Impact of Human Factors on Airline Overall Maintenance Effectiveness: an Analysis of Major Aircraft Operators in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Skill based error and mistakes form a significant part of the effect of aviation human factors as far as maintenance is concerned. Many air and ground incidents have been traced back to have occurred due to lapses that occurred during handling and maintenance of aircraft, which resulted in such human errors. Proper identification of the possibility of such mistakes and errors to occur in a given maintenance environment and finding steps to mitigate the same is crucial in order to increase the effectiveness of the airline’s maintenance programme. This research focused on the maintenance environments of two of Sri Lanka’s leading aircraft operators. For diversity, a civil and military maintenance organization was selected. Information was gathered by means of structured questionnaire and existing records of aircraft related incidents and occurrences. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of data was conducted. Quantitative analysis was done using SPSS software and comparisons were made between different indicators such workplace design, fatigue, routine violations etc. It was found that mistakes amount to a higher percentage of errors caused, whilst skill-based errors have a significant contribution as well. Identification of the probable causes and prevailing condition of human factor contributions to maintenance effectiveness will provide insight to the respective organization to find better solutions to overcome existing shortcomings.