The Role of Aviation Mechanics in Virgin Atlantic - Case Study Example

Complex Organizations Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 0 Introduction 3 2.0 Aircraft Mechanics 3 3.0 Aircraft Mechanics Communication 5 4.0 Aircraft Mechanics Ethical Values 7 5.0 Aircraft Mechanics Decision Making Process 10 6.0 Conclusion 12 7.0 References 13 8.0 Bibliography 16 1.0 Introduction The structure of any organization in the airline industry is considered to be dynamic and complex. It is therefore a challenge for aviation industry to lead and manage the ever-changing scenario. The study has been conducted considering the job of aviation mechanic in Virgin Atlantic. An aviation mechanic possesses vital responsibilities in his task. He is responsible to maintain the entire set of spare parts of the aircraft and its recovery. For conducting such operations, he is required to possess certain vital skills so that the task can be performed in an effective manner. The most essential skills that are needed to be developed by aviation mechanics are communication skill, decision making skills, and the skill related to ethical values. The study comprises of the details of the role of aviation mechanics in Virgin Atlantic. In the paper, a brief introduction has been highlighted about aviation mechanic. It seeks to explain about the detail description of communication skill, decision making process and ethical values of aviation mechanic in his work. 2.0 Aircraft Mechanics Aircraft mechanics are also recognized as Aviation Maintenance Technicians and they are in charge of maintaining the aircraft in peak state. The performance of aircraft mechanics is evaluated on a regular basis and the inspection is done in a proper schedule and continuous maintenance as required by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The other works that they are entitled to includes repairs, replacement of aircraft parts, making utilization of various precision tools, troubleshooting for possible problems and eventually equipment testing after its repair so that work can be conducted properly within the safety limit that has been set. The job of aviation maintenance technician has an imperative role in safety and economic feasibility of airline operation (EVERETT Community College, “Aviation Program Outcomes”). The aircraft mechanics of Virgin Atlantic is responsible to handle the multiple tasks. They ensure maintenance of aircraft so as to meet the standard of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) along with the standard of the airline. They are entitled to complete the task related to aircraft maintenance within a definite time period and in a cost effective manner (Virgin Atlantic, “Aircraft Mechanic J.F.K International Airport”). The general responsibility of aircraft maintenance technician includes various features. They consider that safety is their major priority and seek excellence in their task. The judgmental capacity of the aircraft maintenance technicians is high and they apply good principles in their decisions. They are responsible towards the work and adhere to specific laws as well as regulations (AMTMCC, “Introduction”). A sound aircraft inspection as well as inspection system is of much importance for providing the public with constant safety along with reliability of air transport system. This system is considered as one of the most critical systems as it is related to human as well as machine components. Under the support of ‘National Plan for Aviation Human Factors’, FAA, by analyzing the aircraft maintenance technician, has recognized the significance of the role of human in the safety of aircraft. Humans are considered as a part of the systems though mistakes cannot be separated from the two aspects of human such as performance speed and human well-being at work (Drury, “The Need for Human Factors in Maintenance”). The performance of the mechanics can be determined by both reliability as well as speed. There are two approaches of aviation maintenance such as Incident based approach and Task-Analysis based approach. When an incident takes place, the details of the incident will record resident pathogens along with active failures. The situation when incidents have taken place or not taken place, the contrast related to task is demanded along with human capabilities that will place the task where there are lesser errors. These approaches are widely utilized in maintenance of aviation (Drury, “The Need for Human Factors in Maintenance”). 3.0 Aircraft Mechanics Communication Communication is highly significant in work and workplace environment. Effective communication skill enhances an individual’s power of communication with others. It also increases level of cooperation with other workers in the workplace. Communication which has taken place in a written way must be powerful and lasting. The communication is carried out in both verbal and non-verbal forms (Rosenbaum, “Introduction”). Good communication skill is considered as one of the vital aspects of an individual. Every organization comprehends the value of communication and seeks employees to develop this skill so that they can enhance their level of communication within the workplace. Professional communication skill provides emphasis on work communication as well as cultural diversity. Personal communication emphasizes on messages related to verbal as well as non-verbal forms along with interpersonal skills. Written communication relates to writing effective letters, reports, and emails to others. Group communication is related to working in teams as well as effective meetings (Malone University, “Online Business Communications”). Several barriers that may occur during communicating with others are noise, poor room arrangement, lack of interest and closed mindedness among others. The vital human factor related issue in aircraft maintenance is communication. Communication skills are of much importance for technicians. For an aviation technician, group communications and personal communications are conducted. The job of maintenance technicians is much unsafe as compared to other jobs related to labor force. They spend enough time for preparing a task than performing it. This type of work requires effective communication skill as well as harmonization among the technicians. Verbal communication becomes difficult due to extreme noises (Hoobs, “Unique Human Factor Issues in Aviation Maintenance”). Discrepancies may arise with aircraft, thus it is the duty of aircraft maintenance technician to make comprehensible regarding the possible discrepancies. The technicians are responsible for the maintenance of aircraft and to inform pilots about the discrepancies. A written communication is required while informing the pilots by aircraft maintenance technicians. In certain cases, verbal communication can also be carried out between pilots and technicians regarding the possible discrepancies (Sheehan, J. J., “Business And Corporate Aviation Management: On Demand Air Transportation”). The verbal communication is effective if there is a single pilot and technician. However, the verbal communication is not effective if there are more pilots and technicians, thus under such conditions, written document is required. The discrepancy that is recorded provides entire communication between flight crew and technician. A technician comprehends the discrepancies and the crew members of the flight are described with the status related to discrepancies. A technician inspects each of the aircraft that has been returned in order to discuss inconsistency with the flight crew (Sheehan, J. J., “Business And Corporate Aviation Management: On Demand Air Transportation”). 4.0 Aircraft Mechanics Ethical Values Ethics is entirely based on set of moral as well as ethical values. These values are required to be fixed. The various kinds of ethical values are integrity, responsibility, trust, quality, teamwork and respect. Ethics is considered as an important aspect in airline industry because it provides guidance to the individuals in generating business decisions. The ethical values of aircraft mechanics entail to improve trust in relationship between groups as well as individuals. They also support greater constancy in relation to standard along with qualities of products (Aviation Mechanic Info.com, “Introduction”). The aviation maintenance technicians have to abide by certain code of ethics such as: They are responsible for safety of public They will undertake effective judgment while evaluation of actions and not compel others to risk They must not corrupt the dignity of their profession by not allowing a supervisor to approve the equipments as well as the aircrafts that have not been judged properly (Patankar, M. S. & Et. Al., “Safety Ethics: Cases From Aviation, Healthcare, And Occupational And Environmental Health”) In the domain of aviation maintenance, technicians’ safety is the major priority. The risk that can rise are recognized and controlled effectively by these technicians. They possess great responsibility towards their work and perform with civility. There is a high level of professionalism in their work and they obey the trainings as well as requirements of the performance standard. Their main intention is to keep the workplace environment safe and secure and to provide efficient level of performance in their work. The operations are conducted in such a way that it reduces the disturbance of aircraft occupants and surface people along with other third parties. To maintain the ethical standard of their operations, they involve themselves in regular training so as to keep and enhance their efficiency level (AMTMCC, “Introduction”). Safety education program related to aviation maintenance is organized regularly so that they can take part in it. They always try to be attentive and avoid contentment. If any emergency situation arises, technicians actively deal with the emergencies and effectively work on it. They maintain the entire security as well as property related to every person and the aviation related activities. As they are conscious in each matter, they inform immediately to the crew members if there is a chance of suspicious and illegal activities. The security of aircraft and its related equipments are provided with much importance as it avoids illegal use (AMTMCC, “Introduction”). The maintenance technicians try to lessen the impact of environment in the maintenance of aviation. They attempt to obtain reduction in discharge of fuels, refrigerants, chemicals and oil into the environment at the time of refueling, maintenance and servicing operations. They have a respect for environmentally sensitive locality and try to protect the surroundings. Technicians obey the procedures of noise-abatement application and lessen the noise of aircrafts in the places where there is restriction from noises (AMTMCC, “Introduction”). The aircraft maintenance technicians need to conduct review sessions and to adhere to the handling processes related to risky materials. In terms of other ethical aspects, the technicians have to efficiently utilize suitable technologies, and have to properly identify limitations as well as include the required conventional skills as and when needed. The applicable procedures related to the technology are maintained and serviced properly. They have a huge role for development of technology as regular feedback is provided related to the practical experiences (AMTMCC, “Introduction”). With their ethical perspective, they are involved in maintaining the culture of aviation maintenance so that it can create openness, positive attitude, reliability and modesty among others. Around the entire community of aviation, they are entitled to uphold ethical behavior. The contribution is made towards organization that upholds aviation and utilizes their skill and ability related to aviation maintenance in order to contribute towards the society to a greater extent (AMTMCC, “Introduction”). 5.0 Aircraft Mechanics Decision Making Process The decision making process of an aviation mechanic seems to be persistent and simple as it is related to the aspect of ‘aviation decision making process’. The time limitation, environment and long-term implication are considered as vital differentiators for an aviation mechanic. The decision related to the issues of maintenance activities have implication for several period of time (Contrail Solutions, “The Decision Making Process”). The decision making of maintenance personnel is related to three models and these are: normative, prescriptive as well as descriptive. Normative model in relation to decision making signifies the optimal standard that has been provided for accepting a few axioms. The prescriptive model tries to evade normative models with the help of heuristic methods. The ‘optimal decision-making process’ is not related to prescriptive model. The descriptive model is related to the decision making process that occurs from situation consciousness, mapping openly to response selection (Contrail Solutions, “The Decision Making Process”). The decision making process of aviation maintenance technicians takes place at a higher level. The decision making authority as well as responsibility is involved with the people who perform this type of work. The leadership quality is established within the individuals and they are provided responsibility and authority at every level. The decisions are based on the objective that there must be union between individual and organizational goals (Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, “Role of the Aviation Maintenance Technician”). The decisions are taken by undertaking effective judgment so that they can implement sound decision-making principles. The maintenance technicians always remain concerned so that no defective parts are left non-repaired while repairing the aircrafts and also remain conscious so that the subordinates are refrained from having an influence on them. The decisions regarding the repairing of any aircraft part are taken after analyzing the entire aircraft. The decision making is a very sensitive segment of the aircraft mechanics (AMTMCC, “Introduction”). 6.0 Conclusion With reference to the above discussion, it has been observed that the airline industry is vast and the task of aviation mechanics is complex. The aviation mechanics are highly responsible towards their work. The mechanics are required to maintain and develop communication skill, ethical values and decision-making skill for effective functioning in their operations. The aviation mechanic utilizes effective communication skill for communicating with pilots and crew members. The communication is carried out in both ways, verbal as well as written. The maintenance technicians are more entitled to make decisions and recognize the errors as compared to pilot. The decision making process that is carried out by aviation mechanics in relation to aircraft maintenance is performed effectively. The ethical standards and values that are followed by mechanics of airline industry are essentially related to the maintenance of safety as well as security of aircraft and travelling passengers along with airline personnel. Thus, it can be concluded that an aviation mechanic for their better and consistent performance need to regularly improve their level of standard. As they are related to the safety as well as security of aircraft, therefore their consistency and attentiveness is highly required for maintaining the aircrafts. 7.0 References AMTMCC. “Introduction”. July 05, 2011. Aviation Maintenance Technicians Model Code Of Conduct, No Date. Aviation Mechanic Info.com. “Introduction”. July 05, 2011. Airline Ethics In The Modern Age, 2011. Contrail Solutions. “The Decision Making Process”. July 05, 2011. Decision Making in Maintenance, No Date. Drury, Colin G. “The Need for Human Factors in Maintenance”. July 05, 2011. Human Factors in Aircraft Maintenance, No Date. Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. “Role of the Aviation Maintenance Technician”. July 05, 2011. Maintenance and Inspection, 1990. EVERETT Community College. “Aviation Program Outcomes”. July 05, 2011. Aviation Maintenance Technology, No Date. Hoobs, Alan. “Unique Human factor Issues in Aviation Maintenance”. July 05, 2011. An Overview of Human Factors in Aviation Maintenance, 2008. Malone University. “Online Business Communications”. July 05, 2011. Course Description, No Date. Patankar, Manoj S. & Et. Al. Safety Ethics: Cases From Aviation, Healthcare, And Occupational And Environmental Health Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, 2005. Rosenbaum, Toni. “Introduction”. July 05, 2011. Effective Communication Skills, 2005. Sheehan, John J. Business and Corporate Aviation Management: On Demand Air Transportation McGraw-Hill Professional, 2003. Virgin Atlantic. “Aircraft Mechanic (J.F.K International Airport)”. July 05, 2011. Home, 2011. 8.0 Bibliography Bureau of National Affair. Americans with Disabilities Cases, Volume 13 Bureau of National Affairs, 2002. McDavid, Richard A. & McDavid, Susan E. Career Opportunities in Transportation Infobase Publishing, 2009. Porterfield, Deborah. Construction and Trades Infobase Publishing, 2007. Read More