Issues 2001
Issues 2001
Maintenance, employee shortages head agenda as NATA, PAMA meet
By Lindsay M. Hitch, Assistant Editor
April 2001
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) and Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA) discuss aviation issues in conjunction with the upcoming AS3 show in Long Beach including employee shortages; maintenance regulations; ergonomics standards; curriculum and training; legal representation; NATA’s AAAI; and drug testing.
With shortages in aviation maintenance professionals and flight instructors and the expected rewrite of Part 65, NATA and PAMA members are sharing more this year than just a trade show.
REWRITING PART 65
After a barrage of opposing comments, the
NPRM of Part 66 has been withdrawn and will not be reissued.
"Part 66, the NPRM, is a classic study
on how rulemaking is supposed to work," says Ric Peri, technical
services manager for NATA. "We were very pleased that the comments
from the public asked the right questions, pointed out the deficits of
the proposal, and caused the FAA to go back and reevaluate things."
Much of the trouble with the Part 65 rewrite
is trying to correct too many things at once, says Peri. In addition to
gender neutrality, the rewrite may contain a mechanic/technician terminology
change and an attempt at reregistration. PAMA’s Macnair and NATA’s
Peri agree that they expect to see requirements for continuing education
included in the rewrite.
According to Macnair, FAA’s work on
Part 65 is being done in harmony with Part 147. Many people within the
industry would like to see FAA regulate training requirements under Part
147. NATA and PAMA agree, however, that a government regulation is not
the place for training standards.
Macnair explains, "PAMA thinks the
curriculum should be moved into an industry standard in much the same
way that the medical and legal professions are trained to industry standards."
Peri adds that "the majority of maintenance
technicians out there get recurrent training. We’re constantly learning.
We learn over a cup of coffee. We learn at the PAMA convention. We learn
at industry meetings. We learn at FAA IA-renewal sessions."
PAMA has begun work with the Aircraft Electronics
Association to set up a Center of Excellence through funding from the
National Science Foundation. AEA received a grant to begin work on this
training body which will establish training and standards for avionics
and maintenance professionals. The program is in its infant stages, but
Macnair hopes it will grow to be embraced by the industry as a whole.
RESPONSIBILITY FORLIFE-LIMITED PARTS
There is a debate in the industry, however,
as to who should be responsible for the disposition of expired parts.
The current proposal places the responsibility
for disposition on the person who removes the part. Proper disposition
means segregating, marking, destroying, or locking up parts that have
reached their life limits. Currently the person who removed the part responsible
if it ever ends up on another airplane, even if it had been properly marked
or segregated.
"We want life-limited parts to be segregated;
at least we want life-limited parts that have reached their life limits
to be segregated," Macnair says. "But it has to rest on the
owner/operators’ shoulders. This goes back to the basic premise that
owner/operators are responsible for the airworthiness of their aircraft."
The proposal requires the segregation of
all life-limited parts including those that have not reached their life
limits. PAMA feels there is no reason to disposition parts within their
life limits.
"In other words, if the part is airworthy,
as long as we transfer the life-status, there is no reason why we have
to segregate that part from all others -- it is still airworthy,"
says Doug Macnair. "It’s only after they reach their life limit
that we care that they don’t make it back into that parts stream."
PAMA feels that it should be the responsibility
of technicians to alert owner/operators of parts that have reached their
life limits, but that the disposition of those parts should rest on the
owner/operator, that the decision to remove and segregate or destroy a
part should be the responsibility of the owner/operator of the aircraft.
NATA RECOMMENDS PART 145 SNPRM
Jim Coyne, president of NATA, recently sent
a letter to Norm Mineta, secretary of transportation, requesting that
the Bush Administration review the Part 145 NPRM and issue a supplemental
NPRM rather than a final rule.
Coyne argues that "the proposed rule
failed to consider the significant differences between large repair stations
that maintain aircraft for Part 121 air carriers versus the independent
maintenance providers holding a repair station certificate for maintaining
and repairing piston- and turbine-engine general aviation aircraft."
PAMA is also not satisfied with the Part
145 NPRM. "Don’t just require training without a standard,"
says Macnair. "Not to say we would ever discourage any requirements
for training, but as long as we’re at it, let’s do it right.
ISSUE IN REVERSE
For years, flight schools focused their
attention on attracting good flight support personnel. David Kennedy,
government and industry affairs specialist for NATA, says they’re
now faced with the opposite problem: attracting and keeping certified
flight instructors. The traditional model of advancement has been shortened
by regional airlines, major airlines, and fractionals hiring CFIs away
with fewer hours than before. Faster advancement and increased pay are
good for flight instructors but tough on flight schools.
Kennedy recently visited Flight-Safety and
observed its solution to the problem. As incentive, flight instructors
receive their multi-engine and instrument instructor certificates, with
the understanding that they will stay and fly 800 hours with decent pay.
"Those are the ones who are going to
retain folks," says Kennedy. "They’re doing what it takes
to keep them there."
RETHINKING ERGONOMICS
On March 7, Congress passed a joint resolution
to reverse OSHA’s Ergonomics Protection Standard. This reversal is
considered a victory for many small business owners and was strongly supported
by NATA.
At first glance, the ergonomics rule appears
to be a positive step toward reducing and treating worksite injuries.
Unfortunately, the rule covers industry too broadly and compliance would
cost businesses too much money, says Peri.
The OSHA rule required training on ergonomics
protection and provided "safe pay" (90 percent salary with full
benefits) for those injured in repetitive motion activities. Peri says
that in many companies, particularly those using production line workers,
ergonomics standards need to be set. But in many industries, including
aviation, the ergonomics rule would create pure overhead costs that would
have to be made up by the consumer.
OSHA will not be able to issue a new rule
similar to the first, and may continue to cite ergonomic injuries under
its general duty clause.
GOOD NEWS IN DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING
The final rule on revisions to Part 40 means
more protection for employers involved in drug test verification procedures,
according to Jacque Rosser.
Employers will be able to apply to FAA for
an employee stand down program that allows them to remove employees in
safety-sensitive positions from service while awaiting verification on
a positive test.
The employee stand down policy becomes effective
August 1, 2001. To qualify, employers must submit a program proposal to
the FAA outlining such things as how employees will be protected from
harrassment during the waiting period.
PAMA Letter to Bush
PAMA president Brian Finnegan recently sent
a letter to President Bush requesting that a Presidential Emergency Board
be convened "to address U.S. air transportation needs" and "the
poor overall state of the aviation maintenance industry." The letter
outlines four major recommendations related to Part 147 and legal actions
against technicians. A copy of the letter may be viewed at www.pama.org.
Must-See AS3
• PAMA Professional Workshops
April 29-30, May 3-4
• PAMA Golf Tournament
Coyote Hills Golf Course
April 30, 6:00am
• NATA Strategic Issues Breakfast
May 2, 7:30-9:00 am
• Annual PAMA Chili Cook-off
May 2, 6:00-8:30 pm
• AS3 Industry Breakfast
Speaker: Golfer Billy Casper
May 3, 7:30-9:00 pm
For more information on the Aviation Services & Suppliers SuperShow
, contact:
• NATA: (800) 262-NATA
www.nata-online.org
• PAMA: (202) 730-0260
www.pama.org
Keeping Experienced Pilots In The Air
NATA is also working to keep current pilots
in the air, and attended a Senate hearing March 13 to discuss modification
of the Age 60 rule and submit a statement of approval.
The Age 60 rule was written nearly 40 years
ago, when the average life expectancy was much lower. Many industrialized
countries allow their pilots to fly well beyond age 60, and there is no
documented proof that increasing the 121 carriers’ pilot retirement
age to 65 will have any safety repercussions.
"The fewer people that are retiring
off the top end, the fewer pilots will be grabbed up from our membership
and it will relieve the burden our membership is having now with the turnover
and the inability to hire," explains Jacque Rosser, flight operations
specialist for NATA.
NATA hopes that by increasing the mandatory
retirement age to 65, pilot advancement will slow enough to meet industry
needs. Rosser expects to see action on the Age 60 rule within the next
year.
• AS3 SuperShow
www.as3.com
Non-technical PAMA Symposium Sessions
PAMA has begun a number of initiatives to develop more "professional" maintenance technicians.
Many sessions at this year’s symposium are devoted to non-technical
issues: workforce readiness; stress management; maintenance management;
job interviewing skills as interviewer and interviewee; promoting professional
development within companies; and understanding corporate culture.
PAMA will also offer two-day workshops before
and after the symposium on aviation maintenance management, hazardous
materials handling and processing, human factors for aviation technicians,
and aviation maintenance safety program management.
Macnair comments that the new symposium
programming is brought on "by the fact that a lot of people are focusing
their attention on the perceived shortage of technicians ... and what
we are really seeing when we delve into this is that it is more a shortage
of skills than people."
Fractionals Update
Subpart K and the modifications to Part
135 have been signed off by the FAA Administrator and sent to the Department
of Transportation and Office of Management & Budget for approval. NATA
does not forsee major problems and expects an NPRM later this year.
PAMA Offers Legal Counsel Services
The PAMA legal services plan covers legal expenses for maintenance professionals in the case of an FAA certificate action. The plan entitles members to everything from a short phone call for advice to full legal representation throughout the investigation. Participants pay a flat yearly rate based on their job responsibilities.
AAAI Campaign Efforts
In Long Beach, NATA will release a "toolkit" (available to anyone interested) that outlines ways to promote, preserve, and expand local airports.
The goal of NATA’s American Aviation Access Initiative (AAAI) is
to direct the attention of communities and FAA to airports that want to
expand.
The latest step in the program is conducting
town meetings. NATA held meetings in Florida in February and Texas and
Kansas City in March. The meetings have given airport supporters the opportunity
to promote the need for their airports and have given communities the
chance to learn the benefits of local airports.