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By: M. Dreikorn
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What is one of the most
challenging skill sets in the AS&D industry to
maintain?
Growing and sustaining Level III
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Attention FAA IAs
For those who
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of the 2-year endorsement cycle.
Qualification requirements are the same as always, but
you don't need to re-apply until March 31,
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With the average age of an AS&D
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hold on to your workforce?
With all of the
challenges in the AS&D industry regarding the loss
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it?
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The
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| Do you know what's going on at the
European Aviation Safety Agency?
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NASA is targeting May 31 as the launch
date for space shuttle Discovery's STS-124 mission.
STS-124 is the 26th shuttle flight to the International
Space Station and the second of three flights to deliver
components of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration
Agency's Kibo laboratory.
The Japanese
Pressurized Module will be the station's largest science
laboratory, measuring 37 feet long and 14 feet in
diameter, about the size of a large tour bus. The
shuttle also will deliver the lab's robotic arm system
that support operations outside of Kibo. The lab's
logistics module, which was installed in a temporary
location during STS-123 in March, will be attached to
the new lab.
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April 2008
AS&D Quality, Safety and
Regulatory
Newsletter
Your
source for professional connection
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The objective
of this newsletter is to provide perspective to the
Aviation, Space, and Defense (AS&D) industry on
current and relevant quality, safety, and regulatory
matters in our industry.
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In
the AS&D industry we have been discussing the aging
workforce challenges for some time now. But, we don't
always immediately think of the regulators (FAA, JAA,
CAA, DoD, NASA, etc.) as part of that challenge. The fact is,
regulators are part of the industrial work-base and they
are aging at a faster rate than the rest of the AS&D
industry.
For
example, the Flight Standards organization of the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is presently
experiencing significant attrition of its
workforce.
In the next five years, they will lose
approximately 65% of their inspector workforce and 75%
of their managers.
The implications to industry are huge.
Industrial memory will quickly evaporate,
creating gaps in knowing how to get things done
correctly.
Efficiency performance will impact all of
industry.
Calling your friendly inspector for help on a
certification project or compliance question may not
provide the speed or accuracy you are accustomed
to. No
doubt, the vacancies of the regulator-base will need to
be filled.
So, where will the new inspectors and engineers
of the regulators come from?
Frankly,
the AS&D professional talent pool is made up of a
large number of closely located ponds. As opportunities
arise, AS&D professionals will hop from one pond to
another in search of the perfect job. Managers and
quality professionals presently in higher-pressure
for-profit positions may be lured away by the security
and schedule of a government job. Engineers at
manufacturers may be enticed by the certainty of medical
coverage and a guaranteed retirement. Government jobs
may not always be the most glamorous positions in the
industry, but they certainly are
secure.
Change is sometimes good and sometimes
detrimental.
Our challenge is to foresee our workforce challenges and plan for
various contingencies. Here are a few
things to consider:
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Do you know who holds the organizational
and/or process knowledge in your organization?
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Make sure critical knowledge is secured and
transferable.
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Know the potential impact of personnel changes
throughout the value-stream.
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When you receive a new, less experienced
regulator inspector assigned to your operations, does
your organization have the skills to manage the
interaction effectively?
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If you can not count on a speedy response from
the regulator, how would that impact your
business?
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As your organization needs to indoctrinate new
employees, how will you ensure they know how to
perform to expectations?
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Do your organizational systems guide your
people through business processes or do they add
confusion?
Our industry is only as strong as
our people and our people are presently engaged in an
industry-wide migration. Fishing poles
will be the new tool of many of our colleagues, and
others will exchange hats. Let's not underestimate the potential impact of this
migration.
Now is the
time to invest money, time, and effort in securing our
industrial capability for the next generation. Those
organizations that are not prepared will surely not
survive.
Written by: Michael
Dreikorn
The IPL Group, LLC
(The
IPL Group helps organizations deploy sustainable
performance improvement.)
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 The following are news
links relevant to quality, safety, and regulatory
matters in the AS&D industry. These
are events which have been reported in the month
of March 2008. As a professional, it's your
responsibility to remain relevant.
Workforce
 The Federal
Aviation Administration and the National Air Traffic
Controllers Association have signed an agreement to
create an Air Traffic Safety Action Program (ATSAP),
designed to foster a voluntary, cooperative,
non-punitive environment for the open reporting of
safety of flight concerns by employees of the FAA.
The agency that maintains the nation's
nuclear weapons stockpile is undertaking a five-year
project to overhaul pay practices so it will be more
competitive in hiring scientists, engineers and other
professionals.
The ageing population of the European
Union (EU) could result in a stagnation in technological
innovation, according to a new report.
A study suggested that agencies
are increasingly turning to job seekers from outside the
government to fill upper-level jobs.
Regulatory & Safety
Gulfstream Aerospace, a wholly owned
subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), achieved a
significant regulatory milestone this week when the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officially granted
the business-jet manufacturer Organizational Designation
Authorization (ODA) for initial phase manufacturing in
Savannah. Gulfstream is the first aircraft manufacturer
to achieve this authorization level.
Fliers await a bill of
rights (USA)
Last week's ruling - a
federal appeals court struck down a New York state law
requiring that airlines provide basic services to
passengers stuck on tarmacs - shifted attention back to
Congress, which was already considering legislation to
protect travelers from the indignities of long hours in
cabins with stale air, overflowing bathrooms and little
food and water.
Even
as a new runway is coming up at the IGI airport to ease
traffic congestion, the air traffic control (ATC) is
in the process of finalizing a procedure that will
reduce risks of accidents in air even further.
The
Conservatives have called on the European Aviation
Safety Agency to investigate the increasing evidence
that toxic fumes are being pumped into plane cabins
through malfunctioning air conditioning
units.
China
National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corp.
(CATIC) has signed a framework agreement for
strategic cooperation with China Aviation Industry
Corporation I (AVIC I) Commercial Aircraft Co., Ltd. on
the ARJ21's international business.
Capacity for
aviation coverage appears to be increasing, but, as
claims are also on the rise, the outlook for the year
ahead is not one that is easy to predict.
The use of
mobiles phones on planes flying in European airspace has
been approved by Ofcom.
The Federal
Aviation Administration will add a runway version of
traffic signals at 20 busy airports in the next three
and a half years. The signals are part of a program to
keep taxiing airplanes or vehicles from intruding on
runways where other planes are taking off and
landing.
Civil
Aviation
United Air
jets probed for crossed wires after skids (USA)
The National
Transportation Safety Board and officials with United,
the world's second-largest airline, are trying to learn
whether the wiring mistake was made by mechanics or
occurred in manufacturing and then was missed during
testing.
 The Federal Aviation
Administration is investigating a Miami maintenance firm
it says shipped out substandard landing-gear parts used
on hundreds of Boeing Co's wide-body
jetliners.
 Intense
negotiations between officials of the Aircraft Owners
and Pilots Association (AOPA) and the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) have resulted in an end to the long
impasse over user fees on general
aviation.
AC
150/5210-20, Change 1, "Ground Vehicle Operations for
Airports," offers "guidance to airport operators in
developing training programs for safe ground vehicle
operations and pedestrian control on the airside of an
airport," including both movement and non-movement
areas, ramps, and aprons".
In an e-mail
sent to "safety colleagues" at U.S. airlines announcing
the airline audits, Nicholas Sabatini, the FAA's
associate administrator for aviation safety, defended
the FAA's inspection system, called Air Transportation
Oversight System (ATOS), an electronic surveillance
system.
International Civil Aviation
Organisation's 190 member states have agreed that ICAO
may publish the results of the organisation's
universal safety oversight audit programme (USOAP)
revealing standards at their national aviation
authorities. Not all results are flattering, but the
summaries are now transparent and can be viewed by
ordinary travellers.
 The
Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) says it is
concerned about instances of laser beams being pointed
at planes.
Boeing Co.,
moving to address nagging supply-chain production delays
that have impeded introduction of its new 787
Dreamliner, has disclosed that it is buying out one
of two partners in an underperforming joint venture that
assembles elements of the aircraft's
fuselage.
The aviation
regulator wanted to inspect PIA's fleet of B-737
aircraft after a fault was encountered in one of the
airplanes, but was not permitted to do so by higher
authorities. "CAA wanted to ground and check all seven
(B-737) aircraft at the same time," said an official who
is involved in the matter. "Obviously this was not
something acceptable to PIA, as it would have worsened
an already bad financial position."
The Civil
Aviation Authority (CAA) has decided to increase the
bank guarantee for new airline operators so that they
can provide better facilities to travelers
 The National Transportation Safety Board is
investigating an incident in which a panel fell off a
wing on a US Airways Group Inc. flight to Philadelphia
from Orlando, Fla.
Acting as a
lone employee, Eastman wanted to force The Boeing Co.
and the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure that
new airplanes are fully inspected before taking
flight.
The Federal
Aviation Administration wraps up the first stage of a
sweeping inquiry into the way the nation's carriers are
maintaining their older
aircraft.
Maritime
The
International Maritime Employers' Committee has launched
a series of initiatives aimed at raising both the volume
and quality of maritime education in Asia.
The draft of
the Navy's environmental impact study for the
possibility of homeporting additional ships at Naval
Station Mayport indicates no unmanageable impacts
associated with stationing a nuclear-powered aircraft
carrier, as well as other ships, at
Mayport.
The
nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis
returned to Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton after
five days of sea trials following six months in dry
dock.
The U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that
California's "Marine Vessel Rules," limiting emissions
from the auxiliary diesel engines of ocean-going vessels
within 24 miles of California's coast, are preempted by
the federal Clean Air Act.
Defense
Japan
Coast Guard takes delivery of its first three AW139
helicopters (Japan)
 The
AW139s will be deployed at Japan Coast Guard bases
throughout Japan and used to perform maritime search and
rescue and patrol missions. These helicopters are
equipped for all-weather, day/night and ship-based
operations, with a comprehensive mission equipment
package that includes a rescue hoist, high definition
FLIR, communications and navigation equipment package.
A spat
between Russia and Algeria over fighter jets has given
the West a chance to open up a new market and shows the
challenge facing Russian arms sales to developing
countries as they grow more prosperous.
 The drivers training program at
IASSI is part of the U.S. Army's humvee fielding
initiative, where the U.S. plans to transfer 8,500
humvees to Iraqi Security Forces in the next two
years.
Space
Aerospace sector
welcomes the creation of an Advisory Committee on the
Canadian Space Agency (Canada)
"The ability of Canadian
companies to remain important contributors in
attaining
these outcomes will be directly and heavily
influenced by the role that the CSA takes to help
sustain their world-class capabilities and in their
creating additional ones".
NASA shut
down a massive air-safety survey project without ever
properly evaluating, explaining or publicizing its
purpose and results, and thus lost a chance for valuable
insight into safety issues, the space agency's inspector
general said Monday.
 In order to
assure Canada's place as a leading space-faring nation
and to take full advantage of the potential of the
International Space Station, the Government of Canada is
taking steps to strengthen and renew its Canadian
Astronaut Corps.
One more
player in the space tourism game
(USA)
 Xcor Aerospace, a company from
California that has been developing rocket engines for
the past nine years, announced its intention to join the
space tourism competition. The plan is to have their
mini-spacecraft, called Lynx, up and running by 2010.
UAV
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AS&D
Events
The
following is a listing of upcoming events relevant to
the AS&D industry.
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This newsletter is brought to you by The IPL Group,
LLC. We hope you find the content informative and
useful. If there are other features of this
newsletter that you would like to see, let us
know. The power of our industry is not solely
driven by mechanical means, it is our intellectual base
which brings innovation and strength.
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In
retaliation for US plans to station interceptors and
radars in Eastern Europe, which Russia says could
threaten its security, Kremlin is allegedly said to
explore more far-reaching options to dissuade Pentagon
from its intention.
Miami police could soon be the
first in the United States to use cutting-edge,
spy-in-the-sky technology to beef up their fight against
crime. 
In
Britain, Merseyside police will be the first force to
test its own drone in June. The mini-helicopter will be
used mainly to gather evidence that could be used by the
force's anti-social behaviour unit.
ASQ World
Conference on Quality and Improvement - Houston, Texas,
USA - May 5 - 7, 2008