Elaboration and implementation of SMS in the maintenance and repair organizations

 
 

Annex 6 Part I to Convention on International Civil Aviation implements the following requirements towards the states – member of the Convention: «cl. 8.7.3.3. In scope of their governmental flight safety program the states demand the maintenance organization to implement the flight safety management system (SMS, Safety management system) acceptable for the states…..»

In accordance with those requirements, the states elaborate their internal requirements towards the maintenance and repair companies.

Taking into consideration that the majority of commercial aircraft operated in Russia are registered in the registers of Europe or Bermudas, the Russian maintenance and repair organizations are obliged to fulfill the requirements of EASA (PART-145) and/or Bermudas (OTAR-145). Those obligations are defined in agreements between Russia and the corresponding aircraft registration states. (Agreements pursuant to article 83 bis of the Convention on International Civil Aviation).

Bermudas was the first to demand the availability of the flight safety management system in the maintenance and repair organizations (BDCA). By letter of BDCA LTO AIR 03-12R1 were implemented the requirements to have the SMS, which were defined by OTAR-145. All maintenance and repair organizations must implement SMS before October 1, 2013. And before October 1, 2012 to BDCA must be sent for approval the Guidances for SMS and a package of documents to implement the SMS.

EASA already demands the presence of elements of SMS in the maintenance and repair organizations. (EASA PART 145.A.60). But EASA plans to implement more strict requirements and to demand, as the BDCA, the availability of the full-scale SMS in the maintenance and repair organizations. On December 12, 2012, EASA has held a conference regarding the issues of inclusion of the corresponding requirements in PART-145. (Draft of amendments PART-145 RMT MDM.055). Those requirements will be published in 2013, in 2014, amendments will be introduced in requirements of PART-145 and PART-M and in 2015, they will become effective.

The Russian maintenance and repair organizations will be forced to implement the SMS. There are no similar Russian requirements towards the maintenance and repair organizations. No implementation methods of those systems in the maintenance and repair organizations are elaborated.

 Implementation of SMS requires significant changes in approaches to arrangement of maintenance and repair and transfer from the outdated reactive management methods to the proactive ones.

The purpose of implementation of SMS is not only satisfaction of demands of the aviation authorities but, first of all, reduction of risks of the aviation accidents related to breach of rules and technologies of the maintenance and repair which shall improve the flight safety.

The experts of Aviasystems have elaborated the unique methods to define the risks in the maintenance and repair organizations and implementation of the flight safety management system (SMS). Those elaborations were tested in several Russian maintenance and repair organizations and were highly evaluated in the course of approval from the part of the Bermudas aviation authorities. (BDCA).

Our experts are ready to elaborate the flight safety management system (SMS) for your maintenance and repair organization, to implement and to certify it or to obtain the necessary approvals from the aviation authorities (BDCA, EASA etc.). For more detailed information see our  presentation which was demonstrated on the 8th International conference and exhibition "Maintenance and repair of aviation vehicles in Russia and CIS".