airliners.de Fundamentals of aircraft maintenance (maintenance, repair, and overhaul-mro)

As soon as an aircraft goes into the company after production, it must be ensured that it is permanently in a frequent state during the operating period.To do this, it must be examined and maintained regularly.A distinction is made between:

The maintenance activities can be overhaul, exchange, repair, inspections or changes (modifications) on aircraft, engines and components.In comparison to the production, the planning and implementation of maintenance services is usually much more demanding because greater flexibility is required:

Maintenance work may be carried out exclusively by officially approved maintenance organizations and only within the framework of the authorized approval.A distinction is made between three basic maintenance circumference, which determine the basic orientation of a maintenance company:

Legally, the requirements for maintenance companies are regulated by the legislator and the European Air Libra Authority EASA in implementing Rule Continuing Airworthiness in Part 145.Thereafter, maintenance companies must prove that they have set up a quality system and to be able to maintain.Such a system is intended to ensure that maintenance takes place under dominated conditions.To do this, the company must always be able to maintain or repair air -technical products in compliance with the relevant maintenance requirements and to put them on the market and put them on the market when it comes to operational secure condition.This can only succeed if the company has transparent and comprehensible operating structures and processes.The type and scope of the company organization is strongly based on the size of the company and the approval granted by the Federal Aviation Office.

Differentiation between line and base-maintenance

A distinction is made between line and base maintenance in aircraft maintenance.While all maintenance activities (preservation of the target state) are usually summarized as a line maintenance, the base-maintenance normally encloses measures of repair / overhaul (measures to restore the target state).

The distinction in line and base-maintenance is important because the two types of maintenance are based on different approval requirements.

When classification of maintenance events, the technical penetration depth is based.The implementation of all line-maintenance activities must be able to be carried out with simple means and must not have a high degree of decomposition, nor must be a deeper intervention in the aircraft structure or require extensive test measures.Another criterion can be the period of maintenance event (hourly borders).

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Planned versus unplanned maintenance

Before a maintenance event is carried out, the upcoming work is already largely known and planned.This is due to the fact that in the case of an aircraft - comparable to a car - certain components have to be subjected to an examination in defined intervals or exchanged due to a special stress in order not to endanger the operating capacity of the device.Such known and thus planned maintenance measures are referred to as routine work (including scheduled maintenance) and form the routine working package in their sum.The high proportion of these maintenance activities known before a check facilitates and enables requests for requirements to provide personnel, documentation, material and equipment.In this way, an extensive routine work package also simplifies the more smooth control of a laying season and contributes to a more calculable soil period of the aircraft.

If functional disorders or damage occurs during operation or check-up and if their remedy is not or not covered to the result of the planned maintenance package, one speaks of non-routine events.Non-routine is therefore not planned or only to be predicted to a limited extent and is therefore also referred to as an uncertaintized maintenance.Reasons for such unplanned maintenance can be, for example, corrosion, cracks or increased wear.

At the beginning of a non -planned maintenance, the determination of a finding (finding) is.If necessary, there is a troubleshooting.Based on the error or defect, the assessment is assessed.After that, the time scope, the required personnel qualification and the material requirements can be determined.Under certain circumstances, customer approval must also be obtained, after all, it must bear the costs in the end.Only then will the non-routine complain about it and the documentation at the end.

Planning a maintenance event

Every maintenance event must be carefully planned.The work preparation is responsible for this.Their task is to plan all planned maintenance activities on the apron, in the docks or half -timbered sites as well as in the context of extended workbenches.In addition to line and base-maintenance checks.

It is important to note that the preparation of work is not responsible for determining the individual maintenance measures to the type and scope.This determines the engineering and was described in our tutorial on maintenance management in April.

The preparation for work structures the upcoming work with the work package commissioned into individual work steps by breaking down the commissioned work package.At the same time, it is one of the tasks of work preparation that

set.This data forms the basis for the planning of personnel, hall or workshop capacities.The planners who structure the event organizationally and put together the necessary control information are often themselves entitled to maintenance and have detailed knowledge of the work execution.

Afterwards, work orders (Work Order) are opened to enable commercial recording of the hours and material expenses incurred.The work cards are created below.These subdivided the work to be carried out for the executive maintenance mechanic by dividing into individual working sections and steps.Working cards support the production staff in structuring their upcoming work.In parallel to the preparation of the operational maintenance implementation, the maintenance event with flight operating control and other internal support areas must be coordinated with the ground handling and, if necessary, with customs or external service providers.

The next tutorial starts and explains the implementation of the maintenance at the operational level in the dock and in the workshops.

About the author

As an expert in aviation technology, Prof is explained.Martin Hinsch in his tutorial column "Aviation Technology Management" on Airliners.de how aircraft companies are built up and how they work.

Prof.Dr.Martin Hinsch is an expert in aviation quality, safety and process management and teaches business administration with a focus on aviation management at the IUBH in Hamburg.He is also approved as an authenticated aviation auditor.About his management consultancy (aeroimpuls.de) he supports aviation technology industrial companies in development, manufacture and maintenance.Before his current activity, he was employed by Lufthansa Technik AG for around ten years and as a senior consultant in Qatar.