Safety & Accident Investigation Centre

OPTION 1 - Development of a maintenance contract
Background: Most airlines outsource maintenance one way or another; therefore
maintenance agreements (i.e. line maintenance, base maintenance, off-wing engine
maintenance etc.) need to be carefully developed and submitted to the regulatory authority
for approval. Although regulations require certain elements and processes to be included in
maintenance contracts, the means to monitor both commercial and safety performance of
the contracted maintenance organisation is not mandated. Key questions arise such as
whether to include Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Safety Performance Indicators
(SPIs) within these contracts. If included, what KPIs and SPIs should be used and if/what
incentives & penalties should be used? These are all difficult decisions to be made.
Task: Write an argumentative/persuasive essay about how to ensure the commercial as well
as safety performance of contracted maintenance organisations from an operator’s
perspective. You need to develop your own arguments and position particularly about the
use of KPIs & SPIs within contracts and also the application of incentives and penalties as
contractual obligations.
OPTION 2 – Time for a radical change in methodology for developing
maintenance tasks?
Background: In 1984, Scott Bradbury from Boeing produced a paper titled “MSG-3 As viewed
by the manufacturer. Was it effective?” He stated that the application of MSG-3 to both
Boeing 757 & Boeing 767 has revealed some areas of deficiency and by analysing the overall
effectiveness of MSG-3, he created a new decision making diagram to suggest that it should
be considered in developing MSG-4. Since 1984, MSG-3 has been amended a number of times
to improve the methodologies and accommodate new technologies; however an MSG-4 has
not been produced as suggested by Bradbury.
Task: Write an argumentative/persuasive essay about whether there is a need for radical
change in the methodology used for developing maintenance programmes for new aircraft
types. You need to develop your own arguments and position particularly considering some
of the recent technological developments in design of modern commercial aeroplanes such
as “More Composite Aircraft (MCA)”, “More Electric Aircraft (MEA)” and “All Electric Aircraft
(AEA)”.