Maintenance resource management

Maintenance resource management (also known by its acronym, MRM; hereinafter, MRM) is a human-error-reduction strategy, process, team-based behavior and/or training framework for improving communication, effectiveness and safety in aviation maintenance operations.

Philosophy

Both the maintenance and flight operations should be understood as systems. An understanding of the systemic nature of operations is vital to understanding how one's individual actions affect the whole organization. A person who understands the big picture is more apt to think things through before acting.

MRM vs CRM

Although MRM was initially developed as an aircraft maintenance variant of crew resource management (CRM), these two studies vary significantly and may be considered the opposite in several areas.

Indeed, the philosophy including concepts and approaches of MRM is based on the philosophy of CRM, but with emphasis on how maintenance operations differ from flight operations. Maintenance systems tend to be more complicated than flight systems and safety nets are far more complicated in the maintenance than in flights.

In comparison with flight operations, the work environment of maintenance personnel encompasses:

1. A greater variety of tasks in more varied settings with a greater number of people.
2. A possibility of more sophisticated human errors, most of which lead to latent failures and not to active failures. Many human errors in airplane maintenance are hidden until the tragedy happens. At the same token, actions of the aircraft crew are validated immediately by the plane behavior.
3. More time room to make decisions. Maintenance personnel is not as restrained by urgency of actions as their crew colleagues.

Because of those differences, MRM more than CRM is oriented on organization's safety culture and less on promptness of decision-making that CRM promotes. The promulgation of a good, pervasive safety culture is at the core of MRM's basic philosophy.

Areas of operations

MRM is concerned about four areas of operations:

• Equipment design and manufacture;
• Manufacturers' documentation and procedure writing;
• Airline procedures and work areas;
• Airplane mechanic training and performance.

Contributing disciplines

Three disciplines are believed to be contributing to MRM the most:

1. Human factors. The scientific study of interactions between people and other entities that form one system, as well as influence of human properties on those interactions.
2. Ergonomics.
3. Safety culture.

Training

The overall goal of MRM training 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. The FAA AC 120-72 provides guidelines for that training.

Concentrations

MRM training concentrates on three issues:

1. How the effects of individual actions ripple throughout organizations.
2. How to utilize available resources safely and effectively.
3. How to propagate a positive culture of safety in the organizations through specific, individual actions.

Components

MRM training is comprised of three components:

1. Initial indoctrination/awareness.
2. Recurrent practice and feedback.
3. Continual reinforcement.

Related coursework

• Vaughn College AAM490.

See also

• http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/0/3e5ec461ecf6f5e886256b4300703ad1/$FILE/AC%20120-72.pdf