COST OF POOR QUALITY IN AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE PAKISTAN AIR FORCE

Abstract

Maintenance of any kind performed on a system is a consequence of the fact that systems (or components) deteriorate and fail. Any product or system that has maintenance directions or procedures has an implicit statement that there is a non-zero probability that the system could at some point operate outside its specified parameters. Failure to perform maintenance to maintain the dependability of a system can have effects ranging from benign to catastrophic. Developing effective maintenance procedures can be at worst a circular process ---- procedures cannot be tested unless something deteriorates or fails. Accelerated stress testing can be used to induce failures, but there is no guarantee that all failures that should be covered in a maintenance plan will be exposed. Also, maintenance procedures are generally not extensively tested until a product has been deployed (and then, properly performed maintenance can be critical). Maintenance has close ties to a variety of other topics relevant to dependable embedded systems design. Dependability is the most obvious tie, because without maintenance, dependability declines. System life cycle is closely related, because maintenance is an important part of the lifetime of a system. Human factors are also important because human error during maintenance can cause further problems. Additionally, diagnosis is used to tell what's wrong with a system, or what needs maintenance. Other factors that are related to these topics include project budget, time-to-market and quality. We often hear about how much it costs to buy any particular model of plane, but people often underestimate just how expensive it is to operate and maintain aircraft. Not only do you have to consider the direct costs of flying the plane (pilot pay, fuel, and other consumables), but also the costs of pilot training, the costs of parts and labor to perform routine maintenance, the costs of training ground crew to perform that maintenance, the costs of obtaining and maintaining support equipment needed to service the planes, and the costs of the facilities needed to iv perform this service and maintenance. We often lump all these factors together into the "life-cycle cost" of an airplane. As aircraft have become increasingly complex, the life-cycle costs associated with maintaining sophisticated equipment and training crew to operate and service that equipment have grown substantially. For this reason, we see a trend in militaries around the world to standardize on as few types of aircraft as possible. By operating only a couple of types of planes, a military can consolidate it’s training and servicing activities thereby minimizing the amount of money needed for aircraft operations and maintenance. In the same context of maintenance of aircraft and quality of work, this paper emphasize upon the cost of poor quality in maintenance. The thesis includes the existing process of Quality Control system and Quality Assurance, followed by the shortcomings in the process, inspections and procedures of aircraft maintenance. The scope of the thesis is to carryout an in-depth analysis of rejection rate in process, procedures, process of rework, inspections and also to highlight the effects in terms of cost of poor quality and failures. These failures may be due to material failure, human factor, training lapses, and experience levels or in implementation of the quality program, it enhances an additional cost in maintaining quality. The thesis also highlights that the concept of Quality Control and Quality Assurance which need further enhancement towards Total Quality Management. The recommendations suggests for a gradual change in Quality Management style to TQM at all levels. To achieve this there is a need to educate the PAF personnel, update it processes, procedures and train its manpower to reduce the rework and cost.