Can FAA Production Oversight Be Improved?

Section 314 of the FAA Reauthorization Act requires the FAA to examine its production oversight, including the risk-based decision making approach to allocation of manpower to facility oversight.  This affects the oversight decisions made by FAA Certificate Management Sections (previously known as MIDOs).

This is a potential opportunity to influence the system for FAA audits of our members. If you have any idea about how to make the system better, or how to increase the safety focus of the system, then now is the time to start talking about those ideas.

The FAA’s examination is supposed to include a focus on how the FAA will handle instances of increased production. This could lead to additional limits on production (to ensure that increased production does not cause issues) or additional reporting requirements (so the FAA can track production increases and adjust oversight. accordingly).

MARPA is asking interested members to answer these questions:

• Do any of you have any feelings about how we should influence this effort? 
• What elements of the current FAA production oversight system do you think are working well?
• Are there elements of the FAA’s current risk-based decision making approach to allocation of manpower to facility oversight that you would like to see changed?  What changes would you like to see?
• What changes should be avoided because they could lead to decreased safety?

The language of the FAA Reauthorization Act provision is repeated below, for your convenience:

SEC. 314. Risk model for production facility inspections.

(a) In general.—Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and periodically thereafter, the Administrator shall—

(1) conduct a review of the risk-based model used by certification management offices of the FAA to inform the frequency of aircraft manufacturing or production facility inspections; and

(2) update the model to ensure such model adequately accounts for risk at facilities during periods of increased production.

(b) Briefings.—Not later than 60 days after the date on which the review is completed under subsection (a), the Administrator shall brief the appropriate committees of Congress on—

(1) the results of the review;

(2) any changes made to the risk-based model described in subsection (a); and

(3) how such changes would help improve the in-plant inspection process.