Blue Tuna Docs Blog

Lead Acid Aircraft Batteries Installation & Maintenance Training

Blue Tuna announces a new training course, Lead Acid Aircraft Batteries Installation & Maintenance Training.

Thanks to Concorde Batteries for this excellent training for the Installation and Maintenance of Lead Acid Aircraft Batteries. The following topics are covered, Battery Life, Types of Lead Acid Batteries, Safety Precautions, Battery Ratings, Battery Installation, NiCad vs. Lead Acid Batteries, Testing, Charging - Discharging, Battery Condtioning, Battery Removal and Disposal. This one hour training course is packed with information covering a full array of topics on installation and maintenance of batteries for Aircraft applications.

Complacency

Have you ever heard the phrase "That could never happen here"? An ancient king commenting on his relationship with his "bride to be" wrote, "It is the little foxes that spoils the vineyard." Complacency in work, relationships, attitudes and the everyday humdrum of life is very difficult to detect. Like a little fox slipping into the vineyard undetected - complacency steals away our focus and passion for the things we care about. This is why complacency is so dangerous - it can go undetected for long periods of time, until the thing we said could never happen-does. Complacency is one of the dirtiest of all human factors called out in the "The Dirty Dozen." One of the most interesting things about complacency is the way it descends upon us.

There are 3 factors that contribute to complacency, 1) Fatigue 2) Too many things happening at once 3) Too few things happening.

Fatigue is identified as one of the dirty dozen of human factors. Fatigue impacts all other human factors, compounding problems that already exist. Fatigue is different from drowsiness. In general, drowsiness is feeling the need to sleep, while fatigue is a lack of energy and motivation. Drowsiness and apathy (a feeling of indifference or not caring about what happens) can be symptoms of fatigue. Fatigue can be a normal and important response to physical exertion, emotional stress, boredom, or lack of sleep. However, it can also be a nonspecific sign of a more serious psychological or physical disorder. When fatigue is not relieved by enough sleep, good nutrition, or a low-stress environment, it should be evaluated by your doctor. Because fatigue is a common complaint, sometimes a potentially serious cause may be overlooked.

In a situation where there are too few tasks . . . focus is easily skewed and before long boredom sets in - attention and situation awareness drift.

A key problem with too many tasks is the feeling of being overwhelmed. When we get overwhelmed we either throw up our hands and say "What's the use?" or we narrow our focus . . . this is selective attention.

Creative Tension is that healthy state where tension exists between where we are at and where we want to go. Tension by nature seeks resolution and the most natural resolution of this tension is for our reality to move closer to what we want.

Complacency is something all of us experience. That are "creative" real ways to deal with this situation.

Blended Approach to Aviation Based Human Factors

Aviation based Human Factors is a very broad subject. EASA and FAA gudiance requires both a broad and deep treatment of the subject. As a result Blue Tuna has created a blended approach to Human Factors. It is a combination of a 1 day workshop (at your location) for initial training, and 6 - 10 hours of web based training for recurrent training spread out over a two year period.

The workshops are well worth the time and effort to pull them off. There has been excellent response, especially from mechanics, technicians and supervisors who work on the floor. Several of these companies have gone the extra mile to ensure their employees are exposed to the necessary components of Human Factors. http://bluetunadocs.com/downloads/blendedhf.pdf

Human Factors Training - compliance with the requirements of EASA. Regulation no. 2042/2003 Annex II, Part-145-A.30 and the regarding Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMC) Annex II 145.A.30(e) paragraphs 6-10,, the European Aviation Safety Agency ( EASA) prescribes that personnel involved in any maintenance, management and/or quality audits, must have an understanding of the application of human factors and human performance capabilities in addition to the necessary expertise related to the job.

EASA requires a binding assurance from organizations that the necessary knowledge has been transferred to those affected by 28th September 2006. (Initial Training)

Likewise, EASA requires the assurance that all appropriate personnel have received sufficient continuation training in each two year period to ensure that such staff have up-to-date knowledge of human factor issues (Continuation/Recurrent Training).

Go here for more info http://bluetunadocs.com/hfresources.html

The Curse of Complacency . . . a deadly human factor!

Identified as one of the Dirty Dozen of Human Factors, complacency is a key problem in the aviation maintenance industry. Blue Tuna interviewed Repair Station Managers, technicans, quality managers and FAA Inspectors and across the board Complacency ranks as one of the dirtest dozen. There are 3 factors that contribute to complacency, 1) Fatigue 2) Too many things happening at once 3) Too few things happening.

Fatigue is identified as one of the dirty dozen of human factors. Fatigue impacts all other human factors, compounding problems that already exist. Fatigue is different from drowsiness. In general, drowsiness is feeling the need to sleep, while fatigue is a lack of energy and motivation. Drowsiness and apathy (a feeling of indifference or not caring about what happens) can be symptoms of fatigue. Fatigue can be a normal and important response to physical exertion, emotional stress, boredom, or lack of sleep. However, it can also be a nonspecific sign of a more serious psychological or physical disorder. When fatigue is not relieved by enough sleep, good nutrition, or a low-stress environment, it should be valuated by your doctor. Because fatigue is a common complaint, sometimes a potentially serious cause may be overlooked.

In a situation where there are too few tasks . . . focus is easily skewed and before long boredom sets in - attention and situation awareness drift.

A key problem with too many tasks is the feeling of being overwhelmed. When we get overwhelmed we either throw up our hands and say �What�s the use?� or we narrow our focus . . . this is selective attention.

Complacency is something all of us experience. That are "creative" real ways to deal with this situation. Go here for help: http://bluetunadocs.com/onlinetraining/complacency/index.html >

Electrostaic Discharge ESD

From the time new electrical / electronic products hits the receiving doors of a company workers must be careful to prevent electrostatic discharge. To prepare employees for handling sensitive electronics training should focus on: How static electricity works? What is Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)? How ESD occurs? Blue Tuna's ESD On Line Training focuses on the basics of ESD, how to maintain a static free work space and how to handle, care for, work on, transport and store electronic sensitive devices. Go here to see a description of training http://bluetunadocs.com/onlinetraining/esd/index.html

Troubleshooting Aircraft Charging Systems

Blue Tuna working in cojunction with Lamar Technologies has released "Troubleshooting Aircraft Charging Systems." The 25 minute presentation covers the basic charging system, the alternator, the self rectified alternator, the Alternator Control Unit, how to diagnosis a dead battery, over voltage trips, low voltage problems, belt malfunctions, and over voltage conditions. This is a great video for mechanic, IA and aircraft owner.

Aircraft Maintenance Human Factors

Blue Tuna has added two new Human Factors courses to its line up for the Summer of 2007. Last year Blue Tuna rolled out 1) Human Factors Introduction, which included an intro to the SHEL and Reason Model, along with a history of MRM, statistical analysis of accidents, contributing links in the chain of events, as well as an overview of Heinrich's Ratio and MEDA. This introduction was taught with the Dryden Disaster as a backdrop for a case study. 2) The Dirty Dozen is the second installment of Human Factors and it addresses the 12 identified factors that most often contribute to maintenance error. The goal of Blue Tuna's development of Human Factors is to address each of the 12 separately. Recently Blue Tuna released the 3) Curse of Complacency which is considered by many to be the deadliest of all Human Factors contributing to accidents. This is a powerful presentation of a very real problem that we all face - complacency. 4) Situational Awareness is the fourth human factors training module to be released. Coming from more of a theoretical viewpoint this training is most appropriate for supervisors or managers who are faced with designing training. Situational Awareness addresses the issues of memory and focus in the workplace. More is on the way.

IA Renewal Big Success

Blue Tuna launched an IA Renewal Website this past spring. The site www.iarenewal.com was a huge success. Hundreds of mechanics signed up and completed their IA Renewal Training. One of the big surprises was the number of mechanics outside the United States who used the services. The ease of use and 24/7 access makes Blue Tuna's IA Renewal a real pleasure to use. The quality of content is unsurpassed in the industry and the ease of use makes the task of renewal training easy. Courses include Human Factors, SUPs, FOD, ESD, Airworthiness, Part 43, Major / Minor Repairs etc.... The response from those who used www.iarenewal.com has been incredible. Spread the word as you get ready for this next year's renewal training. $49 total! No other costs.