FAA AC 120-72

The FAA AC 120-72 (hereinafter, AC) is the advisory circular (AC) number 120-72 of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Its subject is maintenance resource management training.

Content

Purpose

1. This advisory circular (AC) presents guidelines for developing, implementing, reinforcing, and assessing Maintenance Resource Management (MRM) training programs for improving communication, effectiveness, and safety in maintenance operations. These programs are designed to become an integral part of training and maintenance operations.
2. This AC presents one method, but not necessarily the only method, to address MRM training. MRM training focuses on situational awareness, communication skills, teamwork, task allocation, and decision making.

Related regulations

Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; Sections 121.375 and 135.433.

Definitions

1. Active failure. A type of human error whose effects are felt immediately in a system.
2. Assertiveness. The ability to verbalize a series of “rights” that belong to every employee. Some of these “rights” include: the right to say no, the right to express feelings and ideas, and the right to ask for information.
3. Asynchronous communication. Communication in which there exists a time delay between responses. Asynchronous communication is typified by a unique set of characteristics, such as the lack of non-verbal communication cues (e.g., body language, verbal inflection, etc.). Examples of asynchronous communication include an e-mail message sent from the day supervisor to the night supervisor or memos left between shifts or passed between a shop and the hanger.
4. Authoritarian leader. A person who dictates the action and the course of a team with little input from team members.
5. Communication. The process of exchanging information from one party to another.
6. Complacency. Satisfaction with a situation to the extent that a degradation of vigilance occurs.
7. Crew resource management. Team-based human factors training for flight crews.
8. Dirty Dozen. The twelve most common maintenance-related causes of errors. These twelve causes are: (a) lack of communication, (b) complacency. (c) lack of knowledge, (d) distraction, (e) lack of teamwork, (f) fatigue, (g) lack of resources, (h) pressure, (i) lack of assertiveness, (j) stress, (k) lack of awareness, (l) norms
9. Egalitarian. Relating to the doctrine of equal political, economic, and legal rights for all human beings.
10. Ergonomics. The scientific discipline of studying interactions between humans and non-human systems, including human-computer interaction (HCI), in order to adapt work or working conditions to enhance performance of the worker. Ergonomics can be considered as a part of human factors, which studies influence of human features on interactions with both non-human systems and human beings. When applied to design, the study of ergonomics seeks to optimize both human well-being and system performance.
11. Inter-team. Occurring between separate teams.
12. Intra-team. Occurring within a team.
13. Instructional systems design. A generic term for the methodology of creating and implementing a training program.
14. Human factors. The scientific study of the interaction between people and machines.
15. Latent failure. A type of human error whose effects may lie dormant until triggered later, usually by other factors.
16. Leadership. The ability to direct and coordinate the activities of group members and stimulate them to work together as a team.
17. Maintenance resource management. A general process for maintaining an effective level of communication and safety in maintenance operations.
18. Mental model. A depiction of a system in a person's mind, i.e. how a person thinks a system is put together and how it works.
19. Norms. Expected, yet implicit rules of behavior that dictate a person's dress, speech, and basic interaction.
20. Participatory leader. A person who encourages member participation and input to help lead the team's course of action.
21. Safety culture. A pervasive, organization-wide attitude placing safety as the primary priority driving the way employees perform their work.
22. Situational awareness. Maintaining a complete mental picture of surrounding objects and events as well as the ability to interpret those events for future use. Situational awareness encompasses such concepts as attention, and vigilance.
23. Stressor. An event or object that causes stress in an individual.
24. Synchronous communication. Communication in which a minimal delay exists between the message being sent and the message being received. Examples include face-to-face conversation and communication via radio.
25. Team. A group of interdependent individuals working together to complete a specific task.
26. Team situational awareness. Maintaining a collective awareness across the entire team of important job-related conditions.
27. Teamwork. Joint action by a group of people, in which each person subordinates his individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group.

Acronyms

1. CRM. Crew resource management
2. HF. Ergonomics (human factors)
3. ICAO. International Civil Aviation Organization
4. ISD. Instructional systems design
5. MRM. Maintenance resource management
6. SOP. Standard operating procedure(s)

Related material

This section lists materials related to crew resource management, human factors, training, and ICAO documents.

Background

1. Though crew resource management (CRM) on the flight deck is a topic of regular discussion, relatively little attention has been paid to its maintenance-related counterpart, maintenance resource management (MRM). Indeed, this inattentiveness is understandable. Whereas a pilot or pilots’ errors can have immediate and highly visible effects, the same can not necessarily be said of a maintenance-based error. Because of this, aviation research into team activities first grew from investigations into aircrew behaviors. This evolution is apparent whenever encountering references to crew resource management.
2. The aviation community has expanded its approach to reducing human error. Human factors programs now encompass not just the flight crew, but all aspects of aviation in which a human may be involved. This activity includes such areas as aircraft design and operation, air traffic control, and, of course, aircraft maintenance.

Objectives

1. This AC provides background information on Maintenance Resource Management. Maintenance Resource Management (MRM) is a general process for improving communication, effectiveness and safety in aircraft maintenance operations. Attention will be given specifically to the implementation and evaluation of MRM training. Much as crew resource management (CRM) was created to address safety and teamwork issues in the cockpit, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in conjunction with industry partners, developed MRM to address teamwork deficiencies within the aviation maintenance environment.
2. MRM is a team-based safety behavior. It teaches managers and maintenance personnel skills that enable them to work safely in a complex system. MRM teaches more than just team skills; it teaches and reinforces an organizational philosophy in which all members of the organization are oriented toward error-free performance. This is accomplished by teaching:
   • How the effects of individual actions ripple throughout organizations,
   • How to utilize available resources safely and effectively, and
   • How to propagate a positive culture of safety in the organizations through specific, individual actions.
3. The overall goal of MRM is to integrate the technical skills of maintenance personnel with interpersonal skills and basic human factors knowledge in order to improve communication effectiveness and safety in aircraft maintenance operations.

Philosophy of MRM

This section discusses the overall concept behind MRM, as well as human errors and safety culture.

MRM concepts

This section overviews human factors knowledge, communication skills, team skills,norms, employee health, employee safety, complacency, fatigue, situational awareness, and leadership.

Sample, implementation and summary

According to AC, the behaviors and skills described in MRM concepts are what comprise a typical MRM course. AC contains a sample course, recommendations for training implementation and the summary. AC clarifies that,

The organization developing the MRM course should tailor the course to fit the particular organization.