The Role of the Aviation Quality Manager

The term quality management has a specific meaning within many business sectors. This specific definition, which does not aim to assure 'good quality' by the more general definition, but rather to ensure that an organization or product is consistent and can achieve more consistent quality. Therefore, a quality manager, sometimes called a quality assurance manager, coordinates the activities required to meet quality standards.

Where does the quality manager fit into the aviation organization? Well, the quality manager is responsible for the delivery of an effective Quality Assurance system. Interestingly, there is a great deal of regulatory requirements written around the responsibility of the quality manager and a lot less regarding the responsibility of the post holders to deliver effective quality control.

To deliver an effective quality system requires a fundamental understanding and recognition of the differences between Quality Assurance, Quality Control and Safety Management and who is responsible for delivering the various elements.

Quality Control is the key to success, is to set and manage the company standards, making regulatory compliance an easier goal to achieve. There are three steps to this. The first is management of the documentation to ensure the procedures are necessary effective and efficient; the second, but just as important, is the understanding of these procedures by the workforce to include, where necessary, appropriate training; and the third is the management of competencies to ensure the staff are qualified, capable and, indeed, motivated to deliver the process required in an effective way. Unless the organization has effective control of these elements it is fighting with one arm behind its back.

Therefore the primary role of the quality manager is to verify, by monitoring activity in the fields of flight operations, maintenance, crew training and ground operations, that the standards required by the Authority, and any additional requirements defined by the operator, are being carried out under the supervision of the relevant nominated post holder.