Considering the Challenges of Developing a MTOE within an EASA Part 147

The Maintenance Training Organisation Exposition (MTOE) defines the organisation and procedures upon which the EASA Part 147 Organisation approval is based. The MTOE must be constructed in such a way that through the document the organisation is able to demonstrate full compliance with all regulatory requirements.
 
Consider that the purpose of the MTOE is actually two fold:
 
a) To demonstrate full compliance with the regulatory environment 
b) To describe the most efficient process to enable the organisation to operate in an effective way.
 
Also to consider that the Accountable Manager is responsible for the overall operation of the Maintenance Training Organisation and considering he has the necessary power to maintain adequate facilities, equipment, materials, technical data and qualified personnel as necessary, pertinent to the operation of the Maintenance Training Organisation. It is important that the contents of the MTOE are fully understood and accepted by the AM.

As we look in more detail at the process we will see that the competence of the person responsible to assemble the MTOE must be at a sufficient level of awareness including the regulatory obligations and how to structure the documentation.
 
As well as identifying the Organisational Roles and Responsibilities, the MTOE Describes the Procedures to be followed by the Quality Management System to show full compliance. (As a general rule The Responsible Person must sign off on the procedure.)
 
The Basic Training Procedures and Quality System Procedures are typically the responsibility of different persons so this also needs to be taken into consideration by the person who is assembling and preparing the MTOE.
 
As has already been mentioned ownership of the procedure is very important, as any discrepancy noted during quality assurance audits of the procedures will be the responsibility of the business area owner and ultimately the post holder to rectify.
 
So before the procedures are written the fundamental functionality should be understood and agreed the use of Flowcharts within or supplemental to a procedure provides significant benefits particularly in the development of process documentation.
 
Benefits include the ability to demonstrate regulatory compliance as well as supporting the Quality Control/Quality Assurance Process.
 
A well-crafted flowchart is visually stimulating and easy to understand. In addition it will gain and maintain the reader's attention in a way that pure text alone is not able to do. (However even before moving to the design phase a basic understanding of how the system element is intended to function is worthwhile so that the appropriate actions are taken to maximise the efficiency of the process.)

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