BACHELOR THESIS IN
AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING
15 CREDITS, BASIC LEVEL 300
School of Innovation, Design and EngineeringEstablishment of a
Technical Procedure
Manual at West Air Sweden
AB
Photo: Charles Polidano – Touch The Skies, Airliners.net
ABSTRACT
This thesis describes the establishment and development of a Technical Procedure Manual for the cargo airline West Air Sweden AB. The purpose with a TPM is to ease the workload for the maintenance organization and to minimize the occurrence of human errors in the
maintenance organization system software. Until today West Air Sweden has had an absence of documented procedures of the administrative chores within Part-M and Technical
Records. West Air Sweden desires a manual consisting of clear directives and working procedures in the maintenance computer system. The computer system is new to West Air Sweden, since the maintenance organization took a large step forward by switching
maintenance system software from the; Integrated Aviation Software (IAS) to; Rusada Envision (RAL). This conversion of maintenance system software has increased the necessity of a TPM within the West Air Sweden maintenance organization. It was necessary to gain self-experience within the system in order to chart out the structure and foundation of a TPM suitable to West Air Sweden. Interviews and meetings with other modules within the
company such as Stores, Logistics, Engineering, IT, Economy and Flight Operations was held to predict and complete the outlook of a reasonable TPM. The predicted outline of the TPM was fulfilled and the result was satisfactory in accordance with the requirements of West Air Sweden. The significant outcome of the TPM is the structure; which is a valuable key along with explanatory and pedagogical wording. It was major beneficial to obtain insight and experience within the organization. The development of the TPM has been a long-term process and has been revised several times. Small and major adjustments have been
performed during the development and accomplishment of the TPM. The aim is to constantly revise the manual in order to keep the TPM as effective as possible. Employees of West Air Sweden Tech Records are currently working in the system with guidelines from the TPM. A hard copy is available at every desk of the Part-M office and is also electronically accessible on the company’s intranet. The work was performed at West Air Sweden’s head office in
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SAMMANFATTNING
Denna avhandling beskriver etableringen och utvecklingen av en teknisk procedur manual för flygbolaget West Air Sweden AB. Syftet med en TPM är att minska arbetsbördan för underhålls organisationen samt minimera förekomsten av mänskliga fel i
underhållsorganisationens systemprogramvaran. West Air Sweden har haft en avsaknad av dokumenterade rutiner för de administrativa sysslorna inom Part-M och Technical Records. West Air Sweden är i behov av en handbok beståendes av tydliga direktiv, procedurer och arbetssätt i förhållande till underhållssystemet. Datorsystemet är nytt för West Air Sweden då underhållsorganisationen tog ett stort steg framåt genom att uppgradera sin mjukvara från Integrated Aviation Software (IAS) till, Rusada Envision (RAL). Detta stora steg framåt för underhållsystemet har ökat behovet av en TPM inom West Air Swedens
underhållsorganisation. Det var nödvändigt att skaffa egen erfarenhet i systemet för att kartlägga strukturen och grunden för en TPM lämplig för West Air Sweden. Intervjuer, möten, mail - och muntliga korrespondenser med andra avdelningar inom företaget som Stores, Logistik, Teknik, IT, Ekonomi och Flight Operations ökade min klarhet berörande struktur och innehåll av en praktisk TPM. De mål som sattes uppnåddes med goda resultat och var tillfredsställande i enlighet med West Air Swedens behov. Det betydande resultatet av TPM är strukturen, det är en värdefull egenskap kombinerat med förklarande och pedagogiska formuleringar. Personalen på West Air Sweden Tech Records arbetar för närvarande i systemet med riktlinjer från TPM. En papperskopia finns på varje skrivbord på Part-M kontoret och är även tillgänglig i elektronisk form på företagets intranät. Arbetet utfördes på West Air Swedens huvudkontor i Göteborg. Den Tekniska Procedur Manual betraktas som ett konfidentiellt dokument och kommer därför inta att publiceras.
Date: 04 April 2013
Carried out at: West Air Sweden AB Advisor at MDH: Tommy Nygren
Advisor at West Air Sweden: Leif Åström Examinator: Mirko Senkovski Karlsson
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PREFACE
This thesis was compiled to consummate the last segment of the Bachelor degree in Aeronautical Engineering at Mälardalens University in Västerås.
The work was performed upon the request of West Air Sweden AB’s head office in Gothenburg. There was an absence of an official TPM within the maintenance organization at West Air Sweden AB. This proposal was brought forward by me to consolidate the existing CAME with clear directives and procedures. This handbook will be used be the Part M organization at WAS.
I was a student of the Flight Engineering Program at Mälardalens University in Västerås. My alignments during the education were involved in flight mechanics, avionics maintenance technology, aircraft structures and power plant technology. My aim was to perform a thesis at a company to practice my skills in the real world and to understand the organization of an airline.
Gothenburg, April 2013 Dellshad Kassal
ABBREVIATIONS
TPM Technical Procedure Manual
BAE British Aerospace
ATP Advance Turbo Prop
CRJ Canadian Regional Jet
ATR Avions de Transport Regional
NCAA National Civil Aviation Authority
CAME Continuing Airworthiness Management Exposition
WAS West Air Sweden AB
MEL Minimum Equipment List
HIL Hold Item List
AMP Aircraft Maintenance Program
MOE Maintenance Organization Exposition
EM Engineering Manager
MSC Maintenance System Coordinator
TC Task Card
SB Service Bulletin
NRC Non Routine Cards
MPD Maintenance Planning Document
MRB Maintenance Review Board
AD Airworthiness Directive
AMM Aircraft Maintenance Manual
CAME Continuing Airworthiness Management Exposition CAMO Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization
CMM Component Maintenance Manual
CRS Certificate of Release to Service
EASA European Aviation Safety Agency
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CONTENTS
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background ...1 1.2 Objective ...1 1.3 Problem formulation ... 2 1.4 Limitations ... 2 Chapter 2 METHOD(S) 3 2.1 General ... 3 2.2 Experience ... 3 2.3 TPM Framework ... 32.4 Aircraft Technical Log ... 4
2.5 Work Order ... 4
2.6 Serialized Components ... 4
Chapter 3 RESULTS 5 3.1 Picture; Scheme from the TPM ... 6
3.2 Picture; Workflow from the TPM ... 7
Chapter 4 DISCUSSION 9
Chapter 5 CONCLUSIONS 10 Chapter 6 RECOMMENDATIONS 11 Chapter 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 12 Chapter 8 REFERENCES 13 Chapter 9 APPENDIX: TECHNICAL PROCEDURE MANUAL 14
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
West Air Sweden AB is a carrier where efficiency and cost reduction are important aspects of the market. To maintain these aspects it is very important to have clear directives of the procedures within an organization. It is a great advantage to have a handbook/manual which describes the practices within the department.
The intention of having a TPM is to ease the workload of the Part-M department. The manual shall assist the user while performing procedures in the maintenance system software. With a functional and user friendly manual the Part-M department will be able to minimize their workload and focus on assignments that are not maintenance system software associated. It will also help to introduce the system software to new users during an educational period. The TPM will be a handbook that will be frequently used by the Part-M management.
WAS is a cargo airline with the headquarters based in Gothenburg, Sweden. It operates scheduled and ad hoc freight charter services for FedEx, DHL, TNT and UPS. It is also contracted to operate mail flight on behalf of the Swedish and Norwegian post office. The cargo airline was established in 1955 as LBF-Eda Varken operating air taxi flights. The name was changed to Abal Air in 1982 and to West Air Sweden in 1992, in conjunction with the new airline Time Air Sweden. It then converted to cargo airline in May 1997. During 2006 West Air gained a contract with the Norwegian Postal service. In October 2008 it was announced that the airline would merge with the British cargo airline; Atlantic Airline to form the new airline West Atlantic. WAS has a fleet that consists of BAe ATP-F, Bombardier CRJ-200 PF, ATR72, Boeing 737-300 and Lockheed Electra L188.
1.2 Objective
The main objective of this development is to minimize the occurrence of human factor errors. This manual will become as important as any other aircraft manual. Corrupt inputs in the maintenance system carried out by a user could danger the airworthiness of an aircraft and also affect the maintenance cost.
That is why it is beneficial to create a manual that can be used frequently by personnel within the technical department.The manual should also aid new employees during their educational period. The TPM will be defined as a supplement to the CAME.
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1.3 Problem formulation
The development and outline of the TPM was resolved by troubleshooting with following questions;
What structure must the manual have? What should be the content of this manual?
How to minimize human errors with help of the usage of this manual. How elaborate should the manual become?
To avoid excessive information. What resources are available? What is the timeframe?
Will this manual become a useful complementary to the CAME?
1.4 Limitations
The major challenge was to establish completely new procedures since the company upgraded the maintenance system software. It was necessary to look over the old procedures and try to gain knowledge from those procedures.
Since my recent occupation was a student at the university It was challenging to get an sound knowledge and understanding of the different segment in an airline company in such a short period of time. I had to understand the environment in the old computer system which user license was soon to expire and try to reform procedures and implement them into the new system.
Chapter 2
METHOD(S)
It was primarily agreed between me and Leif Åström to create a TPM with a 10 weeks’ timeframe. After realizing that it was necessary for me to understand and to work in this environment for a period of time, it was decided to offer me a permanent employment. The TPM has been developed adjacent to my everyday routines at work.
Brief introduction of the different segments and structure is necessary to narrow down the content of the manual and summarize the different segments in the manual.
2.1 General
The technical department is controlled by several mandatory manuals and documents. The most important manual that controls and summarizes the work at a technical department is the CAME. The CAME is a mandatory and an obligation for each airline to possess one. The CAME is monitored and authorized by the NCAA. All major and minor changes or amendments shall and must be reported to the NCAA. This is a very time consuming process. A TPM in this aspect is not a mandatory manual and it can therefore be updated and revised without the confirmation and authorization by the NCAA. This manual will also improve the understanding and communication between different segments within in the airline company.
2.2 Experience
Self-experience and interviews with colleagues in the UK and in Sweden have been beneficial tools in order to chart out the procedures at Part-M Technical Records. A Group of Key Users was appointed in order to discuss new procedures, obstacles, system bugs etc. I was fortunate to be appointed as one of the members of this group. The continuous gatherings with this group gave me a clearer view of the daily issues that the other departments suffered in the system. It simplified how to approach the issues that appeared during the development of the TPM.
2.3 TPM Framework
To narrow the information it is was preferred to focus on the basic and most frequent processes in the maintenance system software within the Technical Records module. The procedures in the TPM are provided with basic introduction, explanation, examples and
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2.4 Aircraft Technical Log
All aircraft has an individual log book. The logbook is embedded with information such as; aircraft type, registration, date, place & time for take-off/landings, total aircraft time/landings, details of malfunctions, quantity of fuel/oil, modifications, reparations and maintenance performed since the aircraft was new. It’s an aircraft document which is kept on board, that permits to record the defects and malfunctions during an aircraft operation and for recording detail of all maintenance carried out on the aircraft between scheduled maintenance events. In addition, it is used for recording flight safety and maintenance information that the crew needs to acknowledge. The WAS Flight Log system is a combined flight/technical log. The flight log presents itself under the form of a counterfoil book, numbered, and composed of pages with different colours. Each aircraft has its own Flight Log book with numbered pages. All flight log sequences are to be implemented in to the maintenance system software and the hardcopies stored/archived in a fire safe compartment.
2.5 Work Order
The maintenance system software collects checks, inspections and component changes in to a due list which can be generated by a user in the maintenance system software. The due/forecast list has information of estimated and actual – due date/time. It also provides information if the work is planned and the work order sequence, base etc. The Planning Manager compiles and gathers tasks related to each inspection and checks in a work order. The work order is sent out to the line or base station where the aircraft is located; an engineer will then perform the forecasted maintenance tasks and send the completed work documents to the Part-M Technical Records. TR will then control and check signatures, stamps date and time of the performed tasks. If an ordered task hasn’t been performed in time and has been deferred in accordance with different category and time frame available in the MEL, it will be transferred to a new work order and will be performed later on. The work orders will be updated in RAL and hard copies stored in the archive compartment.
2.6 Serialized Components
Component changes occur frequently during line or base maintenance. Only components that have a serial number are tracked and updated in the Technical Records segment of RAL. Tools, equipment non serialized components are also registered in RAL but it isn’t relevant information to TR. Some components have one, two or more maintenance requirements tasks with various time limits. It is vital to set these values in RAL correctly in comparison to the certification documents of the unit. The certification document of the unit is embedded with information such as; time since new, time since overhaul, modifications etc. TR surveys and controls the information and makes sure that the component that has been installed on the aircraft is qualified to service and sets the tracking values in RAL.
Chapter 3
RESULTS
The result became a manual with instructions which guides the user from the initial step to the final step. The manual currently consist of 10 chapters; each with various subchapters. It is intended to keep the manual live and up to date. Revisions could extend, change or delete the contents. The manual instructs the user with explanatory wording and illustrations from the system to ease the workflow. Each chapter starts with an introduction to prepare the user upon further instructions.
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Chapter 1 is an introduction chapter which introduces the user all the different segments within the technical records part of the maintenance system software. Chapter 2 provides the user information and procedures of various setups that needs to be properly prepared before starting to work in the system. It is not necessary to perform the setup instructions since the system already has been setup. Still it is beneficial for the user to understand how the system has been setup in order to solve issues that are system related. The actual procedures of the TPM will start at Chapter 3 and end at Chapter 10. The TPM is a confidential document which cannot be published upon the request of West Air Sweden.
Chapter 4
DISCUSSION
Several obstacles, issues, questions aroused during the progress of the development of the manual. All were often solved with the consultation of West Air Sweden’s advisor; Leif Åström.
West Air Sweden had no previous experience of a student’s presence in the company. This was a new experience for both me and Leif Åström. It was difficult trying to dispose the outline of the TPM since the system was new to all of the personnel in the organization. I was immediately engaged to understand the system and to load the system with necessary information. Bridge checking and parallel update of the maintenance program between the old and new system was performed on a daily basis until the company went “live” and turned off the old system. The new system had to be updated as accurate as possible to avoid issues with false or corrupt data which could have severed consequences to the maintenance program. The majority of the time was to work in the system and participate in several projects that were related to the system. I did my best to keep myself close to the project manager; Leif Åström. Leif did always make sure that I was briefed with appropriate information and never did he leave any questions unanswered. His knowledge and experience was a major contribution to this development of a TPM.
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Chapter 5
CONCLUSIONS
The purpose of this project thesis has been fulfilled. The manual is live and is disposed by users within the Part M organization. The company will have major benefits with a procedure manual. It is comforting to have a manual when introducing the system to a new user or solving question or issues during a process in the system.
The outline of the TPM was satisfactory and can easily merge with other manuals within the company. The issues and questions that aroused during the progress, was solved methodically and the solutions have birth to additional question. This was only profitable as new and untried segments in system were explored. This was the thread throughout the progress. Questions gave birth to other questions and the solutions provided us with ideas and new procedures were created.
It was fortunate to gain this experience; to perform a thesis project at a company and to be given the possibility of contributing and applying my knowledge’s from the university.
Chapter 6
RECOMMENDATIONS
The manuals outline is created with the intentions to simplify the revision process. The continued use of hyperlinks is recommended to have a convenient manual. Flowcharts and examples are two very essential keys to help the user understanding the different steps. The aim is keep the manual pedagogical and user friendly
With consideration that WAS had an absence of documented procedures within the Part M organization it is recommended to keep and even supplement this manual with other sections. This manual could be the foundation of future documented procedures within the Part M organization.
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Chapter 7
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you
This thesis has been an exciting and an educational experience. I would like to give my appreciations to EM; Leif Åström, MSC; Aleksandra Rashid and Tommy Nygren for their major commitment, support and assist.
Gothenburg, April 2013 Dellshad Kassal
Chapter 8
REFERENCES
Literatures
1. Kinnison, Harry A: Aviation maintenance management, McGraw Hill, New York, 2004, ISBN 0-07-142251-X.
2. Nygren, Tommy: Flygplansdrift och underhåll I MG1250, MDH, Västerås 2006 3. Nygren, Tommy: Flygplansdrift och underhåll II MFL016, MDH, Västerås 2007 4. Drews, Robert: CAME West Air Sweden, Göteborg 2012
5. Drews, Robert: AMP CRJ200 West Air Sweden, Göteborg 2011 6. Drews, Robert: AMP ATP West Air Sweden, Göteborg 2011 7. Ström, Torbjörn: MOE West Air Sweden, Göteborg 2010
Consultations
1. Åström Leif, Engineering Manager, West Air Sweden, Göteborg 2012
2. Rashid Aleksandra, Maintenance System Coordinator ,West Air Sweden, Göteborg 2012
Internet
1. http://www.transportstyrelsen.se/, 2011 2. https://www.easa.europa.eu/, 2003-2013
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