SofemaOnline considers the role of Six Sigma in Aircraft OPS & Maintenance

General Terms

Total Quality Management (TQM)

TQM is a comprehensive set of management practices and tools with the primary focus on meeting or exceeding customer requirements. The emphasis is on process measurement and controls that seek to involve all employees in process improvement.

ISO 9000

ISO 9000 is a set of standards intended to organize for producing high-quality goods.

Each company that is certified as ISO 9000 is required to ensure they remain compliant with a set of quality standards.

A discussion paper by Steve Bentley MD of SAS (www.sassofia.com)

So what is the Fundamental Mistake?

Essentially it is to "believe" that there is a similarity between ISO & EASA – there is not! Sure, Quality is Quality but make no mistake – EASA is all about compliance.

Even the Quality Assurance Manager has received a name change "makeover" He or She, is now called the Compliance Manager (CM).

What Does EASA Expect?

There are actually two expectations: