FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute

Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-12/9

Title and Subtitle: Implementation Guideline for Maintenance Line Operations Safety Assessment (M-LOSA) and Ramp LOSA (R-LOSA) programs

Report Date: August 2012

Authors: Ma MJ, Rankin WL

Abstract: This guideline is a general reference guide for preparing for and implementing a Maintenance Line Operations Safety Assessment (M-LOSA) program or Ramp LOSA (R-LOSA) program. The intended target audiences of this guideline are LOSA program managers and members of the implementation team. This implementation guideline outlines and describes 11 major steps in implementing a LOSA program:

1. Obtain senior management's buy-in. If approval is given, then take the following steps:
2. Form an implementation team
3. Market maintenance and/or ramp LOSA programs
4. Integrate with existing safety programs/SMS
5. Develop LOSA infrastructure, including three parallel activities: adapt/customize LOSA database, conduct train-the-trainer training, establish and maintain a virtual LOSA website
6. Adapt/customize and conduct observer training
7. Collect data
8. Validate data
9. Populate and maintain database
10. Analyze data and compile a report
11. Provide feedback to employees

To be effective, a LOSA program needs to address each individual organization's specific needs and complement existing safety programs. However, this guideline emphasizes the following core components to ensure the integrity of any LOSA program:

• Peer-to-peer observations during normal operations,
• Confidential and non-punitive data collection
• Voluntary participation
• Trusted and trained observers
• Joint management/labor sponsorship
• Systematic observation instrument based on Threat and Error Management model
• Secure data collection repository and mining
• Feedback of results to the workforce

Over a course of three years, many companies, organizations, and associated individuals devoted numerous hours planning, designing, building, testing, and refining the many items that constitute the M-LOSA and R-LOSA programs, with the intent of the widest audience use.

Key Words: Line Operations Safety Audit, Safety Management System, Voluntary Safety Program

No. of Pages: 66