Survey of aviation maintenance technical manuals phase 2 report: User evaluation of maintenance documents

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Authors
Chaparro, Alex
Groff, Loren
Chaparro, Barbara S.
Scarlett, Deborah
Advisors
Issue Date
2002-04
Type
Research report
Keywords
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Citation
Chaparro, A., Groff, L., Chaparro, B.S., & Scarlett, D. (2002). Survey of aviation maintenance technical manuals phase 2 report: User evaluation of maintenance documents. Washington, D.C.: Office of Aviation Research.
Abstract

This report contains the results from Phase II of a III-phase research effort. Phase I (Human Factors Survey of Aviation Technical Manuals Phase I Report: Manual Development Procedures) of this research effort surveyed the procedures used by five manufacturers to develop maintenance documentation. Several potential human factors issues were identified in the development processes employed by these manufacturers. They included the reactive rather than proactive use of user evaluations, the limited use of user input and procedure validation, no systematic attempts to track error, and the lack of standards for measuring document quality. In Phase II, a written survey was used to solicit information about user perception of errors in current manuals, manual usage rates, and general manual quality. On-site interviews of technicians were also conducted to gather feedback about the types of problems encountered with manuals, the associated impact, and suggestions for improving manuals. Feedback was obtained from technicians responsible for maintenance on a wide variety of Federal Aviation Regulations, Part 25 aircraft. Survey results revealed that, although user evaluations of the accuracy and quality of technical manuals are generally good, they rate manuals as having poor usability. Comparing the results of Phase I to the Phase II results supports the need for a higher level of user involvement during the document development process.

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Publisher
FAA
Journal
Book Title
Series
Survey of Aviation Maintenance Technical Manuals
Phase 2
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
EISSN