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Aircraft maintenance technician (AMT) is the most critical profession in the aircraft maintenance system. The tasks of a licensed AMT require expertise and involve repetitive physical tasks such as tightening or loosening aircraft parts, carrying or removing parts during long working hours under time pressure and day/night shifts. This study aims to attract attention to the difficult working conditions of AMTs and identify the body parts that are at risk of musculoskeletal disorder (MSD).

A questionnaire is developed by the authors to gather demographic information, use of hand tools, equipment, use of fall protection, manual material handling (lifting, pushing, pulling), load weight, environmental factors, and MSD discomfort level perceptions. The questionnaire is applied to 150 AMTs during six months period, and the obtained data are analyzed by sequential ordinal logistic regression (OLR) models.

The ORL results confirm that the use of equipment (lift platform, scissors lift), safety belt attached to the platform, manual material handling, environmental factors (humidity, vibration and illumination) and resting periods have a significant effect on MSD risks. On the contrary, age, experience level, use of small hand tools, temperature and noise are not identified as statistically significant.

The study is original for it considers the working conditions and perceived discomfort levels of AMTs. A questionnaire is introduced to assess the consequences of the use of tools, equipment, fall protection equipment, environmental conditions and work organization on various body parts (neck, shoulder, elbow, back, lower back, wrist-hand, hip, knee, and ankle-feet), and strain level is identified. The study contributes to the theoretical aircraft maintenance literature and managers in practice.

Contemporary management and strategy mean optimization of ingredient factors such as human factors, systems, operations and equipment. With system approach in management and strategy, human risk factor as input has considerable potential to change results as airworthiness in aviation management. The managers of aviation business also optimize their functions to act safe while making contribution to development in triple of sustainability as economic development and its sustainability; social development and its sustainability; and environmental development and its sustainability. Corporate sustainability can be accomplished via supporting workforce which is the human risk factor. To support (empowerment) workforce, researchers should identify human risk or error factors which are important to this research. The purpose of this study is to suggest holistic framework for working environment system of aircraft maintenance technicians (AMTs) within two respects such as human performance (ergonomics) and corporate performance (sustainability). The secondary purpose of this system is to develop human risk taxonomy by determining the factors affecting both human and work by taking ergonomic aspects in aviation.

In this study, a taxonomy of human risk factors for AMTs is developed. These human factors divided into groups and subfactors are obtained from an extensive literature review and experts’ opinions in the field of human performance in aviation. Taxonomy developed will be useful to both sharing and using corporate sources in sustainable way.

Human risk factors can be considered or accepted as factors that cause human error. This may result in the optimum way to managing human risk factor via minimizing human-based error. Personality, hazardous attitudes, individual characteristics, physical/psychological condition of AMTs and corporate social responsibility factors are human-related risk variables in this study. The risks and error can be reduced by recognizing these factors and revealing their relation to ergonomic design.

The results of this study are intended to constitute a guide for managers to manage risk factors and to take corrective and preventive actions for their maintenance operations. It is believed that this study is highly important for the aviation sector in terms of raising awareness or providing awareness for similar practices. As taxonomy of the risk factors contributes to the managing human error, corrective actions related to these factors must be taken by managers.

Airline business management is set on airworthy strategy. Airline sustainability depends upon corporate-based airworthy strategy as airworthiness is the base to any airline business management and strategy. An airline can ensize its corporate sustainability if it has airworthiness strategy and risk management. The main condition to survive in the airline business is to maintain airworthiness with the fleet, maintenance and corporate-risk management. Aircraft maintenance technician (AMT) has a dual role in aircraft maintenance system as the source of failure in maintenance process via his volatility and unmanageable qualifications and secondly source of manager of maintain airworthiness of the aircrafts in airline. Situational awareness of managers about both limitations and qualifications of human factors is vital determinant to the decision-making process in aviation. Although continuously improving in related literature, one of the biggest weaknesses of the current methods of AMT error or performance is that the ability to model the reciprocal effects of the factors affecting the fault is limited. For this reason, this study aims to develop an analytic network process (ANP) model that takes into account the effects of mutual dependences among factors.

Firstly, with the help of experts and extensive literature, 67 factors that contributed to AMT error are identified and grouped. Then, the factors identified as eligible criteria and sub-criteria that contributed to the AMT errors are determined. In this study, the weights of identified criteria that have influence on AMT error try to determine by using ANP method. ANP is the common method to solve multi-criteria decision-making problems and is used to calculate priorities of factors. Criteria determined in this study are classified into three main clusters: “individual-related criteria”, “working environment-related criteria” and “organisational-related criteria”. These main clusters include 15 sub criteria such as communication, documentation (quality/updating/availability) and peer pressure.

The result of this study shows that time pressure, organisational culture, safety culture and supervision are the most important criteria that contributed to AMT error. Their weights are 0.207, 0.172, 0.102 and 0.094, respectively.

There are many difficulties and limitations in measuring the factors that have an influence on AMT errors. For this reason, the weights of criteria and sub-criteria necessary are determined using ANP, and in this manner, it is possible to make better decisions in this process as ANP is a multi-criteria decision-making technique that considers qualitative factors in decision-making problems. The factors’ taxonomy determined as a result of the expert opinions and the extensive literature and the ANP model developed taking into account the dependencies between the factors will contribute to the literature.

Main issue in management and strategy is corporate performance. Managers seek effective and strategic way to improve their performance. Authorization, which includes reputational and strategic indicators, is one of these ways. The applying authorization and using this authorization are decision-making process for managers. These processes have potential to make considerable effect on corporate performance. As a considerable result of this research that need of resource dependency type certified aircraft technicians in Anadolu University are decreased owing to this research and, also the purpose of this study is that technicians have got opportunity to creating own human resource in view of both sustainability, and competition in training field.

In this study, both specified and organizational-tailored flowchart as the problem solving techniques in decision-making process of maintenance training organization have been developed, compiled after taking the opinions of experts, for the effective implementation of type rating training, following approval, that cover the types of fleet at Anadolu University. This flowchart may guide to the relevant aircraft maintenance training organizations in their type trainings implementation process.

Human factor is both vital and necessary element to achieve high corporate performance. By following the flow chart, the implementation process is shortened by eliminating the difficulties in complying with the depth and complexity of the required regulation.

The development of the necessary skills and competencies of the workforce is one of the critical points for the creation, preservation and improvement of corporate value. This research has been carried out with the aim of effective utilization of institutional resources, development of personnel and hence corporate value creation. Anadolu University, which is aware of the importance of core competence, is trying to make it one of its strengths institutionally. The Anadolu University Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, as an organization that has completed the necessary steps to become authorized to give type rating training, may guide other aviation organizations using the organization-specified tailored flow chart developed with the help of expert opinion.

Aeromedical training is meant to train aircrew in combating physiological problems that they might face in flight. Given the importance of the training, there are limited studies in the literature investigating the anxiety levels during aeromedical training along with training outcomes. This study aims to assess the untrained participants’ anxiety levels before and after aeromedical training, investigate the differences in anxiety levels across different physiological training devices and determine whether participants’ anxiety levels affect their G tolerances.

This study was carried out on 61 healthy male subjects (n = 61) who had applied for initial aeromedical training. Anxiety surveys and visual analog scales were administered before and after the practical aeromedical training. In addition, blood pressure and heart rate measurements were carried out.

Participants had significantly higher anxiety levels before human centrifuge training (pre-Glab) than before the altitude chamber training (pre-hypobaric). Participants who experienced G-induced loss of consciousness (G-LOC) had slightly more anxiety reported than the non-G-LOC group. There was a significant decrease between pre-Glab and post-Glab (after the human centrifuge training) and between pre-hypobaric and post-hypobaric (after the altitude chamber training) anxiety levels. The incidence of G-LOC was lower in participants having higher pre-G-Lab blood pressure. However, the difference in anxiety levels between the G-LOC group and the non-G-LOC group was not statistically significant.

In this study, state anxiety inventory was not performed after human centrifuge training as centrifuge training lasted for around 5 min only, and it is not advisable to repeat state anxiety inventory in such short periods. Blood pressure was not measured after G-Lab training because human centrifuge training is hard training and has an impact on blood pressure. Hence, it would have been difficult to distinguish whether the blood pressure change was due to anxiety or hard physical activity. These limitations, especially for the G-Lab, caused us to evaluate state anxiety only with VAS. It would be worthwhile to repeat similar studies with objective measurements before and after the training.

This information suggests that instructors who train the applicants on aerospace medicine be ready for the possible consequences of anxiety.

There are only a few centers in the world that include all the physiological training devices (practical aeromedical training laboratories) together. To the best of authors’ knowledge, there are no studies in the literature investigating the differences in anxiety levels across various physiological training devices. The studies about the effect of anxiety levels on aeromedical training outcomes and anxiety levels before and after the training are scant.

This research has the potential to contribute to the understanding of the sustainable ground handling operations framework. Ramp operations as the main system of ground handling include critical services for aircraft/airlines. The purpose of this study is to identify the risk factors in ramp operations for all related stakeholders’ awareness to enhance flight safety. Classifying risk factors, the four main performance fields under risk taxonomy is determined. Thus, managers may allocate resources effectively to handle related threats for corporate sustainability.

New taxonomy with human performance value indicators, which sources from the environment is developed. New developed taxonomy is entitled as “environmental value approach,” which represents environmental value-based approach. The developed new risk factors taxonomy is divided into groups such as ramp personnel, organizational, sustainability-based risk factors: triple view and ergonomics obtained from an extensive literature review and experts’ opinions in the field of human performance.

The findings of this research show that managers need a risk management-oriented approach to manage the human factor affecting performance and sustainability. The newly developed taxonomy offers not only identifying the sources of unsafe operational risk factors but also using as a decision-support tool to manage risks for achieving their sustainability goals. When managerial decisions are made according to risk taxonomy and managing these risks, then corporate performance and individual performance may improve.

The new taxonomy presents the performance-based management of the human factor with a holistic and systematic risk management-based approach. There is no risk taxonomy study designed considering ramp operations and sustainability-based human factor performance.

Training management has critical in developing of civil aviation sector in Turkey. It requires using serious corporate sources for this reason is directly topic of aviation management and strategy.it is also about process management. According to this view, this paper aims to become a guidance to management training for maintenance or training organisations in the aviation sector wishing to obtain the authorisation, given national civil aviation authority (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), of providing type rating trainings that cover the types of aeroplanes including Beech 90 Series, Socata TB Series and Cessna/Reims-Cessna 172/F172 Series.

Aviation training organisations must be managed according to aviation law and regulations. It includes several approval processes about training content. Managers must be organising their resources, and they should get well timely decision made in optimum time. In this study, a flowchart, that is the procedure to follow in accordance with the related aviation regulations, has been developed while taking the opinion of experts and using experience gained from the approval process for the type trainings. This flowchart may gain time to managers in their approval process. It may use as guidance to create optimum flow in their process management.

The purpose of flowchart developed is to shorten the authorisation processes of the relative institutions by eliminating the challenges caused by the excess and complexity of national or international regulations related to the of authorisation of aircraft type rating training.

It is important to gain authority. But more important is to manage the authority as sustainable way in aviation training. Loosing authority in specific field may effect on both corporate reputation and doing aviation business. Anadolu University manages related risk via scientific project during using their authorisation. The results developed as a result of the expert opinions and the experience gained during the aircraft type training authorisation process will contribute to the literature. When considered from this point of view, it is expected for this study to fill an important gap in the literature. It is highly important for the aviation sector in terms of evaluating and interpreting academically such a process for practice, and also raising awareness or providing awareness for similar practices. It may also useful for process management.