National Academies Press: OpenBook

Staffing Standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors (2007)

Chapter: Appendix B Committee Data-Gathering Activities

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Committee Data-Gathering Activities." National Research Council. 2007. Staffing Standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11742.
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Appendix B
Committee Data-Gathering Activities

Stakeholders Panel Meeting, March 8-9, 2005

Tuesday, March 8, 2005

8:30 am

Continental breakfast

9:00

Panel 1: Air Carriers

National Air Carrier Association (NACA)

George Paul, Safety and Maintenance Director

10:30

Break

10:45

Panel 2: Maintenance Providers and Workers

Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA)

Paula Derks, President

Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA)

Sarah McLeod, Executive Director

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

David Supplee, Director of IAM Flight Safety

Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association

Maryanne DeMarco, Legislative Liaison

12:30 pm

Lunch

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Committee Data-Gathering Activities." National Research Council. 2007. Staffing Standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11742.
×

1:30

FAA Staff Briefings and Q&A

Kevin Iacobacci, AFS 160 and Deane Hausler, AIR 530

3:00

Break

3:15

End open session

Wednesday, March 9

8:30 am

Continental breakfast

9:00

Panel 3: Pilots and Employee Group, General Aviation

Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA)

Charlie Bergman, Manager, Air Safety and Operations

National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA)

Andrew Moore, Executive Director

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

Melissa Rudinger, Vice President, Regulatory Policy

10:15

Break

10:30

Panel 4: Aircraft and Parts Manufacturers

Aerospace Industries Association (AIA)

Mike Romanowski, Vice President, Civil Aviation

General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA)

Walter Desrosier, Engineering & Maintenance

12:00 pm

Adjourn

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Committee Data-Gathering Activities." National Research Council. 2007. Staffing Standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11742.
×

QUESTIONS FOR STAKEHOLDERS

Please respond to the applicable questions below from the viewpoint of the constituency you represent. Some questions may not be relevant to your organization. We would like you to prepare an oral response that can be delivered in about 10 minutes (with a Powerpoint presentation if you wish), and we welcome a written response as well, if you care to prepare one. All materials you provide will become part of the public record of the committee’s work. When we use the term “ASI” we refer to both the AFS (operations, maintenance, avionics, etc.) and the AIR (manufacturing) inspector workforce.

  1. How do you (your organization’s members or constituency) interact with ASIs?

  2. How would you describe the current level of ASI staffing from your perspective?

  3. How does the level of staffing of ASIs affect what you do, directly or indirectly?

  4. From your perspective, what factors should be considered in determining levels of ASI staffing? Please tell us the order of importance (from most important to least important) of the factors you just described.

  5. How, if at all, do ASI staffing levels relate to safety concerns for the people and organizations you represent?

  6. Have you or any of the groups you represent conducted studies related to ASI staffing levels and safety that you feel would be helpful to the committee? If so, can you provide a copy to the committee?

  7. Aside from levels of safety, what other outcomes of importance to you would be affected by the levels of staffing of ASIs?

  8. What future trends/changes in technology/etc. do you foresee as having an impact on the levels of ASI staffing that may be needed?

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Committee Data-Gathering Activities." National Research Council. 2007. Staffing Standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11742.
×

ORGANIZATIONS INVITED TO THE STAKEHOLDER PANEL MEETING

Organizations shown in boldface accepted our invitation.

Aeronautical Repair Station Association

Aerospace Industries Association

Air Carriers Association of America

Air Line Dispatchers Federation

Air Line Pilots Association International

Air Transport Association of America

Aircraft Electronics Association

Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

Association of Flight Attendants

Aviation Distributors and Manufacturers Association

Flight Safety Foundation

General Aviation Manufacturers Association

Helicopter Association International

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

National Agricultural Aviation Association

National Air Carrier Association, Inc.

National Air Transportation Association, Inc

National Association of Flight Instructors

Professional Aviation Maintenance Association

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Committee Data-Gathering Activities." National Research Council. 2007. Staffing Standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11742.
×

QUESTIONS PREPARED FOR ASI INTERVIEWS

Introduction: Thank you for taking the time to meet with me. My name is (interviewer’s name goes here), and I am a member of the National Research Council’s Committee on FAA Aviation Safety Inspector Staffing Standards. Our Committee has been charged by the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate with the task of studying current staffing standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors. This interview is conducted as part of our study, and it should last about 90 minutes. We have a lot to cover so I’ll try to keep us moving through the interview questions.

My purpose today is to get a general understanding of what ASIs do and what variables affect the demand for them.

Please keep in mind that your answers will be kept confidential. No one will see your individual responses; however, they will be summarized with other people’s responses and included in aggregate in our final report.

Do you have questions of me before we begin?

What does your office do?

  1. What are the major responsibilities of this office?

    Is it a CMO for any major or smaller air carriers?

    Is it involved in the ATOS system?

What is your role and background as an ASI? (Job title, grade, and years on the job)?

What do ASIs do?

  1. Describe your job in terms of what you do. Thinking of a typical day on the job may help you.

  2. What are the basic responsibilities of your job?

    1. What tasks do you perform?

    2. How do you allocate your time across these tasks?

    3. Please describe the kinds of events that disrupt your daily routine and throw off your schedule. How do you handle these?

    4. Do you sometimes have to take shortcuts or bend rules to get your job done on time? What makes it difficult to do things “by the book”?

  1. Where do you perform your work?

  2. With whom do you interact? In what capacity?

  3. Do you have designee oversight responsibility? If yes:

    1. What makes it difficult to oversee designees?

    2. What would make overseeing designees easier?

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Committee Data-Gathering Activities." National Research Council. 2007. Staffing Standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11742.
×
  1. What tools, equipment, systems, references, or job aids do you use?

  2. What kinds of paperwork are required to accomplish your job?

    1. Do you have to enter data into a computerized data base? If yes, please describe what kinds of data you record, where you record them, and when you do that.

  1. Do you work in ATOS? If yes,

    1. How did the move to ATOS change your job?

    2. Were you adequately trained in ATOS?

    3. What ATOS-related tasks were particularly difficult to learn? Did you learn these tasks during training or on the job?

    4. Are you still learning ATOS by trial-and-error?

  1. Is it possible to do everything you should do and do it well?

    1. What kinds of corners can you cut and still get the important parts of your job done?

    2. When forced to choose, how do you determine what to do now and what to postpone?

    3. What do you do when there is more to do than can be accomplished?

    4. If you were to do your job “by the book”…

      1. Will things get done on time? Will it cause delays? Why?

      2. Will the people with whom you work or to whom you provide services be upset? Why?

What kind of preparation is needed for your job?

  1. What knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) does it take to do your job?

    1. Which of these knowledge, skills, and abilities are required on the first day of the job?

    2. Where do most people acquire these KSAs? Where did you acquire this?

    3. What training does the FAA provide? Is it adequate?

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Committee Data-Gathering Activities." National Research Council. 2007. Staffing Standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11742.
×

What drives the demand for ASIs?

  1. What are the objective factors or events that drive the demand for ASIs?

    1. What makes for a busy day?

  1. Please list the individuals and/or groups that place demands on ASIs.

    1. Do these individuals place conflicting demands on ASIs?

      1. Do these individuals have conflicting interests?

    1. How do you handle the conflicts in demand?

    2. How do you decide what gets done first or gets done at all?

  1. What would happen if you didn’t do your job promptly?

    1. What impact would delays in performing your job have on safety?

    2. What impact would delays in performing your job have on the financial affairs of others?

What are your ideas about how your work should be organized?

  1. What work should be designated to others? What should be kept by the Aviation Safety Inspector?

  2. What future changes are likely to occur that will affect your job?

    1. What kinds of technological changes are likely to affect your job?

      1. Will the job requirements change as a result? How?

    1. What kinds of organizational changes might affect your job? How?

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Committee Data-Gathering Activities." National Research Council. 2007. Staffing Standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11742.
×
Page 114
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Committee Data-Gathering Activities." National Research Council. 2007. Staffing Standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11742.
×
Page 115
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Committee Data-Gathering Activities." National Research Council. 2007. Staffing Standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11742.
×
Page 116
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Committee Data-Gathering Activities." National Research Council. 2007. Staffing Standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11742.
×
Page 117
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Committee Data-Gathering Activities." National Research Council. 2007. Staffing Standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11742.
×
Page 118
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Committee Data-Gathering Activities." National Research Council. 2007. Staffing Standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11742.
×
Page 119
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Committee Data-Gathering Activities." National Research Council. 2007. Staffing Standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11742.
×
Page 120
Next: Appendix C Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff »
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A primary mission of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the assurance of safety in civil aviation, both private and commercial. To accomplish this mission, the FAA has promulgated a large number of regulations and has established a major division, the Office of Aviation Safety, to enforce and maintain the regulations and effectively promote safety in aviation. Within the office there are several subordinate organizations.

Staffing Standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors is concerned with two of them: the Flight Standards Service (called AFS), charged with overseeing aviation operations and maintenance, as well as other programs, and the Aircraft Certification Service (AIR), charged with ensuring the safety of aircraft through regulation and oversight of their design and manufacture. The objective of the study is to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the methods and models that the FAA now uses in developing staffing standards and projections of staffing needs for ASIs and to advise the FAA on potential improvements.

Staffing Standards for Aviation Safety Inspectors is organized in an Executive Summary and five chapters. This first chapter provides the background of the study and explains the committee's approach to its task. Chapter 2 discusses modeling and its applicability to the development of staffing standards for such organizations as the Flight Standards Service and the Aircraft Certification Service. Chapter 3 traces the recent history of staffing standards in these organizations and considers manpower and staffing models and methods used by other organizations. Chapter 4 examines factors to be considered in the development of ASI staffing standards and the challenges faced by any methodology applied to this task. Chapter 5 presents the committee's findings and recommendations, including a discussion of issues and constraints that must be considered in weighing the implementation of alternative approaches.

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