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While majority of the airlines are struggling to implement macro human factors principles in their maintenance activities, at least eleven corporate aviation departments (CADs) in the country are showing signs of success. The implementation philosophy of these CADs differs from others, and from the airlines in one fundamental aspect: it enforces a behavior change rather than an attitude change among the CAD employees. Consequently, they strive to achieve an employee behavior which is consistent within and across their flight operations, maintenance, and management functions. Ethnographic research was conducted at one of the eleven eligible sites to develop a theoretical model which is representative of the structure, the strategy, and the processes used by these aviation departments to implement macro human factors principles in aviation maintenance. This model was then tested at three other CADs that have a implemented similar approach.

Taylor (1999) reported the effects of national cultures on the work values of aviation mechanics and Patankar (1999) reported the effects of their professional and organizational cultures. Taylor and Patankar (1999) found effects of national and professional cultures on the outcomes of maintenance human factors programs. Considering those effects, this paper focuses on a strategy that would encourage the champions of human factors programs to develop a human resources master plan and integrate it with the organizational culture.

This study, based on Helmreich and Merritt’s (1998) definitions of professional and organizational cultures, identifies the challenges faced by airlines in the United States and India in the implementation of MHF/MRM programs. Data was gathered through ethnographic observations and field interviews (n=350) at two major airlines in the United States and one regional airline in India. The results of this study indicate the following barriers at the professional and organizational levels. At the professional level, an appropriately qualified AMT or AME holds individual airworthiness authority; whereas, the human factors training promotes team performance. Unless specific mechanisms are developed so that the individual AMTs and the AMEs are not coerced into releasing an aircraft in a hurry, the implementation of MHF/MRM programs will not be successful.

This paper presents a model which is representative of the current environment within which most domestic repair stations performing work for air carriers operate. The model illustrates how the successful habits of visionary companies, as documented by Collins and Porras (1997), could be applied to the aviation industry and how Human Factors education could be used to effect a long-term change in the aviation safety culture. A review of the current research on Human Factors in maintenance strongly indicates that the various types of training programs have been effective in raising the awareness of safety issues among the participants, but the applications of those principles to advance safety have been limited by the absence of a systemic management vision. An incremental and radical change in the aviation safety culture could be sought by educating the future workforce in using Human Factors in maintenance and management practices.