Over the years, I have been involved in maintaining aircraft. I have personally experienced some pretty alarming situations that had, and/or could have had, disastrous consequences.
A supervisor who was working for me once came to me holding a torque wrench that had previously been capable of torquing the mast nut on a Bell 206 (you know the one!). It’s fairly skookum, but this one looked like someone had turned it into a bow! I asked what happened. Apparently, the apprentice given the task of torquing the nut didn’t know their own strength and ended up bending the wrench. I’m still in shock over how much strength it would have taken to accomplish this.
Given the propensity for this kind of occurrence, and the time constraints that make it impossible to be on hand for every required task, it is common for production-oriented people to adopt the attitude of, “I can do it faster and better myself.”
Let’s face it, someone, at one time or another, took the necessary steps to train all of us. It wasn’t necessarily in their job description, but the long-term benefits to the individual, the team, the company, and the industry overall far outweigh the short-term effort.
I’m sure most aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs) and airframe and powerplant mechanics (A&Ps) have recognized the differences in experience levels, knowledge, and skills between licensed AMEs and apprentices. These differences, as we all know, range from extreme (in the case of an inexperienced apprentice) to virtually nonexistent (in the case of a highly experienced apprentice).
It is our responsibility as AMEs and A&Ps to ensure that the apprentices within our sphere of influence are given the appropriate level of supervision based on their experience.
As supervisors, there are legal requirements (in Canada), as identified within provincial WorkSafe documentation, which include (but are not limited to) the following:
Supervisors under WorkSafe regulations are legally responsible for ensuring worker safety by directing work, providing instruction, and identifying hazards. Key requirements include ensuring competency, enforcing safety procedures and PPE use, educating workers on risks, and cooperating with health and safety committees.
I’ve put together a checklist as a guide to help ensure that when we assign a task, we provide each individual (not just apprentices) with the appropriate level of information and supervision.
Also, as supervisors, we must ensure that when the situation warrants it, we keep a close eye on less experienced apprentices in order to prevent damage, issues, injuries — or worse.
Supervisory Check List
Aircraft Maintenance Apprentice Level (Experienced / Inexperienced )
With over 45 years of experience as an aircraft maintenance engineer, Terrence D. Eissfeldt holds a current Transport Canada license with M1 and M2 certification. His previous positions include director of maintenance, quality assurance manager, chief executive officer, and accountable executive.
