Safety is critical to the success of the aviation industry, and as it continues to develop worldwide and link more people and places, how aviation safety is standardized has been and will continue to be a global concern. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has developed a comprehensive framework for safety management at airlines and airports, known as Doc. 9859 Safety Management Manual (SMM). Safety Management Systems (SMS) have since been required to be implemented by all ICAO member states beginning January 2010. Taiwan, administered by the Republic of China (ROC), is in a unique position as a non-member state of ICAO that is strongly connected to the world's aviation system. Using the Delphi Technique and convenient sampling, this research is a case study of how aviation safety is managed at a major international airport in Taiwan with respect to ICAO's SMS standards. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with participants from three major organizations operating at the surveyed airport: air traffic controllers, the airport management company, and a ground services provider. Results found that despite Taiwan's non-member status with ICAO, safety management was very consistent with ICAO SMS standards, especially in the areas this study focused on: safety policy and objectives, safety risk management, safety assurance, and safety promotion.
Aircraft maintenance manuals (AMMs) contain important information for the continued airworthiness of aircraft and are crucial technical documents for assuring maintenance tasks are carried out properly. However, because of mass text descriptions and static pictures, traditional AMMs have limited ability to show complicated aircraft structures and maintenance procedures accurately and intuitively. In order to improve the accuracy and descriptive ability of maintenance manuals to reduce misleading information and unclear procedures, a new style of aircraft maintenance manual, a three-dimensional (3D) maintenance manual, has been developed. Features of this manual include the use of 3D animations and multiple views to simulate component removal and installation processes. This type of manual can present short animations matched to individual steps of procedures. The purpose of this research project was to investigate how well the concept of a 3D maintenance manual could be accepted by front-line mechanics in the aviation industry and identify their perceptions about the usefulness of the traditional versus 3D maintenance manuals. This was a qualitative study that used surveys to assess the perceived benefits and drawbacks of both the traditional AMM and the 3D AMM. Participants were 48 front-line mechanics at multiple airlines in China. The results showed that the 3D AMM has the potential to be used for maintenance tasks and improve aircraft maintenance efficiency. In addition, along with the results, the study considered some recommendations for the improvement of 3D AMMs and suggested further research into understanding how maintenance technicians could utilize these documents more effectively.
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