Slow to Learn: Regulatory Oversight of the Safety of Outsourced Aircraft Maintenance in the USA

Abstract Aircraft maintenance outsourcing and offshoring is now prevalent in the airline industry. In the USA, the safety implications of this shift in work organisation have aroused serious concerns — concerns magnified by six serious incidents between 1995 and 2009. Subsequent investigations, audits and reviews of outsourced maintenance activities identified significant failures in regulatory oversight. However, the air safety enforcement agency — the Federal Aviation Administration — was slow to respond to these shortcomings, despite sustained criticism from other US government agencies responsible for transport safety and governance. This paper provides a case study of regulatory failure and the difficulty of reshaping regulatory regimes in the context of rapid changes to work organisation. It highlights challenges in regulating outsourcing and subcontracting — challenges not confined to the USA — as well as problems in reshaping enforcement regimes.

[1]  Bijan Vasigh,et al.  A Basic Analysis Of Aging Aircraft, Region Of The World, And Accidents , 2011 .

[2]  Michael Quinlan,et al.  Outsourcing and offshoring aircraft maintenance in the US: Implications for safety , 2013 .

[3]  Philip James,et al.  Regulating Supply Chains to Improve Health and Safety , 2007 .

[4]  Calvin L Scovel.  Actions Needed To Improve Safety Oversight and Security at Aircraft Repair Stations , 2009 .

[5]  C. Muntaner,et al.  Introduction to the who Commission on Social Determinants of Health Employment Conditions Network (Emconet) Study, with a Glossary on Employment Relations , 2010, International journal of health services : planning, administration, evaluation.

[6]  K. Lippel,et al.  Precarious Employment and the Law’s Flaws: Identifying Regulatory Failure and Securing Effective Protection for Workers , 2006 .

[7]  R. Johnstone,et al.  Outsourcing risk -the regulation of occupational health and safety where subcontractors are employed , 2003 .

[8]  Kendal Van Wagner.  Cutting Costs and Cutting Corners - The Safety Risks Associated with Outsourcing Aircraft Maintenance and the Need for Effective Safety Oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration , 2007 .

[9]  M. Levine,et al.  Regulatory Capture, Public Interest, and the Public Agenda: Toward a Synthesis , 1990 .

[10]  D. Scott Worrells,et al.  Global Outsourcing of Aircraft Maintenance , 2012 .

[11]  G. M. Davis.  The Department of Transportation , 1970 .

[12]  T. Carter,et al.  Systematic occupational health and safety management; perspectives on an international development. , 2002 .

[13]  Regulatory Failures and Regulatory Solutions: A Characteristic Analysis of the Aftermath of Disaster , 2009, Law & Social Inquiry.

[14]  Gerald L. Dillingham.  AVIATION SAFETY AND SECURITY: CHALLENGES TO IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WHITE HOUSE COMMISSION ON AVIATION SAFETY AND SECURITY. TESTIMONY , 1997 .

[15]  Joan Benach,et al.  Hierarchical cluster analysis of labour market regulations and population health: a taxonomy of low- and middle-income countries , 2012, BMC Public Health.

[16]  H. Collins.  Independent Contractors and the Challenge of Vertical Disintegration to Employment Protection Laws , 1990 .

[17]  D. Weil.  Rethinking the Regulation of Vulnerable Work in the USA: A Sector-based Approach , 2009 .

[18]  E. Kennedy,et al.  SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION , 2009 .

[19]  Colin Summerhayes,et al.  Deep Water – The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling , 2011 .

[20]  Edward Czepiel.  Practices and Perspectives in Outsourcing Aircraft Maintenance , 2003 .

[21]  Arvin W. Hahn.  REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT , 1964 .

[22]  R. Johnstone,et al.  Beyond Employment: The Legal Regulation of Work Relationships , 2012 .

[23]  David Walters,et al.  Regulating Workplace Risks: A Comparative Study of Inspection Regimes in Times of Change , 2011 .

[24]  Gerald L. Dillingham,et al.  Federal Aviation Administration Issues Concerning the Reauthorization of Aviation Programs. , 1999 .

[25]  Michael Rawling,et al.  Regulating supply chains to provide a safe rate for road transport workers , 2012 .

[26]  Andrew Hopkins,et al.  Risk-management and rule-compliance: Decision-making in hazardous industries , 2011 .

[27]  Leah F. Vosko,et al.  Precarious Employment: Understanding Labour Market Insecurity in Canada , 2005 .