Use a Tested Approach for Risk Management and Safety Enhancement: Maintenance Line Operations Safety Assessment (M-LOSA)

Abstract

Managing risks has become increasingly important in modern organizations. The aviation industry is maturing in its preference for proactive intervention over post-accident remediation in potentially hazardous circumstances (Jones & Tesmer, 1999). Line Operations Safety Audits (LOSA) collects safety data during normal airline operations through peer observations in strict non-jeopardy conditions. Sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a multi-year project was launched in October 2008 to capitalize on the successes of flight deck LOSA and extend it to aviation maintenance operations. The project delivered an array of open source tools, including observation data collection forms, procedures, implementation guideline, scenario-based training, and database. The Maintenance LOSA program is expected to positively leverage peer pressure to enforce behavior change and allow subunits of an organization to build in some flexibility to address their key problems and conquer them one at a time. The periodic assessment can help ensure that specific problems identified have been resolved, as well as assure the effectiveness of safety recommendations. The results of the understanding of the benefits and limitations of a threat and error recognition model will also benefit risk mitigation in other high-consequence industries.