Outsourcing Aircraft May be a Contributing Factor in Airline Accidents

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Acknowledgement

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

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Abstract

This paper will analyze that whether outsourcing of Aircraft may be a Contributing Factor in Airline Accidents or not. The contemporary business environment has raised the strategic importance of the maintenance function in organizations which have significant investment in physical assets. Four strategic dimensions of maintenance management are identified, namely service-delivery options, organization and work structuring, maintenance methodology and support systems. The alternatives available are reviewed: the guidelines for selection of these alternatives, the key decision areas in each of the four dimensions, as well as the critical success factors for the transformation process are discussed. The two factors that permeate in these strategic dimensions are human factors and information flow; the latter can be made more efficient by embracing the e-maintenance model.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION2

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW7

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY25

Research Design25

Reliability28

Validity29

Ethical Concerns30

CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS33

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION58

REFERENCES62

APPENDIX77

Chapter 1: Introduction

Background

Supply chain vulnerability is a relatively new and unexplored area of management research, though one that is in the ascendancy (Svensson, 2002). In the UK, the economic impact of fuel protests in 2000, followed by the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease early the following year, focused the minds of policy makers on the need to understand more about the vulnerability of commercial supply chains. As a result, the UK Government commissioned a program of research, sponsored by the Department for Transport to investigate the phenomena. The ultimate aim of the research is to provide the insight by which to improve the resilience of the nation's supply chain networks. This paper draws on the findings of a significant portion of the work.

The term “supply chain” can be interpreted in many ways, but is defined here in its broadest sense, as “the network of organizations that are involved, through upstream and downstream linkages, in the different processes and activities that produce value in the form of products and services in the hands of the ultimate consumer” (Christopher, 1998 ). The work involves an exploratory, empirically grounded, study of supply chain risk and resilience, so common usage dictionary-based definitions were adopted for other key terms. Academic definitions of risk and resilience were purposefully avoided because grounded research of this sort necessarily begins with lay definitions before moving to technical descriptions (Blaikie, 1993). The term “risk” is therefore used here in the sense that something - a product, process, organization etc. - is “at risk” i.e. “vulnerable; likely to be lost or damaged” (Collins English Dictionary, 2000). “Resilience” is defined as “the ability of a system to ...