The application of human factors (HF) to commercial aviation maintenance began in the late 1980s and has been aimed at improving aviation safety. From 1990 to 1999 maintenance and inspection errors were the primary cause of 5.9 percent of worldwide commercial aircraft accidents and 8.3 percent of the U.S. commercial aircraft accidents. Recent regulatory activity has addressed maintenance error management processes. As one way of addressing maintenance error, Boeing, working with its customers, labor unions, and aviation authorities, developed the Maintenance Error Decision Aid (MEDA) process. MEDA is a tool that is used to investigate the causes of maintenance errors that lead to events, such as flight interruptions (e.g., cancellations and diversions), equipment damage, and personnel injury. Since 1995, Boeing has offered MEDA implementation support to its airline customers. Over 130 maintenance organizations have received this support, and about 50 of these organizations are now using the MEDA process in their operations. Feedback from these 50 organizations is discussed, including details about how MEDA is used by these organizations and problems and successes they have had in using the process. The paper ends with a discussion on the major reasons that organizations give for not implementing the process, which include issues dealing with management support and punishment for errors.
展开▼
