Systemic Approach to Workplace Safety in Aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Organizations

Abstract

Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) is one of the basic pillars of aviation. Continuing airworthiness involves a lot of maintenance staff that works on-site and MRO management has to take care of their workplace safety. The number of hazards in the maintenance workplace is high; mechanics can find a list of warnings and precautions in manuals and other documents to maintain the aircraft. Using maintenance manuals and investigation data, workplace safety specialists prepare tailored workplace safety requirements for each maintenance task. Workplace safety in MRO is a complex problem, yet the current requirements are based on linear causality. Their output is thus limited and cannot fully ensure workplace safety in MRO. Some studies describe workplace safety using a systemic approach to safety, however, none was focused on the MRO field. In our research, we applied a systemic approach to workplace safety in MRO. We used the System-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) and prepared a list of systemic requirements for MRO organization. The list was validated in real aviation organizations with the conclusion that it can help cover more safety issues and ensure a higher level of workplace safety in the MRO than the current approach.