AROUND TINKER: Tinker man’s doctoral research to enhance aviation safety with risk-based strategies Published May 6, 2016 By Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex Quality Assurance Office TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Advanced degrees are essential for both military and civilian leaders at Tinker AFB to emphasize aviation leadership and executive development. On May 6, Bryan Sheehan, from the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex Quality Assurance Office, will graduate from Oklahoma State University with a Doctor of Education in Applied Educational Studies with the Aviation and Space specialization. He credits this success to his employment opportunities with Daniel McCabe and Joel Williamson, both with OC-ALC/QA, and Jeffery Santiago and Dr. Timm Bliss, OSU professor and doctoral advisor. Mr. Sheehan's dissertation (extensive writing) involved a qualitative study. It examined the phenomenon (occurrence) of enhanced risk-based FAA oversight of Part 145 repair stations that performed aircraft maintenance for the domestic airline industry between 2007 and 2014 in Oklahoma. A Part 145 repair station is also known as a Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul facility that has been certified under the Code of Federal Regulation Part 145. The theory behind the benefits of a certificated Part 145 repair station is the perception that it will perform superior maintenance in comparison to a non-FAA certificated facility. Mr. Sheehan's research specifically explored the operational changes that occurred in the Part 145 repair station industry such as variations in management or hiring practices, training, recordkeeping and technical data, inventory and aircraft parts supply-chain logistics, equipment, and facilities. After interviewing 12 participants who were repair station "accountable managers" or "quality directors" in Oklahoma, six topics emerged from the data: quality of oversight before 2007, quality of oversight after 2007, advantages of oversight, disadvantages of oversight, status quo of oversight, and process improvement. Tinker AFB has a Part 145 repair station, but it was not included in this study. Of the six topics, 17 subtopics appeared from the data that were used to explain the phenomenon of enhanced oversight in the Part 145 repair station industry. Forty-two percent of the participants indicated a weak FAA oversight system that has hindered the continuous process improvement program in their repair stations. Some of them were financially burdened after hiring additional full-time quality assurance inspectors to specifically manage enhanced FAA oversight. Notwithstanding, the participants indicated that the FAA must apply its surveillance on a more standardized and consistent basis. They want to see this standardization in how FAA inspectors interpret regulations and practice the same quality of oversight for all repair stations, particularly those that are repeat violators and fail to comply with federal aviation regulations. They believed that when the FAA enforces standardization on a consistent basis, repair stations can become more efficient and safer in the performance of their scope of work for the U.S. air transportation industry. There were eight recommendations in this study that will help the aviation industry become safer while increasing its organizational efficiency with a robust training and continuous process improvement program. For example, two of Mr. Sheehan's recommendations advocated for a change in the aviation management curriculum taught at academic institutions throughout the United States and the standardization of apprenticeship training programs in the repair station industry.