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JOB PROTECTION
Job Protection. These words can mean different things and take several
forms to each of us. With the Union it means the negotiating of a contract
with a stronger scope clause, representation in the grievance procedures
and having a safe and healthy work environment. As aircraft technicians we
also need to protect our FAA licenses. At USAirways, mechanics have three
ways of protecting ourselves in the event of an error on our part.
First is the Internal Flight Safety Hotline. This program was setup and run
by the QA department. It will protect you from any company disciplinary
action, maybe. It has voice lines that you can call in any concerns over
safety issues. You can also fill out a ME-380 form and fax it in, both
voice and fax lines are dial-net and 1-800-numbers. The Flight Safety
Committee also receives a copy to ensure follow up to these reports. Now
after writing this there is one small drawback. The program is defunct. QA
regularly ignores or loses the reports; the ones left were either
arbitrarily dismissed or referred to a committee for review. The end
result is that no one submits these reports anymore, in fact it's been
almost nine months since the FSC received a copy.
Second is the new Maintenance Aviation Safety Action Program. This new
program is a partnership of the FAA, Corporate Safety and the IAMAW. It
will protect you from any company disciplinary action and FAA civil
penalties, probably. It was setup along the designs of other successful
airline programs. This group meets once a month to review any reports.
Access to the reporting forms are either through 'The Hub', which can be
filed electronically, either at work or home or through the home page on
EPUBS. As with all new programs they're experiencing some growing pains.
There have been problems accessing, downloading and sending the form. When
submitted you won't know if they even received the report let alone
accepted it until the committee meets again. Since they only meet once a
month don't use this report if you have a pressing concern. The new manager
is quitting and the program office will be relocating to Phoenix under
America West's Regulatory and Compliance department. Supposedly they will
be visiting all maintenance stations to give training on this program. This
program looks good on paper but like with other USAirways programs
(remember MRM, Ideas That Fly, Self-Directed Teams, etc.) only time will
tell.
Lastly, there is the tried and true NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System.
This anonymous postage-free report will protect you from any civil
penalties levied by the government, definitely. This is the ultimate 'get
out of jail free' card to protect our licenses. As long as it was not a
deliberate or criminal act and you submitted the NASA form within ten days
of the incident your covered. If you can not find the forms at work you
can download the form from the Internet at nasa.gov/asrs. When in doubt,
fill it out!
John Hall
Senior Air Safety Investigator
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FLIGHT SAFETY REPORT
BY: JOHN HALL
We’ve all heard by now of the Southwest and the other airlines maintenance fiascos. The fallout from these incidents has been an increased scrutiny from the FAA into our maintenance procedures. The FAA’s Certificate Management Office (CMO) for US Airways has decreed that the company must do something about our paperwork problems. Of course the company has taken this to mean issuing disciplinary action against the mechanics.
While researching the Maintenance Alert Bulletins and now the newly named Alert Bulletins I have found that since April 2006 there had been a grand total of 650 changes to the Maintenance Policy and Procedures Manual (MPPM). In just the past twelve months alone our Alert Bulletins have listed twenty-eight pages or 333 changes to the MPPM! Seven of these changes have been to the ‘robbed parts’ procedures alone.
The MPPM is an accepted manual by the FAA that we have to live by. The company appears to be writing the manual as we go along and the CMO is accepting it. Yes, something needs to be done but hanging a mechanic for erring on the company’s ever changing policies is not the way.
Oh by the way, the company is coming out with a new type logbook and procedures for it. The CMO is allowing the company to use up its stock of old style logbooks while the new one is introduced.
FLIGHT SAFETY REPORT
BY: JOHN HALL
In February I met with the members of the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) Event Review Committee (ERC) in Phoenix, Arizona. We discussed 27 maintenance safety reports filed from around the system, nine of which originated here in Charlotte.
The majority of Charlotte’s issues dealt with maintenance procedures, the root cause being a lack of knowledge. This ‘lack of knowledge’ is not as ominous as it sounds. The company is still rewriting the MPPM and changing the SCEPTRE computer system as needed. There are continuous policy changes and even inaccurate Alert Bulletins being issued, so it’s no wonder that our ‘knowledge level’ might be a contributing factor.
Of the nine reports, all were settled favorably for us except one. It was not accepted into the program, and involved a mechanic who, while taxiing a Boeing 757 aircraft, experienced an extremely high EGT that resulted in a premature engine change. The FAA member of the ERC disallowed this report because it wasn’t filed until eighteen days after the event. To my knowledge this is the only report from Charlotte that has not been accepted since the ASAP’s inception two years ago. If in doubt, fill it out.
Scott Orloff, 3rd shift Line Lead Mechanic has been recently appointed to the District Lodge 142 Flight Safety Committee. Scott, Bud Brown and I are here to assist you with any incidents or problems with Quality Assurance or the FAA. If you are contacted by QA, the FAA or are asked by management to make a written statement concerning a flight safety issue, tell them you wish to speak someone on the Flight Safety Committee first.
FLIGHT SAFETY
Well the company is at it again. A third shift PIT mechanic was assigned to rigging the elevator tabs. While standing by his rollaway and cleaning his tools he noticed a crack in the fuselage and reported it. Of course management went through the roof, “why were you looking at that? Who told you to look at that? Etc… that very next night the third shift manager and his foremen held a crew meeting and informed the entire crew that if anyone finds a crack or any other discrepancy that would interfere with schedule departure they would be considered a saboteur and treated accordingly. After this meeting the mechanic received a PE-1 and a day off. If this was for being a saboteur, I’m not sure how it would affect his AOA access with the new TSA regulations.
We have had our own problems with third shift heavy here in CLT. They also held a heart to heart meeting, though they didn’t go so far as labeling mechanics doing their jobs as saboteurs, they did tell mechanics it was okay to sign off repairs per the foreman’s direction. That would be wrong, unless it was an engineering foreman if we had them and even then they would issue an E.A.
We have filled out numerous ME-380 Flight Safety Hotlines, talked with QA and even with the FAA’s PMI and yet we still have problems. If you don’t feel that the internal safety hotline will work for you, there is always the external one. 1-800-255-1111, try it on your break or lunch time only though.
With the recent influx of mechanics to the flight line and the ensuing paperwork errors, three mechanics have received a PE-1 with time off and one has received a ‘letter of investigation’ from the FAA. The Flight Safety Committee has started the annual AMT awards classes early this year. The topics this year is the NASA aviation safety reporting system and line maintenance paperwork. To date we’ve had approximately 85 participants and it was well received by all.
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FLIGHT SAFETY
By: John Hall
The Flight Safety Committee held the annual 2004 FAA Aviation Maintenance Technicians Awards classes during November and December last year. The classes were held at the line and hangar and all three shifts participated. There were a total of 106 individual awards earned by the line technicians of which four were the coveted Diamond level. Of special note, Gray Thomason earned his first, Mike Bramlet and Dave Wrobel each earned their third and Bob Geisheimer his eleventh individual Diamond award. The USAirways Charlotte line maintenance department has now earned its seventh consecutive Diamond level Employer Award. This year’s topics were the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System, maintenance human factors issues, runway safety and correct radio verbiage. FAA Program Safety Program Manager John Crouse will visit the line department early this year to present the awardees their certificates and pins.
A Piedmont aircraft arrived at Charlotte suffering a bird strike in route. Their mechanic did a quick walk around and entered in the logbook ‘no damage noted’ and then failed to sign it off. At the next station the pilot reported the engine was running hot. The mechanics inspected the engine and found bird feathers and parts in the cooling intake ducts. The Charlotte mechanic received a Letter of Investigation (LOI) from the FAA. His Grievance Committeeman advised him to contact the Flight Safety Committee but he replied that ‘he could handle it himself’. After meeting with the FAA Inspector and telling him his life story, he received a 120 day license suspension. If you are ever involved with an incident, whether its improper maintenance or documentation see your Flight Safety Committeeman and fill out a NASA form immediately. Do not wait to receive an LOI. If you can not find a NASA form at work you can download the form online. There are links to it on both the Local and District Lodge websites. Don’t forget to always make a copy of all correspondence for your own records whether it’s for the FAA or the company.
USAirways is a distressed carrier. Yes we know that, but what does that statement really mean. Per the FAA guidelines, any company experiencing labor difficulties, financial problems, bankruptcy or Chapter 11 proceedings are classified as a distressed carrier. This means that they will be subjected to increased surveillance of all operations including maintenance and ramp procedures. The FAA inspectors assigned to USAirways will be supplanted by other inspectors from around the country to observe and cite if necessary. As a mechanic you could be subjected to a fine, suspension or even a revocation of license in the extreme. As a utility person or ramper you could be subjected to a civil penalty from the FAA for failing to follow company guidelines. Early in December, the FAA visited CLT for a ramp inspection lasting a few days. There were no discrepancies noted in either the maintenance or ramp operations. Outstanding work!
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DEATH OF A SAFETY NET
Or
ANOTHER HOLE IN THE SAFETY NET
By: John Hall
It was only until a few years ago that we had an effective internal Flight Safety Hotline program. This program was set in place to allow the aircraft technician a means to bring to light any safety deficiencies that then would be dealt with in a professional and timely manner. The reports are used to identify and resolve problems with the work process, paperwork discrepancies, or specific maintenance actions that affect the safety of our aircraft. These confidental reports are sent to QA along with a copy to the IAMAW Flight Safety Committee to insure follow up. However, with the recent changes in the QA department the cooperation between these two groups has all but disappeared.
The USAirways Flight Safety Hotline can be accessed by using an ME-380 form; the instructions for its use are printed on the back and are covered in the M.P.P. It may be sent via comat or faxed, or a voice report may be called in via dialnet or a 1-800 number. The sender should also send a copy to the Flight Safety Committee using the fax number on the back of the form. The reporter can remain anonymous if they wish, but they should notify their Flight Safety Committeeman or shop steward to act as a contact to QA.
After the report is filed, QA will log it in and notify the sender of receipt of it within five working days. QA will then begin its investigation and find a solution within 30 working days and again notify the reporter. If the answer is not satisfactory the Flight Safety Committee will not sign off on it and it will be kept open until there is a satisfactory conclusion.
This safety net has been an effective system for years. However, recently there have been breakdowns in this program; this program specifically and the company’s attitude toward its mechanics overall. Notification of receipt is no longer happening. The reports are taking six to twelve months to be answered, if they are addressed at all. QA’s excuse for these delays is that they are short handed. However, they seem to have enough auditors to demand an immediate written statement for any incident involving our mechanics. These statements are then used in the company’s self-disclosures to the FAA.
If you are ever involved in an incident, immediately notify Maintenance Control if it involves a safety of flight issue, then fill out a NASA Aviation Safety Reporting Form, make a copy for your own records and notify your Flight Safety Committee. If you are asked to make a statement for the company, tell them that you want to speak to your Flight Safety Committeeman first. For those of you who have been frustrated by the internal hotline, there is still a safety net in place. It is the FAA’s hotline; you can call in a report at 1-800-255-1111.
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