Factors affecting quality and performance – a case study of Korean aircraft maintenance unit

Abstract

Despite the Korean aviation system's reputation for aviation safety, in the case of military aircraft, there have been accidents involving jet fighters. As the results of investigations into the causes of the accidents revealed that maintenance errors made by mechanics contributed to some degree to the accidents, it is crucial to investigate factors affecting individual mechanic's maintenance errors and to improve the overall performance of military aircraft maintenance unit. It is also believed that the investigation of factors responsible for maintenance errors and the unit's performance has generally contributed to achieving higher organisational performance. The results of this empirical study show that managing individual fatigue and stress causes members in a unit to have more positive feelings and emotions regarding their job and organisation. When members in a unit experience less fatigue and stress, fewer individual errors occur. In addition, they have more positive feelings and emotions regarding their job and organisation, leading to better performance. This has noteworthy implications for managers of organisations in that fatigue, which is an important factor when seeking to mitigate individual errors and improve organisational performance, can be managed by enhancing the organisational safety climate.