FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute

Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-17/7

Title and Subtitle: Line Operations Safety Assessments (LOSA) in Maintenance and Ramp Environments

Report Date: January 2017

Authors: Crayton L, Hackworth C, Roberts CA, King SJ

Abstract: Data-driven modifications to risk management are needed in maintenance and ramp environments to assist the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the development of adequate tools/systems that increase safety by aiding the identification of hazards and managing the associated risks. Proactive and predictive approaches, as opposed to reactive changes based on post-accident/event investigation, align with the principles of risk management and fundamental concepts of Safety Management Systems (SMSs). A Line Operations Safety Assessment (LOSA) is a formal process that uses trained observers to monitor normal operations of a company's activities and record their observations.

The findings are not intended to be used punitively but are meant to provide a "diagnostic snapshot" of the positives and the areas in need of improvement within a company. The FAA encourages airlines to conduct LOSAs in the interest of safety improvement; however, it does not mandate, approve, or monitor LOSA programs. We distributed a questionnaire to evaluate the utility of LOSA programs across the industry and identify lessons learned and best practices for implementing a program. We examined Ramp LOSA and Maintenance LOSA programs that either had been implemented or were being implemented at airlines; maintenance, repair, and overhaul service companies; and other aviation service organizations. LOSA questionnaire results increase the FAA's knowledge of LOSA activity and successful LOSA programs within the aviation community.

Our results show the progress rate of phase completion for the most recent LOSA programs overall was higher for Ramp than for Mx respondents. All Ramp respondents reported completion of all phases of their organization's LOSA program. Mx respondents reported varied states of completion for the phases. Ramp respondents represented organizations with more active observers conducting between 200 and 11,000 observations during the implementation period; however, Maintenance LOSA organizations had fewer observers by comparison and had conducted between 5 and 30 observations during the implementation period.

Key Words: Safety Management System (SMS), Line Operations Safety Assessment (LOSA), Threat and Error Management (TEM)

No. of Pages: 46