Introduction
The aviation industry has significantly fuelled the growth of the global economy as it has enabled individuals to travel faster around the world. It brings business colleagues, friends and families together hence ensuring that minds meet and exchange valuable ideas from around the globe. Moreover, it has given people the opportunity to be almost anywhere in the world within twenty-four hours. The aviation industry provides employment to approximately 62.7 people around the world. It is also estimated that an average of 8 million people fly daily. Based on the number of people directly involved with the aviation industry, safety is of paramount significance. Appropriate passenger and employee safety policies should be in place to protect the lives and property of organizations and individuals. The paper presents a proposal to introduce a new behavior based aircraft maintenance safety policy that will help to promote safety in the workplace. The current aircraft maintenance safety policy in the workplace is response based, and it may not meet the safety goals of the organization. The behavior-based safety policy is a proactive approach to addressing safety concerns in the aviation industry. The policy will focus on maintenance in the aviation firm. Most of the maintenance tasks in the organization are not automated, and there is a need for a behavior-based safety policy that will help to build a culture of safety among employees.
Policy Proposal
All aviation companies should have a written aircraft maintenance safety policy that covers all aspects of the maintenance in the organization. An aircraft maintenance safety policy demonstrates how seriously an organization takes the safety of its employees and customers. Poor maintenance safety practices not only endanger the lives of maintenance technicians but also those of the passengers boarding the aircrafts. Aircraft maintenance tasks include inspection and repair of aircraft structures, systems, and coatings in hangars. Communication between the technicians and aircraft operators should be improved to avoid accidents of any nature and magnitude. Willful noncompliance among the maintenance technicians contributes to various adverse incidences in the maintenance field. Therefore, there is a need for developing and implementing an aircraft maintenance policy that will promote a culture of safety among employees (Dağdeviren & Yüksel, 2008). It is important to realize that complacency about safety matters is a powerful enemy that may impact negatively on safety in the aviation company. This may be due to workplace pressure to get the job done among the maintenance technicians. The areas of concern in the field of aircraft maintenance include personal safety, managing people, managing maintenance components, managing maintenance tools, managing maintenance workflow and managing maintenance legal issues. The aircraft maintenance safety policy will address such areas to improve safety in the workplace. The policy will provide risk-based techniques that will help to inculcate a culture of safety among maintenance technicians. The maintenance department of the company will be the leader of all the aircraft maintenance safety programs.
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The current aircraft maintenance safety situation requires to be addressed the development and implementation of an appropriate maintenance safety policy that will promote workplace safety. The aircraft maintenance technicians fail to adhere to personal safety procedures at the maintenance area. Some of the maintenance technicians fail to recognize that maintenance is a 24-hour practice. Therefore, the policy proposal will address the issue of managing people in the maintenance area in a way that would improve safety. Handling of maintenance components is also a challenge in the company. The policy will significantly help in providing practical suggestions for effectively managing aircraft maintenance components. The maintenance personnel fails to handle the maintenance tools properly hence increasing the risk of accidents. The policy proposal will address the issue of managing maintenance tools properly in the hangar. Some of the maintenance work in the hanger is always double or tripled due to lack of proper workflow management. Therefore, the policy will provide guidelines for managing aircraft maintenance workflow. Almost everything in the aviation industry is regulated. The company faces a risk of noncompliance based on the setbacks in the maintenance area. The policy proposal will also address the legal issues surrounding aircraft maintenance.
Personal Safety
Many of the aircraft maintenance technicians bear scars from their unprotected ignorance along with hearing loss, chemical burns and bad backs. Therefore the policy proposal seeks to protect those on the hangar floor from becoming tomorrow's walking wounded retirees. Despite several measures aimed at promoting aircraft maintenance safety, accidents continue to occur. The technicians may choose not to follow laid down rules and end up hurting. The policy will provide for a program that will focus on training all the maintenance employees on good work practices that will promote a culture of safety. The workplace safety programs will be evaluated on a quarterly basis to ensure that there is zero tolerance to non-compliance among aircraft maintenance personnel.
Managing People
Every aviation company is all about people, particularly in the area of aircraft maintenance safety. This is because most of the maintenance activities are not automated and needs to be carried out by humans. Therefore, the maintenance managers should ensure that all the maintenance technicians adhere to the principles and procedures laid down to promote general safety (Chen & Chen, 2012). The managers also should organize personnel to work in shifts to ensure that maintenance practice is continuous. Proper management of personnel will reduce the likelihood of accidents due to delays in carrying out maintenance procedures. The specialized tasks such as non-destructive testing should only be carried out by specialized personnel. Based on the complexity of managing maintenance personnel, the policy proposal will play a significant role in promoting the effective and appropriate execution of aircraft maintenance tasks to promote safety.
Managing Maintenance Components
To promote safety in aircraft maintenance, it is important to effectively manage the availability and supply of the required parts, raw materials, components, and consumables. Although the company may attempt to keep a stock of its own, it may not be viable due to financial reasons. Moreover, it may not be economically feasible to have everything that may be required for a given aircraft. The problem may be exacerbated by heavy checks that may involve much more aircraft parts that it would seem during the checks. Therefore, the policy proposal will recommend that proper checks be done to ascertain the availability and supply of the required aircraft maintenance components. Effective and proactive management of aircraft maintenance components will help in promoting the safety of the aircraft (Lee et al., 2008). The policy proposes a great mix of economical negotiation, research and management skills that will help to promote aircraft maintenance safety. The decisions regarding maintenance components will be risk based hence ensuring that shortages of materials will be anticipated and planned for in advance to avoid delays. Proper measures will also be taken to ensure that the various maintenance components in the warehouse are handled properly to avoid damage.
Managing Maintenance Tools
Proper management of maintenance tooling is a crucial aspect in promoting aircraft maintenance safety in aviation companies. The policy proposal recommends that all aircraft maintenance tools are kept in proper toolboxes. As such, every single tool should be accounted for in every aircraft maintenance environment to ensure that no tool is left in the aircraft after maintenance. Tools left in the aircraft after maintenance may cause serious damage to the aircraft (Lee et al., 2008). For instance, there are various cases in aircraft maintenance where a screw driver or a cloth has been sucked into an engine intake during the first run. This may lead to significant losses as a result of damage. The policy will, therefore, play a significant role in promoting safety by ensuring proper management of tools.
Management of Maintenance Workflow
Maintaining an appropriate list of all the tasks that need to be performed on any given aircraft is very important. The policy proposal recommends that the airworthiness department should cooperate with the maintenance department to ensure that a smooth workflow is maintained in the maintenance environment (Fogarty & Shaw, 2010). This will ensure that no maintenance tasks are doubled or tripled. The workflow management team should ensure that expected delays in parts and components are effectively accounted for. Proper management of maintenance workflow in the workplace can contribute significantly in attaining the desired safety levels.
Managing Legal Issues in Maintenance
The maintenance managers should recognize that almost everything in the aviation industry is highly regulated. Therefore, failure to comply with some of the set rules and regulations may result in significant legal implications. The area of aircraft maintenance is highly regulated, and all the maintenance staff must adhere to all applicable laws. The company should, therefore, have an effective quality department as well as properly trained managers who understand how to comply with all the applicable laws. Compliance with all applicable laws will promote a culture of safety among the employees hence promoting aircraft maintenance safety.
Behavior-based Approach to Safety at Delta Airlines
Delta Airlines promotes a risk-based safety culture among its employees. The two basic components of risk management and risk assessment form the basis of the organization's aircraft maintenance safety policies (Wen & Chen, 2011). The organization takes a proactive approach to safety in terms of aircraft maintenance. The organization has realized the effectiveness of behavior-based strategies for addressing safety issues in the organization. The organization carries out regular training for maintenance personnel to inculcate a culture of safety in their daily operations. The organization has significantly addressed issues such as personal safety, management of people, management of maintenance components, management of maintenance tools, management of maintenance workflow and management of legal aspects of aircraft maintenance in a proactive way. This has helped to improve safety in the organization.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the policy will go a long way in promoting a culture of safety in the organization. It is necessary to put in place effective measures that will ensure aircraft maintenance safety in the company. In cases where risks cannot be avoided, it is important to take appropriate steps aimed at reducing them as much as possible. Taking a proactive approach toward safety is an important move that should be adopted by organizations to promote a culture of safety in organizations.
References
Chen, C. F., & Chen, S. C. (2012). Scale development of safety management system evaluation for the airline industry. Accident Analysis & Prevention , 47 , 177-181.
Dağdeviren, M., & Yüksel, İ. (2008). Developing a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model for behavior-based safety management. Information Sciences , 178 (6), 1717-1733.
Fogarty, G. J., & Shaw, A. (2010). Safety climate and the theory of planned behavior: towards the prediction of unsafe behavior. Accident Analysis & Prevention , 42 (5), 1455-1459.
Lee, S. G., Ma, Y. S., Thimm, G. L., & Verstraeten, J. (2008). Product lifecycle management in aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul. Computers in Industry , 59 (2), 296-303.
Wen, C. H., & Chen, W. Y. (2011). Using multiple correspondence cluster analysis to map the competitive position of airlines. Journal of Air Transport Management , 17 (5), 302-304.
