Avionics News May 2023 - 17

How does an avionics shop hire a qualified and
experienced " certificated person? " The simple answer
is, you outbid the competition and offer more pay and
benefits than the other competing companies. If that isn't
viable for whatever reason, you grow your own.
while roughly 6% work for scheduled air transportation.
This should paint a strong picture of why we continue
to struggle to recruit avionics technicians from external
sources: We are simply a smaller industry. But this article
is not about the negative scenario of avionics technician
pipelines and recruiting challenges. We're working on
that too. Rather, it's an evaluation of the often overlooked
resources and advantages the regulations provide for Part
145 repair stations to compete for talent.
Let us begin with a simple question: Who is performing
the maintenance? 14 CFR Section 43.3 tells us that
" the holder of a repair station certificate may perform
maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alterations as
provided in Part 145 of this chapter. " 14 CFR Section
43.7 further tells us that " the holder of a repair station
certificate may approve an aircraft, airframe, aircraft
engine, propeller, appliance, or component part for return
to service as provided in Part 145 of this chapter. " So in
both cases, performing the maintenance as well as approval
for return to service following maintenance, the repair
station is the " person " doing the work, and we should look
to 14 CFR Part 145 for the guiding criteria.
From here, we will be mining 14 CFR Part 145 subpart
D, Personnel for opportunities.
The opening section, 14 CFR Section 145.151 tells us
that the repair station must provide qualified personnel
to perform and approve for return to service the
maintenance that they perform. Section 145.151 further
tells us the repair station must " determine the abilities of
its noncertificated employees performing maintenance
functions based on training, knowledge, experience or
practical tests. " Realize that throughout the history of
repair stations, the majority of maintenance was performed
by individuals who were not individually certificated.
So, how do you qualify your maintenance personnel?
That's easy; the repair station training program required
by 14 CFR Section 145.163. For those who are not
familiar, section 145.163 requires the repair station
training program " ensure each employee assigned
to perform maintenance, preventive maintenance, or
alterations, and inspection functions is capable of
performing the assigned task. " To define how to qualify
an individual, we have two regulations to guide us.
First, the basic requirement. All people (certificated
and noncertificated persons) must be familiar with
the methods, techniques, practices, aids, equipment,
and tools used to perform the maintenance, preventive
maintenance, or alterations (14 CFR Section 145.153).
Then they have to be " task qualified, " which section
43.13 states must have a paper trail to " the methods,
techniques, and practices prescribed in the current
manufacturer's maintenance manual or instructions for
continued airworthiness prepared by its manufacturer, or
other methods, techniques, and practices acceptable to
the administrator. " As such, the maintenance instructions
become the curricula and course outline necessary to
task-qualify an individual.
Notice, we have yet to even mention the certification of
the individual technicians. This is because the regulations
only require certain people to be certificated. That does
not mean you cannot have more than the regulatory
minimum; however, it is important to understand the
regulation specifies the minimum.
The regulation domestically requires supervisors (§
145.153 (b)), persons authorized to sign off on final
inspections and maintenance releases for the repair station
(§ 145.213 (d)), and person's authorized to approve for
return to service (§ 145.157 (b)), to be " appropriately "
certificated as a mechanic or repairman. Internationally, the
Federal Aviation Administration requires these personnel
to meet the standards of certification, although they do not
require the certificate itself.
Continued on page 39
avionics news * may 2023 17
Avionics News May 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News May 2023
