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TECHNICAL AIRWORTHINESS MANAGEMENT MANUAL

SECTION 1 LEAFLET 3

OVERVIEW OF THE STATE TECHNICAL AIRWORTHINESS REGULATORY FOR MAINTENANCE

INTRODUCTION 1. The design-related regulations originally defined a new approach to State aircraft engineering, whereas the State aircraft maintenance regulations. In Section 2 include existing State maintenance policy and practices in the technical airworthiness regulatory. Additionally, the State aircraft maintenance regulations have been developed to harmonise with equivalent worldwide civilian airworthiness regulations. PURPOSE 2. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the State aircraft maintenance regulatory framework defined by the regulations. In particular, this chapter identifies the major classes of organisations mentioned in the regulations and describes the relationship between them. DEFINITIONS 3. Definitions relevant to Section 1 is contained in the glossary. All definitions pertaining to the terms used in Section 2 are to be considered as regulatory in nature. ORGANISATIONS AND PERSONNEL IN THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK Maintenance Organisations 4. The actual maintenance work that is conducted on State aircraft and aeronautical product is performed by organisations separate from the Technical Airworthiness Regulator (TAR). Prior to these organisations conducting maintenance, two formal steps are required: a. the organisation must be certified by the TAR as being an acceptable organisation, in accordance with the regulations, to conduct maintenance within a specified scope and to a specified level; and b. the maintenance organisation must be authorised to undertake the work by a duly empowered personnel, the Maintenance Authorising Office (MAO) at respective SAO HQ. 5. Subject to certain exceptions (see Authorisation of Non-AMOs to Perform Maintenance), only persons or organisations holding a current certificate from the TAR and an authorisation from the MAO will be permitted to maintain State aircraft or aeronautical product. Once a certificate and accompanying letter of maintenance authority have been issued by the TAR, and the MAO has duly authorised the maintenance organisation to conduct maintenance, that organisation may be referred to as an Approved Maintenance Organisation (AMO). The MAO is the Head of SAO Engineering Organisation that has a responsibility for controlling the resources that enable the maintenance organisation to conduct maintenance. The MAO for State units will be a part of the higher chain of command and for contractors it will be the contract funding body. For instance; Malaysian Army, the MAO is Chief Engineer of Army Air Wing; RMN, the MAO is the Chief Engineer of RMN; www.dgta.gov.my 1.3 - 1 of 6 TERHAD

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TERHAD PU 2103 RMAF, the MAO is the Chief Engineer of RMAF; Pasukan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia, the MAO is the Chief Engineer of UUBPM. Figure 31 is a representation of this arrangement.

MAINTENANCE AUTHORISING OFFICE

SAA certification (via TAA)

submission Authorisation MAINTENANCE ORGANISATION

Figure 31 Certification, Authorisations and Surveillance 6. AMOs conduct a variety of maintenance tasks. Some AMOs, particularly the flying Squadrons with an organic maintenance capability, will be responsible for the whole aircraft as well as aeronautical product maintenance to the level and scope of their authorisation. Other AMOs may only be responsible for maintenance of a very limited range of aeronautical product. DJTA make no distinction between these organisations and simply refer to them as AMOs. 7. AMOs are organisationally located both internal and external to the State. Special management arrangements necessary to police these regulations within State AMOs have been put in place. These arrangements include tailoring of SAO Annual Technical Review (ATR) and audit checklists respectively to include DJTA requirements and the provision of DJTA auditors to participate in both ATRs and SAO audits. Commercial AMOs are governed through contractual arrangements between the Government of Malaysia and civilian organisations. The policing of these regulations in these organisations is effected through the contractual agreements put in place. 8. For State operational Squadrons and units, the MAO will be the Chief Engineer. In addition to authorising an AMO to conduct maintenance on State aircraft or aeronautical product, in accordance with the certification issued by the TAR, the MAO may promulgate guidance to assist AMOs to comply with the TAMM within the operational environment of the Operation Fleet. Guidance should be in the form of Standing Instructions authorised by the MAO, or delegate. 9. For contractors, the MAO will also usually be the Chief Engineer of Services. Where any other State organisation places a contract, or otherwise purchases maintenance services for aircraft or aeronautical product, that organisation will be the MAO.

Audit/surveillance

DJTA

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ROLE OF THE MAINTENANCE AUTHORISING OFFICE 10. The AMO certification process involves close collaboration between DJTA staff and the MAO. The initial assessment, audit, certification and management of corrective actions are conducted largely by DJTA, but with MAO involvement. Note that this is significantly different from the approach used for commercial AEOs. The MAOs involvement is particularly important post certification, during ongoing surveillance. 11. The basic functions of the MAO are to: a. for commercial organisations, ensure appropriate AMO requirements are reflected in the contract; b. encourage the prospective AMO to develop and submit an AMO application within an appropriate time scale; c. d. act as intermediary between the AMO and the TAR; on receipt of an AMO application, review it for: (1). consistency with the MAOs understanding of the scope and level of the AMOs activity; (2). applicable contractual requirements; and (3). any significant concerns or issues that need to be addressed before the application is forwarded to the TAR (the MAO does not need to assess the application for compliance with the regulations nor undertake any audits for AMO certification purposes, except where Interim Authority is required see Transition between Contract Signature and AMO Certification below when the MAO is far more involved); e. Forward the AMO application to the TAR/DJTA with a covering letter or minute indicating that the application is supported; f. If desired, participate as an observer in any AMO audits conducted by DJTA (where the MAO staff includes appropriately trained and experienced auditors, fuller participation in the DJTA audit may be possible); g. Where applicable and appropriate, manage the contractual implications of any non-compliances; h. On receipt of the Maintenance Authority Certificate (MAC) and Letter of Maintenance Authority (LMA) from the TAR, forward the MAC and LMA to the AMO together with an instrument of authorisation (for State organisations only - in the case of commercial AMOs, the contract or standing offer is the instrument of authorisation); and i. Provide ongoing feedback to DJTA when the MAO becomes aware of any regulatory noncompliances or performance issues that could affect AMO certification. 12. DJTA will perform the MAO role of coordinating the AMO certification process and to deal directly with the AMO. The MAO will be provided with copies of certification correspondence and to provide ongoing surveillance feedback. CERTIFICATION How a Commercial Organisation May Enter the Environment 13. The first thing to note about the State aircraft maintenance regulatory environment is that, like the design engineering environment, entry is not discretionary. Only those www.dgta.gov.my 1.3 - 3 of 6 TERHAD

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TERHAD PU 2103 organisations that are participating in the contract negotiation process for aircraft or aeronautical product maintenance will be permitted to seek AMO certification. Such organisations will be required to submit a package (normally their Maintenance Management Plan (MMP) and applicable procedures) in accordance with a contract. This process does not preclude assessment of an organisation for compliance with the State aircraft maintenance regulations during tender evaluations. Assessments at that stage will normally be to a system level; however, successful tenderers will be required to submit a complete package for assessment by the TAR as soon as possible after contract signature. The submission package normally consists of an MMP and copies of any referenced plans, procedures or instructions. 14. Once the DJTA has completed a systems audit of the applicants submission, a compliance audit may be required before an applicant organisation is certified. Factors that would influence the decision for a compliance audit are: the scope and level of maintenance carried out by the applicant, the degree of confidence gained during the systems audit and any other certifications by other airworthiness authorities held by the applicant. The composition of the audit team would depend on the applicants scope and level of maintenance work and any particular conditions set by the MAO. DJTA staffs are responsible for coordination of certification of maintenance organisations. How a Service Organisation May Enter the Environment 15. State organisations are to dispatch their AMO submissions to the TAR either as soon as the submission has been prepared or within a specified time after the promulgation of the State Technical Airworthiness Regulations. The submission will be treated in much the same way as in the preceding paragraphs that dealt with commercial organisations. That is, they will be subject to a systems audit followed by a compliance audit. When a new State aircraft or aeronautical product maintenance unit is formed, or a previously disbanded unit is reformed, that unit is to forward its AMO submission through its MAO as soon as possible. New or reformed units should expect the permissible timeframe to become an AMO will be set when the unit is initially formed. Ideally the new unit should aim to be an AMO shortly after maintenance operations begin. EXEMPTIONS Requests for Exemption 16. TAMM Regulation 4.3. (Exemptions) requires that AMOs must submit a formal exemption request to the TAR if they wish to depart from an applicable regulation. The AMO must document in the exemption request the reasons for non-compliance and the alternative action to be taken to ensure that airworthiness is not compromised by the non-compliance. Exemption requests will be managed by DJTA on behalf of the TAA. The disposition of all exemption requests will be advised to the applicant along with any terms or conditions relevant to the Exemption. 17. Not all regulations may be applicable to an individual AMO. For example, an AMO only conducting off aircraft maintenance of avionics equipment would not find Regulation 4.5.8, dealing with authorisation of aircrew to perform maintenance, applicable. Exemptions are not required for non-applicable regulations. However, AMOs are to clearly identify in their MMPs any non-applicable regulations, together with a brief justification. Leased Aircraft 18. Policy for the maintenance support of leased aircraft is outlined in Regulation 2.7 and Section 2 Chapter 16 of TAMM. Organisations maintaining leased state aircraft will be required to become AMOs, but the aircraft may be maintained to civil airworthiness www.dgta.gov.my 1.3 - 4 of 6 TERHAD

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TERHAD PU 2103 regulations, not the TAMM. The AMO certification may, therefore, incorporate a blanket exemption from Regulations 4 and 5, along with details of the civilian airworthiness regime required to be used for the maintenance. AUTHORISATION How a MAO Authorises a Maintenance Organisation 19. Commercial AMOs, are Authorised by the MAO through the approval of funding for the maintenance contract. State AMOs are authorised to conduct maintenance only when advised by the relevant MAO via a suitable instrument. The authorisation instrument may include operational considerations, but must include (or reference) the certification issued by the TAR certifying the organisation as an AMO. The authorisation instrument formally authorises the organisation to conduct maintenance on behalf of the State. 20. State Technical Airworthiness Regulations mandate that organisations comply with the certification issued by the TAA. Withdrawal of either the authorisation instrument or AMO certification may preclude the maintenance organisation from providing maintenance services to the State. AUTHORISATION OF NON-AMOs TO PERFORM MAINTENANCE Sub-contractors 21. Only an organisation directly contracted by the SAO organisation may become a commercial AMO. Subcontractors will also subject to be certified as AMOs but will normally be part of a commercial AMOs Maintenance Support Network. The prime contractor AMO will retain overall responsibility for the maintenance performed by a subcontractor. Temporary Maintenance Requirements 22. There will be occasions when maintenance activity is required on a short term or temporary basis, for example to meet a short term surge, or to perform one-off or ad hoc modifications over a short period of time. In such cases it may not be cost-effective to require the maintenance organisation to undertake the AMO certification process. Typically, the maintenance activity would be complete before the certification process could be completed. Regulation 4.1.1 allows for the DJTA to provide specific temporary authorisation for a non-AMO to undertake a maintenance task. Transition between Contract Signature and AMO Certification 23. AMO certification will normally be a contractual requirement for a commercial organisation. However, submission of the AMO application would normally occur after contract signature and the full compliance assurance process leading to AMO certification may take some weeks or months before completion. Meanwhile, maintenance activity will probably need to commence shortly after contract signature and transition may occur over a significant period as facilities and workforces are established, particularly if maintenance activities are being transferred incrementally from the State or other contractors. In these cases, the DJTA may issue Interim Authority to perform maintenance prior to full AMO certification.

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TERHAD Limitations of Scope of the Aircraft Maintenance Regulations 24. The scope of application of the State Technical Airworthiness Regulations to industry must inevitably be limited by resource availability and risk considerations. There will be overseas repair item maintenance contracts, including US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) support contracts, which are underwritten by US DoD and OEM quality systems. For such contracts, the full implementation of State Technical Airworthiness Regulations would require resource allocations out of proportion to the risk being addressed. The TAR may exclude such contracts from the requirement for AMO certification. This exclusion policy is not intended to apply to direct support of primary equipment, such as aircraft and complete engines. Consultation 25. In all cases involving authorisation of non-AMOs to perform maintenance, the applicable MAO should consult DJTA for advice. PU 2103

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