quality requirements regarding aircraft maintenance and repair services

Piotr WOŹNY Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze No RESEARCH WORKS OF AFIT Issue 35, pp 53÷66, 2014 r Józef BŁACHNIO Air Force Institute of Technology DOI 10.1515/afit-2015-0004 QUALITY REQUIREMENTS REGARDING AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR SERVICES During operation, aircraft (AC) are subject to use, maintenance, repair and disposal Each of those processes requires adequate quality This study presents requirements related to quality management with which an AC maintenance and repair sub-system ought to comply Documents containing requirements pertaining to both management and technical aspects have been analysed Applicable standards and regulations affecting the AC repair process quality assurance have been presented A description of standards observance of which is required to ensure effective operation of modern AC maintenance and repair subsystems significantly affecting maintenance of the AC required airworthiness has been included Complexity of the decision-taking process pertaining to AC maintenance and repair within the airworthiness maintenance sub-system has been presented Keywords: management, quality, system, maintenance, repair, aircraft Introduction Quality is a complex term which describes a set of features that are required in the production and service business the most Every enterprise aims at manufacturing its products and rendering its services with high quality This ought to be interpreted that the values of such features are higher than the average to an extent assuring fulfilment of customer’s expectations In practice, this means that maintenance of a high level of quality is the primary way of increasing the value of products and services up to a level distinguishing them from those offered by the competition [4, 16] Product quality means a set of its relevant features associated with destination and operation consistent with requirements set by customers and users Consequently, quality features are the expression of the product social use value [19] One of quality determinants is reliability perceived as a product feature - 10.1515/afit-2015-0004 Downloaded from De Gruyter Online at 09/12/2016 05:06:19AM via free access 54 Piotr WOŹNY, Józef BŁACHNIO pertaining to the time interval within which the product will operate correctly Possible occurrence of damage interpreted as unpredicted random events within a specific time interval affects operation safety [5] A high quality product is a product that is reliable and safe for the user The product quality shaping natural environment means an extensively defined system which – in the most general terms – may mean everything that can considered an independently existing object [18] Moreover, the system may be defined as a set of elements which interoperate during object operation and constitute its reliability structure [6] Due to very strict requirements pertaining to product safety, the AC maintenance and repair sub-system needs to comply with numerous formal requirements that assure reliability, accuracy and quality of works completed [5, 7] Tasks related to maintaining AC airworthiness are carried out by – among other entities – repair companies Carrying out of the periodical technical maintenance process is a condition in which maintenance and inspection activities are carried out in accordance with the object technical maintenance instruction Within the AC maintenance and repair sub-system, it is carried out at specialised working stations in accordance with the technical maintenance schedule On the other hand, AC repair within the AC maintenance and repair sub-system means a condition in which a damaged technical object remains at repair stations and is subject to activities aimed at restoring its airworthiness [5, 9] General quality requirements Management as a process of planning and running an enterprise directly and indirectly affects product or service quality Its efficiency is a prerequisite for product quality values reaching desired levels during evaluation of it In this context, efficiency means completion of executive processes in an adequate manner, with a view to aligning results with expenditures [10] AC maintenance and repair processes are carried out by maintenance and repair organisations Requirements pertaining to such organisations’ management systems have been provided for in numerous local regulations marked with the symbol of Part 145 Despite similar numeration, this does not mean that such regulations are equivalent For many years, European regulations (Joint Aviation Requirements (JAR) or regulations applied by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Part 145) and regulations applicable in the United States (Code of Federal Regulations, Title 14, Aeronautics and Space – 14 CRF, Part 145) had significantly differed, which made reciprocal comparison of the scope of maintenance works even more difficult The foregoing resulted from differences with - 10.1515/afit-2015-0004 Downloaded from De Gruyter Online at 09/12/2016 05:06:19AM via free access Quality requirements regarding aircraft maintenance and repair services 55 respect to technical maintenance and inability to verify maintenance procedures Comparison and standardisation of AC maintenance processes were only possible with the introduction of technical maintenance programmes In addition, there were noticeable differences within the area of personnel certification and qualification requirements arising from training programmes It was only the approx 15-year-long regulation standardisation process that made it possible in 2008 to sign a bilateral agreement between the European Union and the United States that allowed for recognition of airworthiness certificates issued by adequately certified organisations from countries monitored by the EASA and the Federal Aviation Administration A FAA prerequisite for recognition of an airworthiness certificate issued by an organisation authorised by the EASA – apart from complying with the provisions of Part 145 EASA – is to comply with the provisions of Part 43 FAA [1, 3, 8] Factors significantly affecting operation quality include expenditures associated with the process of AC designing, constructing and manufacturing This results from the need to monitor both the AC manufacturing process and the AC operation and maintenance process [8].Within a correctly realised cycle, the following stages are distinguished: a) development by the design system of structural conditions which need to be fulfilled in order for the product to be airworthy; development by the design system of a safe operation instruction as well as maintenance and repair instructions with respect to processes restoring aircraft airworthiness lost as a result of a failure or operation; b) product manufacturing by the manufacturing system in accordance with structural conditions and with the application of a manufacturing technology approved in the course of the certification process; c) product operation by the user in accordance with the instruction and limitations specified by the design system; d) restoration by the maintenance system of product airworthiness in accordance with structural conditions following its loss as a result of a failure or operation [8] The following maintenance and repair sub-system diagram (Fig 1) shows the flow of information between the technical object lifecycle sub-systems It is desirable that all the sub–systems carrying out individual tasks also perform an analysis of feedback received from technical object users – the Market Feedback Analysis (MFA) – which also covers the AC maintenance and repair sub-system The Market Feedback Analysis consists in systematic collection of information concerning products delivered or services rendered [8, 19] - 10.1515/afit-2015-0004 Downloaded from De Gruyter Online at 09/12/2016 05:06:19AM via free access 56 Piotr WOŹNY, Józef BŁACHNIO DESIGNING REPAIR REPAIR COMPANY MANUFACTURING USER Fig Maintenance and repair sub-systems within technical object lifecycle process [original work based on item 8] Quality requirements arising from objective standards An AC maintenance and service sub-system is subject to standards that are widely applied within various industries and services Requirements which they provide for are of general nature and can be applied to various sub-systems When interpreted generally, standardisation is a process of rational limitation of diversity regarding the shaping of product quality Standardisation results in standards that come in the form of rules, methods and standards as well as numerous other forms In practice, all the operations of the AC maintenance and repair system are considered to be the object of standardisation [4] The ISO 9000:2005 provides for the basic terminology pertaining to the quality management system (QMS) [12] Requirements which appear useful with respect to maintenance and service sub-systems have been provided for in the PN-EN ISO 9004:2009 standard [15] which contains a very relevant provision stipulating that in order to be able to perform efficiently and effectively, an organisation needs to identify numerous interrelated processes and manage them If an enterprise’ quality management system is based on such an approach, it results in emphasising the importance of the following [15, 19]: a) understanding of and compliance with requirements; b) the need to consider various processes in terms of added value; c) obtainment of results pertaining to operation and process efficiency; d) continuous process improvement based on objective measurement - 10.1515/afit-2015-0004 Downloaded from De Gruyter Online at 09/12/2016 05:06:19AM via free access Quality requirements regarding aircraft maintenance and repair services 57 The standard provides for a model of a quality management system based on the process (Fig 2) Continuous quality management system improvement Management responsibility Resource management Product execution Requirements input Measurements, analysis and improvement User assessment Product output Fig Model of a quality management system based on the process [15] Explanations: Activities generating added value , Flow of information ISO 9000 standards are general-purpose standards They may be applied within any manufacturing, trading or logistic organisation [17] Such universal nature results in the fact that they can be successfully applied to establish an AC maintenance and repair sub-system The ISO 9000 standard series is composed of three primary standards They are the following standards: – ISO 9000:2005 [12]; – ISO 9001:2008 [14]; – ISO 9004:2009 [15] ISO 9001:2008 is the primary standard providing for requirements pertaining to the QMS The standard provides for minimum requirements which ought to be met by a QMS of an enterprise which wishes to prove their ability to deliver a product which is consistent with user’s requirements Analysis of the content of - 10.1515/afit-2015-0004 Downloaded from De Gruyter Online at 09/12/2016 05:06:19AM via free access Piotr WOŹNY, Józef BŁACHNIO 58 the standard shows that documented procedures ought to apply to the following elements of the AC maintenance and repair sub-system [14]: a) monitoring of the documentation; b) monitoring of the provisions related to generally interpreted quality; c) carrying out of internal audits; d) implementation of corrective and preventive measures; e) monitoring of inconsistencies The purpose of the ISO 9004:2009 standard is to present possibilities regarding improvement of the quality management system With respect to a subsystem maintaining airworthiness of a technical object, the standard performs the role of a guide within the area of process improvement Within the standard, a lot of attention has been paid to the problem of improving efficiency and effectiveness of sub-systems operating within the enterprise [15, 18] In order to facilitate implementation of requirements provided for in the 9000 series standards within the maintenance and repair sub-system, one ought also to apply relevant auxiliary standards – Table Table Structure of ISO 9000 standards and auxiliary documents [17] Quality management systems ISO 9000:2005 ISO 9001:2008 Basics and terminology Requirements Auxiliary documents ISO 9004:2009 Guidelines for functioning ISO 19011 Auditing ISO 10005 Quality plans ISO 10006 Undertaking management ISO 10007 Configuration management ISO 10012 Measurement management system ISO 10013:2001 Guidelines for documentation ISO 10014:1998 Economic issues related to quality ISO 10015:1999 Guidelines for training ISO 10017 Statistical methods - 10.1515/afit-2015-0004 Downloaded from De Gruyter Online at 09/12/2016 05:06:19AM via free access Quality requirements regarding aircraft maintenance and repair services 59 NATO requirements Poland's accession to the NATO affected the manner in which the problem of quality was approached by manufacturers completing military equipment orders All the products and services designed to serve the purpose of defense in NATO countries ought to comply with specific requirements within the area of quality, technology, operation and maintenance as well as reliability Consequently, the defence industry has established a standard pertaining to quality assurance – the Allied Quality Assurance Publication (AQAP) [1, 3] In the case of qualitative requirements imposed onto manufacturers of defensive equipment, standard requirements provided for in the ISO 9001 are not sufficient As compared to the ISO 9001 standard, the AQAP standard has been extended (Fig 3) with additional requirements covering the following issues [2, 17]: a) risk management; b) facilitation of the quality monitoring process at the supplier’s by the GQAR (Government Quality Assurance Representative); c) configuration management; d) quality planning; e) reliability and maintainability management; f) monitoring of measuring equipment and measurement processes in accordance with ISO 10012 standards AQAP means ISO 9001 standard requirements and Reliability and maintainability Configuration management Risk management Quality monitoring suport by GQAR Monitoring measuring equipment and measurement processes in accordance with ISO 10012 Quality planning Fig Extended AQAP requirements as compared to ISO 9001 [12, 14, 17] - 10.1515/afit-2015-0004 Downloaded from De Gruyter Online at 09/12/2016 05:06:19AM via free access Piotr WOŹNY, Józef BŁACHNIO 60 Depending on the scope of their application, AQAP standards can be divided into two types (Fig 4): a) contract-related standards – standards which are used to make contractual references to quality requirements and which formulate requirements to be met by a supplier of products for the ordering party, namely the army; b) guidelines – auxiliary documents which are used in the implementation of the quality management system and which contain instructions pertaining to system solutions which need to be implemented within organizations as well as instructions as to how the GQAR is supposed to plan and carry out the process of direct monitoring of the supplier’s quality [17] ‘Contract-related’ AQAP ‘Guiding’ AQAP AQAP 2110 AQAP 2120 AQAP 2130 AQAP 2131 AQAP 2009 AQAP applied to suppliers’ quality management systems verification AQAP 159 AQAP 169 AQAP 2050 AQAP 150 AQAP 160 AQAP 2105 AQAP 2000 AQAP 2070 Fig Structure of NATO standardisation publications [17] a) b) c) d) At the moment, the following AQAP publications are available and applicable: AQAP 2110 NATO requirements pertaining to quality assurance with respect to development works and production; AQAP 2120 NATO requirements pertaining to quality assurance with respect to production; AQAP 2130 NATO requirements pertaining to quality assurance with respect to inspection and testing; AQAP 2131 NATO requirements pertaining to quality assurance with respect to final inspection; - 10.1515/afit-2015-0004 Downloaded from De Gruyter Online at 09/12/2016 05:06:19AM via free access Quality requirements regarding aircraft maintenance and repair services 61 e) AQAP 150 NATO requirements pertaining to quality assurance with respect to programming; f) AQAP 159 Guidance on the use of AQAP 150; g) AQAP 160 NATO requirements pertaining to quality assurance with respect to software development and production planning; h) AQAP 169 NATO Guidance on the use of AQAP 160; i) AQAP 2000 NATO Policy pertaining to an integrated systems approach to quality through product lifecycle; j) AQAP 2009 NATO Guidance on the use of the AQAP 2000 series; k) AQAP 2070 NATO process regarding Mutual Government Quality Assurance (GQA) process; l) AQAP 2050 NATO project assessment model; m) AQAP 2105 NATO requirements related to deliverable quality plans AS 9100 standard Due to very strict requirements with respect to product safety, aviation industry is particularly interested in the application of efficient quality management systems In order to establish rules and responsibilities as well as to standardise regulations and standards of procedure, and in order to assure ever greater application of the 9000 series standards, eleven aviation companies (Boeing, GE, McDonnell Douglas, Pratt & Whitney, Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky Aircraft and others) have developed the AS 9100 standard to be applied as an international, standardised set of standards which defines quality requirements applicable to the civil transportation and military aviation industry The AS 9100 is a supplementation of the ISO 9001 standard requirements and imposes AC maintenance and repair system specific requirements with respect to the following areas [3]: a) configuration management; b) reliability; c) maintenance; d) safety; e) special processes; f) validation of processes, planning of stages; g) suppliers’ assessment; h) procurement verification; i) designing; j) product documentation; - 10.1515/afit-2015-0004 Downloaded from De Gruyter Online at 09/12/2016 05:06:19AM via free access 62 Piotr WOŹNY, Józef BŁACHNIO k) monitoring of product changes and process changes; l) monitoring of software used in automated processes; m) monitoring of works carried out outside the organisation; n) internal audit; o) first article inspection; p) overview and efficiency of inconsistency handling / management The AS 9100 standard is further supplemented by the AS 9110 standard (Quality Maintenance System – Aerospace Requirements for Maintenance Organizations) which was published in January 2003 and which applies to organisations that provide repair / maintenance services [1, 3, 17] Monitoring of measurement processes Efficiency of the AC maintenance and repair sub-system is to a large extent dependent on effective diagnosis of failures and malfunctions This, in turn, requires a measurement sub-system which with components corresponding with tasks being carried out The need to monitor measurements as well as measuring and testing equipment is a crucial requirement which needs to be met to assure the sub-system operation quality Measurement sub-system related requirements have been provided for in the PN-EN ISO 10012:2003 standard [10] Also, the aforementioned Allied Quality Assurance Publication – the AQAP standard – imposes the obligation to monitor measuring equipment and measurement processes in accordance with the requirements provided for in the aforementioned standard The PN-ISO 10012:2003 standard contains guidelines pertaining to measurement process management metrological confirmation of measurement equipment used in measurements and testing The standard provides for requirements to be applied by the organisation carrying out measurements within the framework of a general management system in order to ensure that metrological requirements have been met [11] A situation in which within the maintenance and repair system there is a measurement and / or testing laboratory generates the need to comply with the requirements provided for in the PN-EN ISO/IEC 17025:2005 [13] standard which specifies requirements that one needs to comply with in order to prove that the laboratory actually features the following: a) a functioning and efficient quality system; b) required technical competencies; c) the ability to obtain reliable results; d) grounds for accreditation - 10.1515/afit-2015-0004 Downloaded from De Gruyter Online at 09/12/2016 05:06:19AM via free access Quality requirements regarding aircraft maintenance and repair services 63 The measurement management process within the measurement sub-system has been depicted in the form of a model developed based on the PN-EN ISO 10012:2004 standard items (Fig 5) 8.4 Improvement Section Responsibility Measurement related requirements Section Resource management Section Measurement management system analysis and improvement Section Metrological confirmation and carrying out of measurement processes Input 7.1 Confirmation 7.2 Process Fig Measurement management system model [13] Explanations: Activities generating added value Assessment of compliance with requirements Output Measurement result , Flow of information The diagram provided for in the standard presents the process of measuring equipment metrological confirmation which ought to be carried out within the AC maintenance and repair system (Fig 6) - 10.1515/afit-2015-0004 Downloaded from De Gruyter Online at 09/12/2016 05:06:19AM via free access Piotr WOŹNY, Józef BŁACHNIO 64 Identified need: Start Calibration – technical comparison of measuring equipment and model unit of measure Client Calibration status identification Recalibr ation loop Verification Yes Decisions and actions METROLOGICAL CONFIRMATION PROCESS Calibration Calibration certificate / report Are there metrological requirements? Yes Does the equipment comply with requirements? Verification / Confirmation documents No Verification is not possible No No Is adjusting / repair possible? Testing report: Verification failed Confirmation status identification Yes Adjusting or repair Status verification Overview of time intervals between confirmations Return to client End Fig Measuring equipment metrological confirmation process [11] - 10.1515/afit-2015-0004 Downloaded from De Gruyter Online at 09/12/2016 05:06:19AM via free access Quality requirements regarding aircraft maintenance and repair services 65 Conclusions AC maintenance and repair quality assurance is a complex process implementation of which requires compliance with requirements of numerous norms and standards as well as procedures, instructions and regulations This applies to both the organisational area and the technical area, with particular emphasis on process approach to the development of an efficient quality management system An important prerequisite is to establish a set and threshold values of product qualities as well as acceptable inconsistencies Management and executive activities carried out in accordance with formalised principles ensure repeatability and stability of AC maintenance and repair processes Those principles constitute an indispensable element of the quality assurance system Moreover, formalised activities allow for minimising errors and developing an optimum quality control system An AC maintenance and repair process based on norms and developed standards excludes disadvantageous application of the trial and error method Therefore, one ought to emphasise the fact of enormous organisational efforts and costs which need to be incurred by the maintenance and repair sub-system in order to be able to carry out its responsibilities at an acceptable level both with respect to safety and user satisfaction References Americas Aerospace Quality Group Aerospace Information Report AIR 5359 rev C: Requirements for Certification/Registration of Aerospace Quality Management Systems SAE International Warrendale 2008 Americas Aerospace Quality Standards Committee Aerospace Standard ARP 9137: Guidance for the Application of AQAP 2110 within a 9100 Quality Management System SAE International Warrendale 2010 Americas Aerospace Quality Standards Committee Aerospace Standard AS 9100 rev C: Quality Management Systems – Requirements for Aviation Space and Defense Organizations SAE International Warrendale 2009 Hamrol A., Mantura W.: Zarządzanie jakością Teoria i praktyka Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2006 Lewitowicz J., Błachnio J., Barszcz P., Michalak S.: Techniczna analiza niesprawności i uszkodzeń Rozdział w monografii: Podstawy eksploatacji statków powietrznych Wydawnictwo ITWL, Warszawa 2007 Lesiński S.: Jakość i niezawodność Wydawnictwa Uczelniane ATR, Bydgoszcz 1996 Lindstedt P.: The method of complex wortness assessment of an engineering object in the process of its use and service Solid State Phenomena 144, 2009, pp.45-52 - 10.1515/afit-2015-0004 Downloaded from De Gruyter Online at 09/12/2016 05:06:19AM via free access 66 Piotr WOŹNY, Józef BŁACHNIO Łunarski J.: Zarządzanie jakością w przemyśle lotniczym Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Rzeszowskiej, Rzeszów 2012 Migawa K.: Sterowanie gotowością w systemach eksploatacji środków transportu Rozprawa doktorska UT-P, Bydgoszcz 2013 10 Muślewski Ł.: Podstawy efektywności działania systemów transportowych ITeE, Radom 2010 11 PN-EN ISO 10012:2003 System zarządzania pomiarami Wymagania dotyczące procesów pomiarowych i wyposażenia pomiarowego 12 PN- EN ISO 9000:2005 System zarządzania jakością Podstawy i terminologia 13 PN-EN ISO/IEC 17025:2005 Ogólne wymagania dotyczące kompetencji laboratoriów badawczych i wzorcujących 14 PN- EN ISO 9001:2008 System zarządzania jakością Wymagania 15 PN-EN ISO 9004:2009 System Zarządzania Jakością Wytyczne Doskonalenia Zarządzania 16 Stoner J A., Freeman R E., Gilbert D R jr.: Kierowanie PWE, Warszawa 1998 17 Szkoda J.: Systemy zarządzania jakością w organizacjach ITS, Warszawa 2012 18 Toda M., Shuford E H.: Logic of system Introduction to a Formal of Structure General Systems vol X, 1965 19 Woropay M., Muślewski Ł.: Jakość w ujęciu systemowym ITeE, Radom 2005 - 10.1515/afit-2015-0004 Downloaded from De Gruyter Online at 09/12/2016 05:06:19AM via free access ... free access Quality requirements regarding aircraft maintenance and repair services 55 respect to technical maintenance and inability to verify maintenance procedures Comparison and standardisation... at 09/12/2016 05:06:19AM via free access Quality requirements regarding aircraft maintenance and repair services 65 Conclusions AC maintenance and repair quality assurance is a complex process... access Quality requirements regarding aircraft maintenance and repair services 57 The standard provides for a model of a quality management system based on the process (Fig 2) Continuous quality