MAINTENANCE High-Quality Manuals: A How-To A s a former regulator, it should go without saying that I feel strongly about high-quality manuals. My first FAA job was as an airworthi- ness inspector where I was to read and follow the man- ual. To the letter. My last post before leaving the FAA in 2011 was running a division that oversaw maintenance rules and policies and made sure they were all captured in the manual—notably the Airworthiness Inspector’s Handbook (8300.10). Whether they are dog-eared printed manuals or digitized and read from an electronic tablet, high-quality manuals are essential. I am not a one-person cheering squad for accurate and clear technical documentation. Here’s how a major South African company—Sigma Logistic Solutions—puts it: “In an increasingly complex world, where equipment is becoming more and more high-tech, the importance of the safe and correct opera- tion of equipment, and the implementation of cost- effective maintenance to ensure reliability, are of critical importance.”1 That’s really good. But here’s the part where they address manuals: “…technical manuals should not be viewed as a ‘necessary evil’ or something to be ‘thrown together’ at the last minute but should rather be seen as an essential part of the design, manufacturing, and sup- port process. Top quality products should have top qual- ity manuals, and those manuals should form an integral part of the product throughout its entire life cycle.” Top quality products should have top quality manuals. And, I would add that top quality manuals, and the pro- fessionals who write them, are unsung heroes of aviation safety. The consequences of poor technical and operations manuals can be costly—to lives, operational efficiencies, time, and equipment, and can lead to a loss of reputation. And, of course, inadequate manuals can also get operators 1 https://defenceweb.co.za/office/SigmaLogistics/ PressRelease.php?StoryID=86951 30 By Carol E. Giles and maintenance and repair organizations into trouble with the regulator. I now know this from the stakeholder perspective. My firm is working with the FAA, and, as I write this, we are revising a technical manual. In my years in military, commercial, and general avia- tion, I have seen a lot. My time at both the workbench and the policy table taught me the paramount impor- tance of what I have called the ABCs of maintenance manuals. Manuals must be accurate, balanced, and clear. A ccurate The accuracy of maintenance manuals is extremely important and can limit maintenance errors. A study2 by NASA Researcher Barbara Kanki and her colleagues found that procedural errors, defined as any informa- tion-related error involving documents, were implicated in 44-73 percent of maintenance errors, with incomplete and incorrect documents having the highest ranking. Accuracy also means making the manual your own. I tell operators that the old saying, “write what you do and do what you write,” is true when it comes to manu- als. Many operators purchase off-the-shelf manuals and make half-hearted attempts to make them their own. I have seen published manuals that still contain the line “Insert Company Name.” Ownership of processes that go into an operator’s manual is a must. Further, processes, like a good suit, must be a custom fit. B alanced Having accurate information in a manual is key, but also having a “right-sized” or balanced manual is impera- tive, especially for maintenance manuals. How little is too little and how much is too much? It is essential for 2 https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/maintenance_hf/library/ documents/media/roi/failure_to_follow_procedures_deviations_ are_a_significant_factor_in_maintenance_errors.pdf Aviation Business Journal | Winter 2019/2020
