Aviation Logistics Support
The dynamics of the aviation industry are such that it is critical that any aircraft maintenance organization maintain a clear and efficient makeup for their logistics support infrastructure. The clear objective of any maintenance department is to maintain assigned aircraft in a state of full capability. In order to do this with logistics concepts the organization must stress rigorous supervision of safety-of-flight and other serious aircraft equipment and systems. Additionally, the aircraft logistics management structure and business practices - particularly those needed for supply, maintenance, and financial management – should be planned and executed to maintain that management concentration. This paper will highlight the basics of the logistical support system within the larger organizational structure. Identify keys to an effective logistical support system, and touch on how the logistical support system fits into the overall corporation.
Organizational Structure of an Aircraft Maintenance Organization
Kinnison stresses three overarching themes to his organizational model. First, overall, and within each division, responsibilities are subdivided to ensure that no upper level manager oversees less than three people, or more than seven. This ensures that resources are not being wasted and that human to human contact remains strong throughout the organization. Secondly, similar functions are grouped together. This allows expertise to be developed in areas by personnel, and is also an efficient allocation of resources. Finally, quality control is separated from individual processes and placed in its own division as required by the Federal Aviation Administration. Thus with the above three philosophies in mind, the following five divisions are placed under the vice president of maintenance and support; Technical Services, Aircraft Maintenance, Overhaul Shops, Material, and finally Maintenance Program Evaluation (Kinnison, 2004, p. 85).
The Technical Services Division supports numerous maintenance and inspection activities and is comprised of five units including engineering, production planning and control, training, technical publications and computing services. The engineering unit may include designing and developing the overall maintenance schedule, working to implement regulations from federal and state authorities, and maintaining structural capacity such as adequate hangar space and maintenance shops. The production planning and control unit oversees parts, tools, and manpower for the maintenance activities. Training involves managing certifications, courses, and any other logistics required by authorities. The technical publications unit oversees all technical materials used or published by the airline, manufacturer publications, as well as those provided by vendors. Finally the computing services unit oversees the hardware and software needs of the division including trainings, IT developments, and technical integration with other divisions.
The Aircraft Maintenance Division oversees the general maintenance activities for all aircraft which include line maintenance, hangar maintenance, and the maintenance control center. Line maintenance occurs when an aircraft is in-service and consists of daily checks, turnaround maintenance, and short interval checks. If an aircraft is in need of more significant attention, hangar maintenance is required. Hangar maintenance consists of modifications, engine switches, painting, and interior repair. Finally, the maintenance control center is responsible for maintaining records on all in-service and out of service aircraft and coordinates efforts to maintain the fleet.
The overhaul shops division is responsible for a variety of parts and systems that are removed from the aircraft. These include engines, electronic (avionic) systems, and a variety of other parts needing more significant work done. Overhaul shops may be combined with other units and are typically comprised of engine, electronic, mechanical component and structure shops. Engine and electronic shops both work on their designated components. Mechanical shops serve as ad hoc shops for all components that do not fit into the aviation or engine categories. These include hydraulic systems, actuators, fuel systems, oxygen and pneumatics. Lastly, structure shops maintain the integrity of the aircraft through specializing in sheet metal and composite material that reinforces the structure of the aircraft (Kinnison, 2004, p. 90).
The materials division handles and maintains all supplies and parts for the maintenance division. This unit is typically divided into purchasing, stores, inventory control, and shipping and receiving. Purchasing handles the buying of parts and supplies and keeps track of warranty claims and contract repairs. Stores, meanwhile, handles the storage, handling, and distribution of the materials within the maintenance division. Inventory control makes sure that the parts on hand are adequate for the needs of the maintenance division and adjusts accordingly. Shipping and receiving is responsible for the intake of all parts and materials that the division may need.
The maintenance program evaluation or quality control unit is probably the most unique component of an aircraft maintenance division. The Federal Aviation Administration requires commercial airline companies to maintain a quality control process within their organization. Consequently many airlines do this by separating out quality control from the rest of the maintenance process in order to provide clear divisional lines between those performing maintenance work and those evaluating this work. Within the maintenance evaluation division are units of quality assurance, quality control, reliability, and safety. Quality assurance maintains policies and standards to conform to federal aviation administration guidelines as well as company standards. Quality control performs routine inspections of maintenance and repair work. Reliability is responsible for overseeing the overall functioning of the division and ensuring that problems are addressed in a timely manner. Finally, safety is responsible for developing and implementing the overall safety standards that the organization uses to conduct itself (Rodwell, 2003, p. 203).
Keys to effective aircraft logistical support
There are several suggestions that have been put forward that may lend to a more effective aircraft logistical support system. These can generally be classified into two main categories; centralizing of procedures, and streamlining of processes. Under centralizing of procedures, an organization should try to manage maintenance centrally; and centralize maintenance reporting and recording. Organizations can manage maintenance through a central location by allocating to a single headquarters office the accountability for establishing all maintenance procedures affecting such items as propulsion equipment, auxiliary equipment, and engineering-related electronic equipment and systems. This can be further centralized by granting a single individual the responsibility for all maintenance for those equipments and systems. Next, organizations should centralize their maintenance reporting and recording. This should be done by creating procedures for each unit/shop to report necessary and concluded maintenance actions to a central maintenance data collection position.
Besides centralizing, streamlining procedures can also help with both efficiency and process. Several techniques may work including streamlining a technical channel, relating performance to equipment, and establishing a technical responsiveness connection to the line maintenance unit. Relate Aircraft Performance to Equipment by establishing and implementing standardized measures to relate equipment on each aircraft type to operating performance and working performance to potential. Establish a technical responsiveness link to the line maintenance unit; for each aircraft type, establish a single point to provide technical assistance for service-level maintenance (Yanjie, Q. and Zhigang, 2001, p. 402).
Integration of maintenance into the overall corporation.
The commercial aircraft industry throughout the world had evolved into a small group of large companies. Some of the risks in this sector include the financial cost of new product development, and the financial health of airlines and other customers. Most maintenance system failures can thus be directly attributable to a lack of management commitment. This lack of commitment can come in various forms, such as management not understanding the maintenance process, not effectively dividing authority and responsibility, being only bottom-line oriented, overriding quality control inspection, not providing fund for preventative measures, and not supporting adequate training. This type of management is short-term results oriented. The lack of commitment toward the prevention of discrepancies in products and processes, as well as employee development, will strongly affect the long-term viability of an organization (Ben-Yosef, 2005, p. 98).
However, many managers are becoming ever more aware of the consequences of not having an effective maintenance system in place. With the integration of total quality management, organizations should become more focused on objectives and are finding that through continued process improvement they can do more. So to should maintenance dynamics be integrated into the overall structure of the corporation. This should likely happen through a VP position reporting directly to upper level management so that the organization can stay ahead of its mechanical issues.
References
Kinnison, H. (2004). Aviation Maintenance Management. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
Yanjie, Q. and Zhigang, L. (2001). New concept for aircraft
maintenance management; New cognition for aircraft maintenance study in R&M field of China. Reliability and Maintainability Symposium, 17: 401 – 405.
Rodwell, J. (2003). Essentials of Aviation Management. Bristol:
Roddam Books.
Ben-Yosef, E. (2005). The Evolution of the U.S. Airline Industry:
Theory, Strategy and Policy. Oxford: Oxford Press.
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