GFA Airworthiness Returns

From the Chair of Airworthiness – Stuart Addinell
Dated: 2 September 2013

Effective immediately, the new GFA Form 2 return system is up and running. Please advise to all that their Annual Inspection (F2) returns are to be scanned and sent directly to RETURNS including all Annex A’s for motorglider returns and all defect reports.

For the luddites out there, we will still accept hard copy returns via mail directly to the Secretariat. This email address is to be used for all airworthiness related returns, such as DI Authorisations also. In time this will be opened up to OPS related (club) returns also.

If you wish to read more background as to why the changes, please read below.

Background Info Only

Salesforce is the ‘new’ iMIS for those of you that understand what that means. It is the GFA’s new online business database that automates much of our processes.

Background:

At present, each Inspector (or Registered Operator) would complete the Form 2 (F2) docs, issue the Maintenance Release (MR) and send the paper return to the Regional Technical Officer (RTO). They would scan/check the doc to ensure completeness and then send to GFA headquarters for filing against aircraft folder. If a new request for MR and F2 docs was received and the last F2 return was missing, a red slip was issued along with the requested docs stating that the return was not received.

Now, there are good reasons why the red slip should be issued. However, the latency between the RO sending the form to the RTO and then onto the GFA HQ (and then processing) often causes the red slip to be issued when the RO has done everything correctly – and within the 3 month requirement. Dozens of diligent people have been very cranky regarding this. The opposite is also true. People don’t worry about the red slip and still don’t do the correct thing. So this is what I want to fix.

But…. Each RTO is responsible for ensuring that they keep their finger on the pulse of all activity going on in their backyard (area of responsibility) and ensuring that the right people are doing the work etc etc. This was the motivation why the forms were sent to the RTOs in the first instance……… I have a cunning plan.

Rectification Plan:

Exercising the awesome new powers of Salesforce, much of the ‘checking’ done by the RTO can now be done better and more thoroughly by Salesforce and GFA staff. My plan is to have each inspector/RO send the form directly to the GFA HQ and bypass the RTO. All of the (important) data fields captured in the return need to be checked against Salesforce data. Should info be missing or inaccurate the sender will be contacted and the data corrected (sending form back) etc. Should a F2 return remain outstanding (after the 3 months the RO/Inspector has to return it, and the GFA HQ has 9 months to process it) a flag is raised if a new request for F2 is made. What we do here is up to us, my inclination is not to issue a new F2 pack unless a good reason is provided as to why the return was not received. We are obligated (under CASA) to have robust and accurate data capture of this type of information.

At present we have aircraft missing life extension inspections and surveys because no one is checking this (even the inspectors and RO’s). This is a great opportunity for Salesforce to shine. For the first time, the ‘system’ will know when a major inspection is due even before the RO potentially.

To satisfy the RTO responsibilities, we will set up an automatic monthly report to be generated in Salesforce and emailed, either to each RTO state by state or perhaps to collective RTO’s, in excel format, of all returns processed by the office, aircraft involved, survey inspections due, inspectors involved and any changes to the inspector contact details that are received. This will result in a far better knowledge base and understanding by RTOs of what is going on and providing better communications information for the guys/gals on the ground.