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A reliability program establishes
the standards for determining the "proper" time limitations
or intervals between overhauls, inspections, and checks
of airframes, engines, propellers, appliances and emergency
equipment. Specific guidance on reliability program elements
can be found in FAA Advisory Circular 120-17 ("Maintenance
Program Management Through Reliability Methods"), the
aircraft manufacturer's maintenance program planning document,
and/or the Airline Transport Association's publications
on MSG-2/3.
To thrive in a deregulated and highly competitive
operating environment where only the strongest survive,
an operator must be able to optimize the three most-important
elements of any flying business -- safety, quality and
performance. A reliability program equips an operator
with the capacity for making informed and meaningful decisions
as they relate to these elements because it generates
the must-have information (we call it "intelligence")
needed for continuous improvement. Without the intelligence
that only a reliability program can provide, the operator's
flying operation will remain static, a situation that
nearly always leads to failure. |
