AMC1 145.A.30(e) Personnel requirements    

CAA ORS9 Decision No. 38

COMPETENCY ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES

The procedure referred to in 145.A.30(e) should require amongst others that planners, mechanics, specialised services staff, supervisors, certifying staff and support staff, whether employed or contracted, are assessed for competency before unsupervised work commences and competency is controlled on a continuous basis.

Competency should be assessed by the evaluation of:

— on-the-job performance and/or testing of knowledge by appropriately qualified personnel, and

— records for basic, organisational, or tasks training and/or product type and differences training, and

— experience records.

Validation of the above could include a confirmation check with the organisation(s) that issued the document(s). For that purpose, experience/training may be recorded in a document such as a log book, or based on the suggested template in GM3 145.A.30(e).

As a result of this assessment, an individual’s qualifications should determine:

— the scope of tasks this individual is authorised to perform and/or supervise and/or sign off (as applicable) or which level of ongoing supervision would be required;

— whether there is a need for additional training.

A record should be kept of each individual’s qualifications and competency assessment. This includes training and experience of the personnel involved in maintenance, compliance monitoring and safety management. This should include copies of all documents that attest to their qualifications, such as a licence and/or any authorisation held, as applicable.

For a proper competency assessment of its personnel, the organisation should consider that:

1. In accordance with the job function, adequate initial and recurrent training has been received by the staff and recorded to ensure continued competency so that it is maintained throughout the duration of the employment/contract.

2. All staff should be able to demonstrate knowledge of, and compliance with, the maintenance organisation’s procedures, as applicable to their duties.

3. All staff should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the safety management principles, including human factors related to their job function, and be trained as per AMC4 145.A.30(e).

4. To assist in the assessment of competency and to establish the training needs analysis, job descriptions are recommended for each job function in the organisation. Job descriptions should contain sufficient criteria to enable the required competency assessment.

5. Criteria should allow the assessment to establish that, among other aspects (titles might be different in each organisation):

— Managers are able to properly manage the work output, processes, resources and priorities described in their assigned duties, accountabilities and responsibilities in accordance with the safety policy and objectives and in compliance with the applicable requirements.

— Planners are able to interpret maintenance requirements into maintenance tasks, and have an understanding that they have no authority to deviate from the maintenance data. They are able to organise maintenance activities in an effective manner and in consideration of human performance limitations.

— Supervisors are able to ensure that all the required maintenance tasks are carried out and, if they are not completed or it is evident that a particular maintenance task cannot be carried out according to the maintenance data, that these problems will be adequately addressed to eliminate the non-compliance, and reported through the internal safety reporting scheme to prevent their reoccurrence. In addition, for those supervisors who also carry out maintenance tasks, the assessment should ensure that they understand that such tasks should not be undertaken if they are incompatible with their management responsibilities.

— Mechanics are able to carry out maintenance tasks to any standard specified in the maintenance data, and will notify their supervisors of any defects or mistakes requiring rectification to re-establish the required maintenance standards.

— Specialised services staff are able to carry out specialised maintenance tasks to the standard specified in the maintenance data. They should be able to communicate with their supervisors and report accurately when necessary.

— Support staff are able to determine that the relevant tasks or inspections have been carried out to the required standard.

— Certifying staff are able to determine when the aircraft or aircraft component maintenance is ready to be released to service and when it should not be released to service.

— Compliance monitoring staff are able to monitor compliance with this Regulation and to identify non-compliances in an effective and timely manner so that the organisation may remain in compliance with this Regulation.

— Staff who have safety management responsibilities are familiar with the relevant processes in terms of hazard identification, risk management, and the monitoring of safety performance.

— All staff are familiar with the safety policy and the procedures and tools that can be used for internal safety reporting.

The competency assessment should be based upon the procedure specified in GM2 145.A.30(e).