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. MRM is an aircraft maintenance variant of crew resource management (CRM).
Philosophy
The philosophy of MRM is based on the philosophy of CRM with emphasis on how maintenance operations differ from flight operations. In comparison with flight operations, the work environment of maintenance personnel encompasses a greater variety of tasks in more varied settings with a greater number of people. Because of those differences, MRM more thoroughly studies organization's safety culture. The promulgation of a good, pervasive safety culture is at the core of MRM's basic philosophy.
Training
MRM training concentrates on three issues:
- How the effects of individual actions ripple throughout organizations.
- How to utilize available resources safely and effectively.
- How to propagate a positive culture of safety in the organizations through specific, individual actions.
Glossary
According to Maintenance Resource Management Training FAA Advisory Circular,
- Active failure. A type of human error whose effects are felt immediately in a system.
- 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.
- 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.
- Authoritarian leader. A person who dictates the action and the course of a team with little input from team members.
- Communication. The process of exchanging information from one party to another.
- Complacency. Satisfaction with a situation to the extent that a degradation of vigilance occurs.
- Crew resource management. Team-based human factors training for flight crews.
- Dirty Dozen (Human Factors 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
- Egalitarian. Relating to the doctrine of equal political, economic, and legal rights for all human beings.
- Ergonomics. The applied science having the objective of adapting work or working conditions to enhance performance of the worker.
- Human factors. The scientific study of the interaction between people and machines.
- Inter-team. Occurring between separate teams.
- Intra-team. Occurring within a team.
- Instructional systems design. A generic term for the methodology of creating and implementing a training program.
- Latent failure. A type of human error whose effects may lie dormant until triggered later, usually by other factors.
- Leadership. The ability to direct and coordinate the activities of group members and stimulate them to work together as a team.
- MGM. A general process for maintaining an effective level of communication and safety in maintenance operations.
- 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.
- Norms. Expected, yet implicit rules of behavior that dictate a person's dress, speech, and basic interaction.
- Participatory leader. A person who encourages member participation and input to help lead the team's course of action.
- Safety culture. A pervasive, organization-wide attitude placing safety as the primary priority driving the way employees perform their work.
- 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.
- Stressor. An event or object that causes stress in an individual.
- 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.
- Team. A group of interdependent individuals working together to complete a specific task.
- Team situational awareness. Maintaining a collective awareness across the entire team of important job-related conditions.
- 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
- CRM. Crew resource management
- HF. Human factors
- ICAO. International Civil Aviation Organization
- ISD. Instructional systems design
- MRM.
- SOP. Standard operating procedure(s)
