Comment by Steve Bentley – CEO of Sofema Aviation Services (SAS) www.sassofia.com – Your Aviation Regulatory Training Provider

Introduction

We are asked this question with regularity (unfortunately) – Is Sofema Aviation Services / SofemaOnline Approved by EASA to Deliver Regulatory Training?

Why unfortunately? – Because often the person asking is a Compliance or Safety Manager or even a Nominated Post Holder operating within the European Union and working for an Operator, or AMO / CAMO or an Airport or an Approved Training Organisation (ATO) or Maintenance Training Organisation (MTO).

Steven Bentley CEO of Sofema Aviation Services www.sassofia.com and SofemaOnline www.sofemaonline.com is pleased to provide guidance on completing the online exams.

We Want you to Win!

From our data we know that 1 or 2 persons in 100 give up, but that is 1 or 2 too many – we do not want anyone to give up!

We deliberately allow 4 months to access the material because it is not a race and we want you to pass!

The whole point of the training course is to focus your attention and to draw you into the whole picture.

Introduction

Aviation Maintenance Error is not only insidious but it also has the potential to lead to incidents and accidents.

Senior Management including the Executive Leadership Team as well as Line Managers should understand the key principles of error management. To ensure a positive learning culture together with the ability to drive change which will minimise exposure and prevent reoccurrence.

Considering the role of Maintenance Error Decision Aid (MEDA) within the context of an effective Maintenance Error Management System Process.

An Effective MEMS system not only provides a mechanism for conducting thorough and consistent investigations, the outcome of which identifies both the root cause and the contributing causes, related to a specific maintenance event.

Over the last decades we have come to understand that a significant number of very serious flight safety events have been caused by Maintenance Error.

Safety is defined as “The condition to which risks are managed to acceptable levels.”

Whenever Humans and Machines are involved there will always be potential for accident and incident. Safety management is based on the premise that hazards, risks and threats will always exist.

With a Safety Management System (SMS) we focus on the real possibility of reducing the organisations exposure across a range of business areas – we do this by delivering a systematic approach to risk management.

It is possible to promote transparent processes which establish clear lines of accountability and aid decision-making and to use this as a tool to drive positive change.

Complete your repair station training with SofemaOnline.com

SofemaOnline (SOL) – Virtual Aviation Academy - The “Go To” site for online training

SOL is supported by European Aviation Institute (EAI) an EASA Part 147 approved Maintenance Training Organization (MTO) with Certificate of Approval No RO.147.0003.

Our trainings are designed to be effective and to help you reach the correct level of understanding in the comfort of your own home or office.

FAA 14 CFR Part 145 Detailed Initial Training has been developed for Quality Managers, Technicians, Mechanics, and Repairmen who are either currently involved in a repair station or intend in the future to establish a 14 CFR Part 145 repair station.

What does the FAA Say about Limit of Validity?

The limit of validity (LOV) represents an operational limit based on fatigue test evidence that supports the maintenance program. The FAA defines the LOV as “the period of time (in flight cycles, flight hours, or both) up to which it has been demonstrated by test evidence, analysis and, if available, service experience and teardown inspections, that widespread fatigue damage will not occur in the airplane structure.” It is further defined as the point in the structural life of an airplane at which there is significantly increased risk of uncertainties in structural performance and probable development of WFD.

Once the airworthiness limitations containing the LOV are approved by the FAA, an airplane may not operate beyond the LOV.

With the exception of EASA Part 21 Subpart J "Design Organisation Approval" which as will be aware is managed directly by EASA the process for all other approvals (Air Carrier – Part 145 / Part M / Part 147 / Part 21 Subpart G POE / ATO) essentially works as follows

Achieving Regulatory Approval (Simplified)

1/ The organisation demonstrates to the Competent Authority (CA) that they satisfy the pre-requisites to be granted the requested approval

Documentation / Facilities / Manpower / Competence / Finance / Oversight

2/ The Accountable Manager of the Approved Organisation signs a statement to confirm his or her responsibility related to ensure sufficient finance is available to maintain full compliance

3/ The Organisation must set up a process (Independent Quality Assurance) to ensure continuous compliance

4/ The CA periodically assess the organisation for continuous compliance and raises findings for any non – compliance (Level 1 or 2 as appropriate)

I want my Aviation Organisation Staff Training Program Managed online! - Now I know that SofemaOnline  www.sofemaonline.com (SOL) manages specialty training on behalf of Aviation Organisations just like ours!

Whats on offer?

Your own Company Aviation centered Short Course – Developed for you and Managed on line by www.sofemaonline.com

Providing as much or as little support as you need, The cost effective way to manage your online training needs. SofemaOnline (SOL) courses provide the perfect opportunity for your employees to explore areas that will underpin their understanding of roles responsibilities and competence driving elements.

SOL courses have been shown to improve job performance and motivate your employees to engage in effective learning in a short period of time.

With online training our courses are suitable even for individual and new starters. Introductory short courses can be a perfect way to ensure that new starters are up to speed and have the relevant awareness of regulatory requirements and company.

www.sofemaonline.com offers the perfect solution

SofemaOnline is pleased to announce the introduction of a new corporate discount program that offers up to 40% discount for corporate clients.

This is not a “onetime offer”, rather it has been introduced as a standard business tool that we are pleased to offer our clients, to drive value from their allocated regulatory training budget.

SofemaOnline – The E-learning Revolution!

SofemaOnline (SOL) is leading the online EASA regulatory compliant E-learning Revolution! by offering a huge portfolio of material – professional support and innovative solutions including SASWEB.

Through our Learning Management System (LMS), SOL is able to offer both standard and tailored solutions to support our major clients with in-company courses covering internal procedures and “mini” training courses.