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Small startup Airline maintenance program
Taylor Cardenas
AVMX451: Aviation Maintenance Operations, Aviation Maintenance Management is a course
offered by Liberty University.
Blank, Bradly
07/06/2023
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Small startup Airline maintenance program
Organization
My firm is going to be a tiny regional freight airline; thus, we will operate under section 121, and
we are going to base ourselves SOMEWHERE. Our company has a fleet of twelve Cessna Grand
Caravan turboprop aircraft, each of which is powered by a PT6A-114A engine. The Federal
Aviation Regulations (FAR) 121.287 and 121.314 were followed in the configuration of our
cargo compartments. We fly fresh grass-fed organic beef from the Tennessee and Kentucky areas
to Florida on a daily basis, and on the way back, we bring regular shipments of freshly caught
fish and various types of seafood to supply to high-end restaurants in the Tennessee area. Every
firm has to have a management structure that facilitates the smooth exchange of information and
the formulation of sound policies and procedures. I will be closely monitoring other airline
structures when they are built since they gave an excellent basis for me to work off of, and I will
make alterations to make them fit the requirements of my company. My organizational structure
enables the company to accomplish the goals and objectives necessary to meet flight ops
schedule. I will also be incorporating managerial structures from my current contract that are
effective with smaller fleets of aircraft. All of these structures will be compliant with Advisory
Circular 120-16F. To be successful in achieving the objectives that have been assigned to them,
each division within the organization will need to have the appropriate number of individuals in
positions of power. The responsibilities and authority associated with each post will be outlined
below. The structure needs to have a span of control, groupings of functions that are comparable
to one another, and a separation of production and supervision activities in order to get rid of
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conflicts of interest and guarantee safety.
Management List
Position at the highest possible level (chief executive officer or owner of the company).
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is accountable for the business's growth as well as its
management that is risk-free, dependable, efficient, and cost-effective. Includes responsibility for
engineering and maintenance, as well as safety, flight operations, and ground operations. This
role is accountable for the operational performance of the airline, which has a direct impact on
the financial performance as well as the expansion and improvement of the carrier. Must be
willing to adjust his or her responsibilities in order to collaborate with other employees to meet
the common objectives of the airline within a suitable time frame and foster a culture of
teamwork.
Position at the level-two level (Vice President of Maintenance and Engineering)
The maintenance and engineering (M&E) department reports directly to the vice president of the
company. Maintenance and engineering activities must be conducted in a manner that is
compliant, safe, efficient, and dependable under this individual's supervision.
Principal Duties and Obligations
• Ensures that the M&E department is safe, compliant, and operates in an efficient and proactive
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manner while managing both existing risks and new hazards.
• Develops operational procedures that inspire exceptional performance in areas like as safety,
compliance, team development, and interactions with strategic partners and management in order
to boost productivity.
• Be responsible for monitoring business activities to ensure that the COO's proposed budget is
followed.
• Ensures that there is continued employee participation and an open-door policy in order to
maintain a conduit of information that can be relied upon and that is accessible.
Position at the Level Three (Supervisor of Technical Services)
The technical services supervisor is in charge of managing the employees who are accountable
for the information technology (IT) systems utilized by the organization. Due to the fact that they
have gained comparable abilities throughout the course of their careers and the fact that this
airline is on the smaller side, they are able to readily adjust to also supervise the supervisors of
the engineering and planning departments. The information technology solutions that modern
businesses need to keep up with the rapidly evolving landscape of commercial aviation and the
transportation system, which has swiftly adapted to the higher speeds made possible by fiber
optic connections, are either nonexistent or prohibitively expensive.
Principal Duties and Obligations
• Ensure that all information technology systems are functioning within acceptable standards and
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that any necessary repairs are carried out in a timely manner in accordance with the chief
operating officer's budget.
• Ensure that the demands of the firm and its customers, as well as those of the customers
themselves, are addressed, and implement strategies for efficient technical services
• Responsible for communicating with the managers in charge of engineering and planning to
ensure that the essential processes are in place to carry out the work required for FAA
compliance. This indicates that not only those managers but also the aviation maintenance
technicians (AMT) who require them have access to all FAA bulletins and publications. These
bulletins and publications are sent through the IT system.
(Engineering Manager) Position at the Level Four Level
It is the responsibility of the manager of engineering to oversee all engineering tasks, as well as
reliability, publishing, and training. These other disciplines are strongly connected to his or her
talents and will make the most efficient use of this position at a smaller airline if it is filled by
someone with these additional qualifications.
Principal Duties and Obligations
• While consulting service bulletins (SB) and service letters (SL) in preparation for their
incorporation into
the publication list for the airline will be given to those employees who have a need for it later
on. This will be carried out in collaboration with the department of information technology.
• Determines if the M&E organization's rules and procedures can be implemented successfully
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on the aircraft being used in service.
• Provides assistance to the Shop Maintenance department in the planning and design of new
facility additions or expansions in order to guarantee that all regulatory requirements are
satisfied, as well as the planning and design of systems that will make aircraft maintenance more
effective.
• Ensures that all training requirements are satisfied prior to employment in a school that
complies with 14 CFR Part 147, as well as providing new and specific training to suit the needs
of the airline for reasons of safety and compliance
• Provides assistance to each and every M&E department in the creation of the technical policies
and procedures manual (TPPM) in accordance with AC 120-16E in order to achieve FAA
compliance. This TPPM will be the most important document for the airline, and it may be split
up into numerous volumes. In order for operations to run effectively, it is necessary for every
member of the company's staff to get training on this document.
Position at Level Four (Strategic Planning Manager)
The manager of production planning and control (PP&C) who is in charge of scheduling and
planning for maintenance. They will make the necessary plans to arrange the necessary labor,
parts facilities, tools, and any other special support required to do the work. This role is also
responsible for material, which includes inventory, stores, receiving, and purchasing.
Additionally, this job has acquired responsibility for material.
Principal Duties and Obligations
• Maintenance schedule must cover all required components in order to reduce the amount of
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time an aircraft spends on the ground (AOG).
• Determines the number of on-site personnel manhours required, as well as tool calibration and
usage tracking
• Develops the work schedule, which is then displayed in a public place or uploaded to a website
for convenient access.
• Keeps an eye on how things are going with the maintenance being done in the hanger or out on
the line
• Maintains an ideal storage in order to reduce the amount of time spent on AOG by closely
monitoring inventory
• Responsible for the purchasing and receiving of stock in accordance with the job that has been
arranged
• Ensures that there is no bogus inventory held by monitoring the history of each and every item
that is received
Position at the Level Three (Supervisor of Aircraft Maintenance and the Maintenance Control
Center)
The Maintenance supervisor is responsible for overseeing all maintenance work, whether it be
performed in the hanger or out on the line. This role has also taken on the responsibilities of the
maintenance control center (MCC) due to the fact that this airline is a smaller one and only
operates one kind of aircraft. This allows him the ability to exercise a wide range of control over
maintenance and coordination to guarantee that everything required for the completion of task
cards is in place prior to the aircraft arriving at the location.
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Principal Duties and Obligations
• Make sure that all of the repairs and changes are finished in compliance (IAW) with the
engineer-approved bulletins, and that the appropriate employees are sent out to complete the
assignment.
• Is responsible for communicating with technical services regarding inventory requirements and
the requirement to acquire parts or GSE in order to complete tasks. Additionally has the ability to
organize the rental of equipment or components from other airlines through our trusted partners
program.
• Maintains a tight eye on maintenance to make certain that the C.O.O. budget is followed.
• Communicates with flight operations in order to check on aircraft that are currently in flight for
any possible anomalies and to verify that they have the aircraft that they require in order to
maintain operations tempo.
Position at the fourth level (both a Hanger and a Line Maintenance Manager)
This individual will be responsible for line maintenance as well as hangar maintenance because,
in a small airline like this one with a single hub, all of the operations and maintenance are
centralized in one place. This optimizes the job in terms of both its utilization of abilities and its
cost efficiency. Maintaining the fleet and reporting any problems or accomplishments to the
Maintenance supervisor or Maintenance Control Center is the responsibility of the person
holding this position.
Principal Duties and Obligations
• Ensures that all work is conducted in accordance with the most recent bulletins and
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publications, as well as ensuring compliance with airline rules and procedures.
• Ensures that all short interval inspections on the line, as well as C checks, are documented and
monitored in accordance with the requirements established by the airline and the FAA.
• In order to increase the amount of money the airline maintenance department makes; work is
being done to get more contracts with other airlines that use the same Cessna Caravan fleet.
• Monitors AMTs to ensure that new recruits can maintain an efficiency of 85% on task cards
and that senior AMTs are working to an efficiency objective of 95-105%, which is comparable to
what is demanded of technicians in the majority of maintenance professions.
Position at the third level (Supervisor of Shop Maintenance)
The shops supervisor is responsible for supervising the maintenance of not just the avionics shop
and the structures shop, but also the components that will be taken from aircraft in order to be
serviced. In order to make the most of the position and the resources available in that shop, he
has given the structures shop the authority to manage the ground support equipment (GSE). He
will make the necessary plans and labels for the components to guarantee that they are removed
and put back into operation in accordance with the FAA's requirements for component tracking.
Principal Duties and Obligations
• Outsources building repairs to the hangar or flight line when they are necessary and cannot be
performed in-house carried on with himself
• Responsible for ensuring that enough shelf stock of components is maintained in order to
reduce AOG time caused by shop repairs or parts delays
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Level Four Position: Manager of Engines and Mechanical Operations
Although he does his own work in the shops, he watches carefully to make sure that all relevant
papers and bulletins are adhered to when repairing the machinery. Both the overall engine
maintenance and the upkeep of the mechanical parts will fall within his or her purview as
primary responsibilities. (For example, the landing gear, the flying controls, the propellers, and
the hydraulic systems) a job at level four known as the Avionics Manager.
In charge of any and all electrical repairs, including those involving the aircraft's wiring and
radios as well as its gauges. They often offer assistance to the department that handles
information technology in the process of diagnosing and fixing problems with computers and
electrical systems. This helps justify their position within such a tiny airline and is another way
in which it benefits them. In order to maximize the benefits, they provide to the corporation, they
also subcontract work to other airlines and FBOs in order to bring in more revenue.
Position at the third level known as the Maintenance Program Evaluation Supervisor
The primary responsibility of the maintenance program evaluation (MPE) is to oversee the
engineering and maintenance operations of the airline and make certain that all paperwork,
publications, training, and safety procedures comply with the regulations set out by the airline
and the FAA. This role needs to be kept distinct from production as a self-monitoring department
in accordance with the criteria provided by the FAA, also known as the CASS program.
Principal Duties and Obligations
• Responsible for ensuring that all documentation libraries are up to date and easily available to
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anybody who may want it
• Performs routine inspections of GSE and tool calibration testing, in addition to checking the
inventory in the toolbox tracking and reporting for control as well as foreign object debris
(FOD).
• Makes sure that all of the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) is both accessible and
being used.
• Is responsible for doing documentation reviews on a regular basis to ensure their correctness.
Position at the level four (Manager of Quality Assurance)
This management role is responsible for ensuring that all units within the M&E department
adhere to the policies of the airline as well as the rules of the FAA. They, in effect, determine the
criteria that the organization adheres to as its standards. Performs the duties of an auditor in order
to aid the buying department in determining whether or not the airplane parts that have been
bought are genuine and not a FAKE component.
Position at the level four (Manager of Quality Control)
It is the responsibility of QC to be present not only on the floor of the hangar but also on the
flight line in order to check the work that is being done by AMTs and to regularly evaluate their
certificates to be able to complete that job along with any and all mandatory inspection items
(RIIs). In addition, the QC shop ensures that all records for calibrated tools are cataloged and
retained for the purpose of tracking and recertification work. This is necessary in the event that
the tools expire or get damaged, which is when recertification is necessary. The last thing that
will be requested of them is to supervise any nondestructive testing (NDT/NDI) that has to be
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done on the fleet aircraft. This department bears a significant amount of weight and
responsibility, and in the event that an incident does place, the FAA will often look into it with a
great deal of care.
Level Four Position: Manager of Engines and Mechanical Operations
conceives, designs, and brings safety training activities to life, as well as overseeing their
administration. These may include things like the correct use of personal protective equipment
(PPE), the deployment of safety tracking systems, and the use of fire extinguishers. They will
accept reports of any safety-related accidents that occur in the workplace, as well as any mishaps
that occur aboard aircraft while they are in operation. Will be in charge of producing safety
reports on a monthly basis in order to assist in the process of reducing potential dangers in the
workplace.
Position at Level Two (Vice President of Flight Operations)
This Vice President of Flight Operations is accountable for ensuring that all regulatory criteria
pertaining to the flight crew are adhered to, in addition to being responsible for the acquisition of
publications pertaining to ground operations, such as flight dispatch and loadmaster
documentation.
Technical Services Manager, which is a level four post.
This manager would be in charge of the flight planning, the training requirements of flight crew,
the training requirements of flight crew, publication updates and posting, and making weather
information available to aircrew. They supply the aircrews with everything they require to
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perform successfully.
job at level four, also known as "Aircrew Manager (Lead Pilot)"
Training of pilots and loadmasters, as well as documentation processes, are within your purview.
Examines flight plans, timetables, and freight demands to make certain that sufficient flight time
and people are available to satisfy the responsibilities of the airline. This function checks that the
aircraft's weight and center of gravity have been precisely adjusted so that it can fly without
incident.
Policies
The First Policy, Regarding Airworthiness
In accordance with AC 120-16F, my business will implement a maintenance program for its
aircraft that is designed to fulfill all of the prerequisites of the Cessna Grand Caravan
maintenance standards. This application will offer instructions on how to maintain the
continuous analysis and surveillance system (CASS) at the predetermined intervals. All of these
things will help maintain the programs that have been established not just by the suppliers but
also by the airline's TPPM.
The Second Policy on Publications
Collaborate with the supervisors of all departments, including engineering, to develop a TPPM
that will serve as the standard for policies across the organization. Make sure that all of the
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paperwork that is supplied by suppliers, makers of aircraft, and GSE is kept up to date and
maintained. It is helpful to provide a publishing library with all of the essential equipment, such
as computers, microfilm, and electronic media. This will make the maintenance operations easier
to complete. To make maintenance manuals available via mobile devices like smartphones and
tablets, our airline will implement the Envision program, which was developed by Rusada
Industries. The quality assurance department will conduct extra checks to ensure the most recent
information is included in these publications.
Training is covered by Policy #3.
A teacher, a coordinator, and a manager will make up the personnel of the training department.
This is the responsibility of our technical services department, which is supervised by
engineering. Engineering oversees this department to guarantee that other departments, including
flight, maintenance, and ground crew, receive accurate information. In order to guarantee their
competence and safety in the professional sector for which they have been employed, every
member of the team will have appropriate past experience, on top of which they will get formal
training. When necessary, vendor training will be planned, and it will be followed by instructions
concerning safety.
Refresher training will be provided by the airline in order to maintain currency. This training will
not only disseminate updates to policies and procedures, but it will also be used to review
personnel while they are undergoing on-the-job training in order to ensure that they have a
thorough comprehension of the content.
Schedule, which is Policy Number Four.
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Every manager in their particular department will work together to establish a timetable that is
both productive and economical. This will mean avoiding overscheduling manpower or under
scheduling it to the point that we do not have sufficient staff to securely carry out all needed
processes including quality assurance, quality control, and maintenance. Additionally, managers
will perform careful oversight of ongoing maintenance operations in order to ensure that aircraft
are returned to flight in a safe way and on time so that they can keep up with the timetable for
flying operations. This indicates that all mandatory maintenance operations have been done and
postponed in the appropriate manner. Flight staff and supervisors will schedule aircrew in a
manner that adheres to the requirements of FAA 14 CFR 135.269 regarding rest times. They will
also report any in-flight inconsistencies to the MCC so that maintenance downtime may be
coordinated, with the goal of reducing the amount of time spent AOG.
Handling of Materials, or Policy No. 5
Control of the inventory will be closely monitored to ensure that the financial strain will not
short the inventory to the point that AOG is increased, and that it will not strengthen the stores to
the point that it breaks the budget trying to store, replenish, and restock expired items when they
are not regularly used. Both of these outcomes are undesirable and can be avoided by ensuring
that the inventory will not be too low or too high. The inventory manager is responsible for
determining the minimum and maximum quantities of each item depending on how often the
item is used and how long it can be stored. These figures will be scrutinized on a regular basis in
order to improve the efficiency with which the program uses its resources. These figures need to
be revised in order to prevent incurring unnecessary additional expenditures for the shipping
fees. The quarantine, HAZMAT, serviceable and nonservice able, parts return, and inspection
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categories will each have their own storage area for their respective parts.
Policy #6 outlines the standards for management, often known as the span of control.
the number of individuals or activities that may be supervised or controlled by a single
individual. It is necessary to place a cap on the number of employees that one manager or
supervisor is responsible for supervising in order to ensure that the workload is fairly distributed
and that the business functions efficiently. The more people that are employed, the greater the
need for management will become. The higher a person's level, the fewer individuals will report
to them at each subsequent level.
Separation of production and oversight is the focus of Policy #7.
It is required by FAA AC 120-16F that oversight and production be kept separate from one
another in order to maximize safety and eliminate partiality amongst departments. The FAA will
not be able to withdraw or suspend the certification of the airline because of this separation,
making it possible for the certification to be permanent. The airline will be responsible for its
own self-regulation and will carry out the necessary inspections to verify that all legislation and
publications are adhered to.
