21.A.145 Resources

EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS The organisation’s equipment and tools should enable all the specified tasks to be accomplished in a repeatable manner without any detrimental effects. The calibration control of the equipment and tools that affect the dimensions and values of products should demonstrate compliance with, and be traceable to, national or international standards.

STAFF NUMBER AND COMPETENCY

(a)Sufficient personnel means that, for each function, according to the nature of the work and the production rate, the organisation has a sufficient number of qualified staff to accomplish all the specified manufacturing tasks and to attest the conformity of such task. The number of staff should be such that the relevant airworthiness considerations may be applied in all areas without any undue pressure.

(b)The organisation should have a system in place to plan the availability of staff to ensure that the organisation has sufficient appropriately qualified staff to plan, perform, supervise, inspect, and monitor the organisation’s activities in accordance with the organisation’s terms of approval.

(c)The organisation should establish and control the competency of the staff that is involved in activities of the organisation, as detailed in the organisation’s terms of approval, in accordance with documented procedures. In addition to the necessary expertise that is related to the job function, the competency of the staff should include an understanding of safety management and human factors (HF) principles, which is appropriate to the staff member’s function and responsibilities in the organisation.

(d)The competency evaluation should include verification, where appropriate, that specific qualification standards have been applied, for example, welding for non-destructive testing (NDT), etc.

(e)To assist in the assessment of competency and to perform the analysis of the training needs, job (job family) descriptions are recommended, which should contain sufficient criteria to enable the required competency assessment throughout the duration of the employment/contract.

(f)The organisation should develop a procedure that describes the process for assessing the competency of the staff. The procedure should specify:

(1)the staff that are responsible for that process;

(2)the means and methods for the initial assessment;

(3)the means and methods for the continuous control of the competency of the personnel, including feedback on their performance;

(4)the action to be taken if the assessment is not satisfactory; and

(5)how to record assessment results.

(g)Adequate initial and recurrent training should be provided in relation to the job function to ensure that staff remain competent. That training should be adapted based on experience that is gained within the organisation (for safety training, refer also to AMC1 21.A.139(c)(5)(i)).

(h)The organisation should record the training that is provided as described in point (g).

FACILITIES A facility is a working area where the working conditions and the environment are controlled as appropriate in respect of: cleanliness, temperature, humidity, ventilation, lighting, space/access, noise, and air pollution.

PRODUCTION DATA When a production organisation approval (POA) holder or an applicant for a POA is developing its own manufacturing data, such as computer-based data, from the design data package that is delivered by a design organisation, procedures are required to demonstrate the correct transcription of the original design data. Procedures are required to define the manner in which airworthiness and environmental protection data is used to issue and update the production/quality data, which determines the conformity of products, parts, and appliances. The procedure should also define the traceability of such data to each individual product, part, or appliance for the purpose of certifying their condition for safe operation and of issuing a statement of conformity or EASA Form 1.

ACCOUNTABLE MANAGER

(a)The accountable manager (AM) should:

(1)have sufficient knowledge and authority to be able to respond to the competent authority regarding major issues concerning the production organisation approval (POA), and to carry out any necessary improvements;

(2)promote the safety policies and objectives that are specified in AMC1 21.A.139(c)(1); and

(3)demonstrate a Part 21 understanding that is sufficient to discharge the relevant responsibilities.

(b)The production organisation exposition (POE) that is submitted in accordance with point 21.A.143 should show that the AM has the direct or functional responsibility for all the departments of the organisation which are involved in the POA. If any of those departments are functionally linked, the AM still has the ultimate responsibility for compliance of the PO with Part 21.

ACCOUNTABLE MANAGER ‘Accountable manager’ refers to the manager that is responsible and has corporate authority for ensuring that all production work is performed to the required standard. This function may be carried out by the chief executive officer (CEO) or by another person in the organisation, nominated by the CEO to fulfil the function, provided that the position and authority of that person in the organisation allows that person to discharge the associated responsibilities. The manager is responsible for ensuring that all necessary resources are available and properly used under the production approval in accordance with Part 21, Section A, Subpart G.

NOMINATED MANAGERS

(a)The person or group of persons nominated in accordance with point 21.A.145(c)(2) should represent the management structure of the organisation and be responsible for all the functions as specified in Part 21, Subpart G. Depending on the size of the approved production organisation (PO), the functions may be subdivided under individual managers (and in fact may be further subdivided) or combined in a variety of ways.

(b)The organisation should nominate a person or a group of persons that are responsible for:

(1)the independent monitoring function as defined in point 21.A.139(e); and

(2)ensuring the development, administration, and maintenance of effective safety risk management processes as defined in point 21.A.139(c)(3).

(c)If more than one person is designated for the management of the independent monitoring function, the AM should identify a unique focal point, typically known as the ‘quality manager’.

(d)If more than one person is designated for the development, administration, and maintenance of effective safety risk management processes as defined in point 21.A.139(c)(3), the AM should identify a ‘safety manager’ as the unique focal point.

(e)Each nominated manager should be identified and their credentials submitted to the competent authority as a significant change so that they may be seen to be appropriate in terms of their relevant knowledge and satisfactory experience related to the nature of the production activities as performed by the approved PO.

(f)The responsibilities and the duties of each individual manager should be clearly defined in such a way that all the responsibilities are covered.

(g)Where an approved PO chooses to appoint managers for all or for any combination of functions that are the identified in Part 21 because of the size of the undertaking, those managers should ultimately report to the accountable manager. When a manager does not directly report to the accountable manager, that manager should have a direct access to the accountable manager formally established.

(h)The independent monitoring function should be independent from other functions. As such, the quality manager should not be at the same time one of the other persons that are referred to in point 21.A.145(c)(2), except for the safety manager. If the same person is designated to manage both the independent monitoring function and safety-management-related processes and tasks, the accountable manager, in order to discharge their safety accountability, should ensure that sufficient resources are allocated to both functions, taking into account the size of the organisation, and the nature and complexity of its activities.

(i)Quality manager The role of the quality manager should be to ensure that:

(1)the activities of the organisation are monitored for compliance with the applicable requirements and any additional requirements as established by the organisation, and that those activities are performed properly under the supervision of the nominated persons that are referred to in point 21.A.145(c)(2);

(2)an audit plan is properly implemented, maintained, and continually reviewed and improved; and

(3)corrections and corrective action are requested, as necessary.

(j)Safety manager The role of the safety manager should be:

(1)to facilitate hazard identification, as well as risk assessment and management;

(2)to monitor the implementation of action taken to mitigate risks, as listed in the safety action plan, unless action follow-up is addressed by the independent monitoring function;

(3)to provide periodic reports on safety performance to the safety review board (the functions of the safety review board are defined in AMC1 21.A.139(c)(2));

(4)to ensure the maintenance of safety management documentation;

(5)to ensure that there is safety training available, and that it meets acceptable standards;

(6)to provide advice on safety matters; and

(7)to ensure the initiation and follow-up of internal investigations of occurrences.

(k)Subject to a risk assessment and the competent authority’s agreement, with due regard to the size of the organisation, and the nature and complexity of its activities, the functions of the quality manager and the safety manager may be performed by the accountable manager, provided that the accountable manager has demonstrated the related level of competency.

MANAGEMENT STAFF COMPETENCIES

(a)The organisation should provide initial and recurrent training to the persons or group of persons that are nominated in accordance with point 21.A.145(c)(2), which is adequate to their job function and ensures that their continued competency is maintained throughout the duration of their employment/contract.

(b)All prospective members of the production management staff and staff that is nominated in accordance with point 21.A.145(c)(2) should:

(1)be assessed for their competency, qualifications, and capabilities that are related to their intended duties;

(2)be able to demonstrate their knowledge of, and compliance with, the production management organisation procedures that are applicable to their job function; and

(3)be able to demonstrate an understanding of the safety management principles, as well as human factors (HF) issues and human performance (HP) issues that are related to their tasks.

(c)The quality manager should be able to demonstrate relevant knowledge, background, and appropriate experience that are related to the activities of the organisation, including knowledge of, and experience in, independent system monitoring.

(d)The competency of the person that assumes (or the persons that assume) the function of the safety manager should include, but not be limited to, the following:

(1)knowledge of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards and EU requirements for safety management;

(2)an understanding of management systems, including compliance monitoring systems;

(3)an understanding of risk management;

(4)an understanding of safety investigation techniques;

(5)an understanding of HF, including HP and limitations;

(6)an understanding of a positive safety culture and of its promotion; and

(7)operational experience related to the activities of the organisation.

CERTIFYING STAFF

(a)Certifying staff should be nominated by the production organisation to ensure that each of their products, parts, and/or appliances qualifies for a statement of conformity or a release certificate. The position and number of certifying staff should be appropriate to the complexity of the product and the production rate.

(b)The qualifications of certifying staff should be based on their knowledge, background and experience and on specific training (or testing) that is established by the organisation to ensure that it is appropriate to the product, part, or appliance to be released.

(c)Training should be given to certifying staff to develop a satisfactory level of knowledge of product/part specifications, the organisation’s procedures, production management systems (including compliance monitoring), aviation legislation, and the associated regulations, AMC and GM, that are relevant to their particular role. Training should include on-the-job training, as relevant.

(d)For that purpose, in addition to the general training policy, the organisation should define its own standards for training, including pre-qualification standards, for personnel to be identified as certifying staff.

(e)A feedback system to ascertain that the required standards are being maintained should be put in place to ensure the continuing compliance of personnel with authorisation requirements.

(f)For the release of products, parts, or appliances, the responsibilities to issue statements of conformity or release certificates (EASA Form 1) or permits to fly, including the approval of flight conditions, are allocated to the certifying staff that is identified in point 21.A.145(d)(2).

EVIDENCE OF AUTHORISATION

(a)The certifying staff should be provided with evidence of their authorisation. This should be done through an internal authorisation document. That document should be in a style that makes its scope clear to the certifying staff and any entitled person that may require to examine the authorisation. It should include the privileges that are granted to the certifying staff and the category of products upon which they may exercise those privileges. Where codes are used to define the scope, an interpretation document should be readily available.

(b)Certifying staff are not required to carry the authorisation document at all times, but they should be able to make it available within a reasonable time following a request from an entitled person, which includes the competent authority.