ARO.RAMP.115 Qualification of ramp inspectors

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

(a)The candidate should be considered eligible to become a ramp inspector provided he/she meets the following criteria:

(1)has good knowledge of the English language attested by a certificate, unless English was used as a medium of instruction during secondary or higher education; and

(2)relevant education or training and appropriate recent work experience (over the previous 5 years) in accordance with one of the following items:

(i)has successfully completed 3 years of post-secondary education followed by 2 years aeronautical experience in the field of aircraft operations and/or maintenance, and/or personnel licensing;

(ii)has or has had a commercial/airline transport pilot licence and carried out such duties;

(iii)has or has had a flight engineer licence and carried out such duties;

(iv)has been a cabin crew member and carried out such duties in commercial air transport;

(v)has been licensed as maintenance personnel and exercised the privileges of such a licence;

(vi)has successfully completed professional training in the field of air transport of dangerous goods, followed by experience in this field; or

(vii)has successfully completed post-secondary aeronautical education with a duration of at least 3 years, followed by aeronautical experience.

QUALIFICATION PROCESS

(a)The competent authority should ensure that its inspectors meet, at all times, the qualification criteria with regard to training and recent experience.

(b)Any competent authority or ramp inspection training organisation (RITO) approved in accordance with ARO.RAMP.120(a) may provide the initial theoretical and practical training.

(c)The senior ramp inspectors delivering the on-the-job training may be appointed by any competent authority.

(d)The initial theoretical and practical training, as well as the on-the-job training as per ARO.RAMP.115(b)(2), should be completed within 12 months. If the qualification of the candidate is not completed within 12 months, the entire process should be re-initiated.

(e)The competent authority should issue a formal qualification statement, including the inspection privileges, for each candidate who has successfully completed the initial theoretical, practical, and on-the-job-training, as demonstrated by:

(1)for theoretical and practical trainings, a satisfactory evaluation by the competent authority or by the RITO which has delivered the training;

(2)for on–the-job training, the positive assessment, made by the senior ramp inspectors who have provided the training, of the candidate’s ability to effectively perform ramp inspections in an operational environment;

(3)a final assessment of the inspector’s competency performed at the end of the initial training process by the competent authority.

INITIAL THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL TRAINING

(a)The initial theoretical and practical training for ramp inspectors should be developed on the basis of the syllabi that are established by the Agency and which are included as appendixes of the ramp inspection manual.

(b)The duration of the initial theoretical training should be no less than 3 training days, except for cases when previous training can be credited to the candidate, following an assessment made by the competent authority. In case of an integrated training course, intended to transfer both technical and specific ramp inspection knowledge, the duration of the course should be extended accordingly.

(c)The duration of the initial practical training should be not less than 1 day. The competent authority of the candidate may decide to lengthen or shorten the training taking into account the level of expertise of the candidate.

ON-THE-JOB TRAINING

(a)The on-the-job training (OJT) should be conducted within the scope defined by ARO.RAMP.005.

(b)The content of the OJT should be established on the basis of the list of elements to be covered, which is included in appendixes of the ramp inspection manual.

(c)The competent authority should ensure that only the candidates that have successfully completed the initial theoretical and practical trainings are undertaking the OJT.

(d)The OJT should comprise 2 phases:

(1)Observation: During this phase, the candidate should accompany and observe a senior ramp inspector performing a series of ramp inspections (including the preparation of the inspection and post-inspection activities such as reporting). The senior inspector should also provide details on applicable follow-up activities.

(2)Under supervision: During this phase, the candidate should perform ramp inspections under the supervision and guidance of a senior ramp inspector.

(e)The duration of the OJT should be customised to the individual training needs of each candidate. As a minimum, the OJT should include at least 6 observed ramp inspections and 6 ramp inspections performed under the supervision of a senior ramp inspector, over a period of maximum of 6 months. Notwithstanding (a), up to 3 of these observed ramp inspections and 3 of these inspections under supervision may be performed on national operators, as long as they are performed in accordance with ARO.RAMP.

(f)The OJT should cover in each phase all inspection items that the inspector will be privileged with, and it should be delivered by senior ramp inspectors who are privileged with the same items.

(g)The OJT should be documented by the senior ramp inspectors who have provided the training, using OJT forms detailing the training content.

(h)Certain OJT items may be replaced by alternative training using representative examples when no operational environment is required (e.g. documents, dangerous goods).

EXTENSION OF THE RAMP INSPECTOR PRIVILEGES

(a)The competent authority may extend the privileges of a ramp inspector provided that the following conditions are met:

(1)the relevant knowledge of the ramp inspector has been satisfactorily complemented by additional theoretical and/or practical training relevant to the scope of the extension; and

(2)the ramp inspector has received OJT on the new inspection items that will be added to his/her privileges.

(b)The competent authority should determine the necessary number of ramp inspections of the OJT on a case-by-case basis, taking into account both the complexity and the criticality of the new items to be covered during this training, as well as the inspector’s aeronautical education and practical knowledge.

(c)Certain OJT items may be replaced by alternative training using representative examples when no operational environment is required (e.g. document inspections, dangerous goods).

RECENT EXPERIENCE AND REQUALIFICATION

(a)The minimum number of inspections to be performed by a ramp inspector to meet the recent experience requirement should be 12 per calendar year.

(b)Up to half of these ramp inspections may be performed on national operators, as long as they are performed in accordance with ARO.RAMP.

(c)In the calendar year during which the ramp inspector is qualified, the minimum number of inspections to meet the recent experience requirement should be determined on a pro rata basis.

(d)When qualification is lost as a result of failure to perform the minimum number of inspections, the ramp inspector may be requalified by the competent authority after having performed at least half of the missing inspections under supervision of a senior inspector within the following calendar year. These inspections under supervision should not be counted for the recent experience requirements for that calendar year. Up to half of these inspections may be performed on national operators, as long as they are performed in accordance with ARO.RAMP.

(e)If the ramp inspector cannot regain the qualification following the process described in (d), he/she should perform a complete OJT during the calendar year that follows.

(f)If the ramp inspector fails to regain the qualification following the process described in (e), the conditions for initial qualification should apply.

RECURRENT TRAINING

(a)The competent authority should ensure that all ramp inspectors undergo recurrent training at least once every 3 calendar years.

(b)In addition, the competent authority should ensure that additional training is provided to all ramp inspectors when information is received from the Agency about the necessity for ad hoc training. In developing such training, the competent authority should take into account any Agency instructions related to the training content and the associated timeframe for implementation. This ad-hoc training may be considered as recurrent training.

(c)Recurrent training should be delivered by a competent authority, by a ramp inspection training organisation approved in accordance with ARO.RAMP.120(a) or by the Agency.

(d)The recurrent training should cover at least the following elements:

(1)regulatory and procedural developments;

(2)operational practices;

(3)articulation with other European processes and regulations; and

(4)standardisation and harmonisation issues including those communicated by the Agency.

SENIOR RAMP INSPECTORS

(a)The competent authority may appoint senior ramp inspectors provided the appointees meet the following criteria:

(1)the appointee has been a qualified ramp inspector over the 36 months preceding his/her appointment; and

(2)during the period under (1), the appointee has performed a minimum of 72 ramp inspections, with no less than 24 ramp inspections during the last 12 months;

(b)Senior ramp inspectors should maintain their seniority only if performing at least 24 ramp inspections during each calendar year. Up to 6 of these ramp inspections may be performed on national operators, as long as they are performed in accordance with ARO.RAMP.

(c)For the calendar year during which the senior inspector was appointed, the recent experience requirements should be applied on a pro rata basis.

(d)When seniority is lost, but not the ramp inspector qualification, as a result of failure to perform the minimum number of ramp inspections, it can be regained if:

(1)the inspector performs 2 ramp inspections under the supervision of a senior ramp inspector; or

(2)the inspector performs the missing number of ramp inspections. These inspections should be performed within the following year, and should not be counted for the recent experience requirements for that year. The above provision should not be used for two consecutive years.

(e)If the senior ramp inspector cannot regain his/her seniority following the provisions under (d), the conditions under (a)(2) apply.

(f)For each appointed senior ramp inspector, the competent authority should establish, based on his/her experience, the privileges for which he/she may deliver OJT.