21L.A.125 Resources of the declared production organisation

GENERAL

1.FACILITIES AND WORKING CONDITIONS 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.

2.EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS The organisation’s equipment and tools enables 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 makes it possible for the organisation to demonstrate compliance with, and be traceable to, national or international standards.

3.NUMBER OF STAFF Sufficient staff 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.

4.COMPETENCE OF STAFF An evaluation of the competence of the staff is performed as part of the quality system. This should include, where appropriate, verification that specific qualification standards have been implemented, for example, for NDT, welding, etc. 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.

MANUFACTURING DATA When a declared production organisation develops 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 ensure the correct transcription of the original design data. Procedures are required to define the manner in which airworthiness and environmental compatibility data is used to issue and update the production/quality data, which determines the conformity of products and parts. The procedure should also define the traceability of such data to each individual product or part for the purpose of certifying their condition for safe operation and issuing a statement of conformity or an EASA Form 1.

ACCOUNTABLE MANAGER The term ‘accountable manager’ refers to the manager that is responsible and has corporate authority for ensuring that all production work is carried out to the required standards. This function may be performed by the chief executive officer or by another person in the organisation, nominated by the chief executive officer 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 accountable manager should:

(a)have sufficient knowledge and authority to be able to respond to the competent authority regarding major issues concerning the declared production organisation, and to implement any necessary improvements;

(b)have an understanding of this Annex, sufficient to discharge the relevant responsibilities.

NOMINATED MANAGERS The person or group of persons nominated in accordance with point 21L.A.125(c)(2) should represent the management structure of the organisation and be responsible for all the functions specified in Subpart G. Depending on the size of the declared production organisation, the functions may be subdivided among individual managers (and, in fact, may be further subdivided) or combined in a variety of ways. The responsibilities and the duties of each individual manager should be clearly defined in such a way that all the responsibilities are covered. Where a declared production organisation chooses to appoint managers for all or for any combination of the functions identified in Part 21 Light because of the size of the undertaking, those managers should ultimately report to the accountable manager nominated in accordance with point 21L.A.125(c)(1). Where a manager does not directly report to the accountable manager, that manager should have direct access to the accountable manager formally established. One such manager, normally known as the ‘quality manager’, should be responsible for the independent monitoring function as defined in point 21L.A.124(c). 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.125(c)(2). The role of the quality manager should be to ensure that:

(a)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 21L.A.125(c)(2);

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

(c)corrective actions are requested, as necessary, and their implementation is followed up.

DOCUMENTATION OF ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AND KEY PERSONNEL Point 21L.A.125(c)(4) requires that the organisational structure together with the key personnel are documented. The key personnel are those managers nominated according to point 21L.A.125(c)(1) and (c)(2). This could be achieved through the information included in the declared production organisation exposition (DPOE) (see AMC1 21L.A.124(d)). The above information should be kept updated to reflect changes made within the organisation.

CERTIFYING STAFF

(a)Certifying staff should be nominated by the declared production organisation to ensure that each of the products and/or parts that are produced within the organisation’s scope of work, 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 appropriate to the product or part to be released.

(c)Training should be given to develop a satisfactory level of knowledge of product/part specifications, the organisation’s procedures, the management system for production (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)The training policy is part of the quality system.

(f)The training should be updated in response to experience gained and changes in technology.

(g)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.

(h)For the release of products or parts, the responsibilities to issue statements of conformity or authorised release certificates (EASA Form 1) are allocated to the certifying staff that is identified in point 21L.A.125(d)(2).

EVIDENCE OF AUTHORISATION

(a)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.

(2)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.

(3)The list of certifying staff should be included in the declared production organisation exposition (DPOE) (see AMC 21L.A.124(d)), if utilised, or in equivalent processes and procedures.