL within the airline operation center
- Inappropriate release of an aircraft by dispatch.
Corroborating sources and comments
A 2009 Airline Engineers International survey revealed that airlines, including majors reported inbound defects as high as 94% over only 6% outbound defects. Until recently, such behavior may have resulted only in incidents, albeit that well documented cases are scarce.
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING AT AVIATION
MAINTENANCE FACILITIES, Raymond P. Goldsby, Senior Aviation Specialist
Galaxy Scientific Corporation, Technology Information Division and Jean Watson, Program Manager Aviation Maintenance Human Factors Research Office of Aviation Medicine Federal Aviation Administration
This is a mostly organizational issue, namely, the consequences of outsourcing on sustaining a well-qualified workforce in the home company. Some of this may be an organizational issue of managing a balanced workforce (home versus 3rd party).
Cost-cutting measures are taken for a reason but their consequences should be considered for both the short and long-term.
Politics and economics should not be considered to be hazards in themselves, but they do contribute to the situation.
http://aviationweek.com/mro-enterprise-software/ways-better-plan-component-needs-aogs (Overview of airline strategic planning for malfunctions. A spare-parts shortage can impact the proceedings of AOG operations, and at outstations, spare parts are even harder to come by. Having all AOGs or stocking massive amounts of spare parts are both very costly options, so airlines will balance the costs of AOGs with the costs of stocking additional parts.)
http://www.airlinereporter.com/2015/07/day-life-airline-mechanic/ (A mechanic’s account of his own profession. He specifically mentions being called to an outstation in the event of an incident, since they had no maintenance personnel of their own. Note also the difficulties maintenance would occasionally have in returning to home base, stretching personnel thin.)
Corroborating sources and comments
A 2009 Airline Engineers International survey revealed that airlines, including majors reported inbound defects as high as 94% over only 6% outbound defects. Until recently, such behavior may have resulted only in incidents, albeit that well documented cases are scarce.
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING AT AVIATION
MAINTENANCE FACILITIES, Raymond P. Goldsby, Senior Aviation Specialist
Galaxy Scientific Corporation, Technology Information Division and Jean Watson, Program Manager Aviation Maintenance Human Factors Research Office of Aviation Medicine Federal Aviation Administration
This is a mostly organizational issue, namely, the consequences of outsourcing on sustaining a well-qualified workforce in the home company. Some of this may be an organizational issue of managing a balanced workforce (home versus 3rd party).
Cost-cutting measures are taken for a reason but their consequences should be considered for both the short and long-term.
Politics and economics should not be considered to be hazards in themselves, but they do contribute to the situation.
http://aviationweek.com/mro-enterprise-software/ways-better-plan-component-needs-aogs (Overview of airline strategic planning for malfunctions. A spare-parts shortage can impact the proceedings of AOG operations, and at outstations, spare parts are even harder to come by. Having all AOGs or stocking massive amounts of spare parts are both very costly options, so airlines will balance the costs of AOGs with the costs of stocking additional parts.)
http://www.airlinereporter.com/2015/07/day-life-airline-mechanic/ (A mechanic’s account of his own profession. He specifically mentions being called to an outstation in the event of an incident, since they had no maintenance personnel of their own. Note also the difficulties maintenance would occasionally have in returning to home base, stretching personnel thin.)