The considerations for an aircraft reliability program and interrogation considerations can be initially daunting in the concept as to how we control the data, what we choose and how we determine its value.
There are regulations that require the reliability program for an aircraft and within the document there is also guidance. If we consider a EASA document there is a couple of bits to be aware of initially, it can be easy to skip the introduction in the regulation and go directly to the regulation itself.
As you read the EASA regulations there is several major headings:
implementing rule (IR) appear first, then the IR annex points (Coloured Blue)
followed by the related acceptable means of compliance (AMC) (Coloured Amber) and guidance material (GM) (Coloured Green).
If we were to consider for our example Appendix I to AMC M.A.302 and AMC M.B.301(b). For AMC M.A.302 this means we are in Part M, Subpart A, Section 302 and we are looking at AMC; so that’s the Acceptable Means of Compliance and it would have a title-coloured Amber.
The regulations in EASA help clarify some areas to be considered within the reliability program including:
Flight defects and reductions in operational reliability.
Defects occurring online and at main base.
Deterioration observed during routine maintenance.
Workshop and overhaul facility findings.
Modification evaluations.
Sampling programs.
The adequacy of maintenance equipment and publications.
The effectiveness of maintenance procedures.
Staff training.
Service bulletins, technical instructions, etc.
It is important to always ensure that the reliability program is fit for purpose, and we customise it to our fleet to ensure that we benefit from its usage and implementation. A reliability program can add a lot of value to any airline with cost reduction, improved on time performance, higher reliability, early trends identified and many other benefits. It is important to determine your sources, considerations and determine how to extract the value from your data.
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