Check Yourself
By Rebekah Waters, FAA Safety Briefing Magazine
As I’m writing this, it’s Wednesday morning, the day after Halloween. I had trouble unwinding after last night’s festivities and didn’t get to bed on time, so I’m sipping a mug of strong coffee. On autopilot, I open my emails and start skimming the subject lines like I do every morning. This has been my morning routine for years now. Routines can be great, but it’s important to make sure that they don’t lead to complacency. Brian Tracy, motivational speaker and author, says, “Complacency is the enemy of success.” When it comes to aircraft maintenance, complacency is the enemy of safety! The Maintenance Personal Minimums Checklist is one tool that can help ward off complacency, make safety the primary objective, and maybe even make your job a little easier.
Developed in the late 1990s by FAASTeam member Richard Mileham, the Maintenance Personal Minimums Checklist is an important risk management tool. Its name, inspired by the Personal Minimums Worksheet for pilots, is a bit of a misnomer since it is more like a condensed version of a code of conduct for mechanics. The list, which is available in pocket size or slightly larger, includes items to consider before and after performing a task. The FAA recommends keeping one handy, where you can see it, like near a toolbox or workbench, and use it for each task you perform.
Before the Task
One of the top causes of complacency is doing repetitive tasks on a continual basis without incident. As a writer, the stakes are lower, and most of my tasks are varied and new. But for mechanics, complacency is a real hazard. This checklist will help mitigate the risks that complacency creates. It reminds you to consider crucial questions like, “Am I physically prepared to perform the task?” before you get started. Taking a minute to review and answer each question in this section of the checklist honestly before you begin any task can help you avoid a sense of overconfidence — another part of complacency — that could lead to careless mistakes.
After the Task
Once you’ve completed the task, refer to the list again. Check each of these equally crucial questions to make sure the aircraft is safe for flight. Questions like, “Did I perform the job task without pressures, stress, and distractions?” will help you double-check your own work. You might think that you will always know to check in with yourself on questions like, “Am I willing to fly in the aircraft once it is approved for the return to service?” but the checklist ensures a safety baseline every single time you perform a task. Even if you’ve completed this task hundreds of times — especially if you’ve completed this task hundreds of times — it’s critical to take a moment and check your work. The checklist will help you mitigate the risks that crop up when complacency sets in.
A PDF copy of the FAA’s Maintenance Personal Minimums Checklist is available at bit.ly/MaintenanceHangar or you can reach out to your local FAASTeam Program Manager for hardcopies. If you’re still not sold on the idea that you need to use this checklist, just remember, the work you do impacts lives, not just machinery.
Learn More
- Checklist Compliance: Your “To-Do” List for Aviation Maintenance, FAA Safety Briefing, Jan/Feb 2016, Page 27.
- To find your FAASTeam Program Manager go to the FAASTeam Online Directory.
Rebekah Waters is an FAA Safety Briefing associate editor. She is a technical writer-editor in the FAA’s Flight Standards Service.
