A QUALITATIVE STUDY ON THE EXPLORATION OF SAFETY HAZARDS RELATED TO THE OUTSOURCING OF AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE

This study sets out to investigate the hazards, root causes and outcomes associated with the outsourcing of aircraft maintenance, and to investigate how and why these hazards compromise safety. For the purpose of the study, questionnaires consisting of open-ended questions were used to collect qualitative data from technicians and engineers who participate in outsourcing processes, and who were selected through purposive sampling. An inductive qualitative analysis method was used to analyze the qualitative research data. The research results suggest that airlines see the outsourcing of aircraft maintenance to another party as an effective way of reducing costs. With cost being the main factor in the selection of a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company, MRO providers are under serious pressure to reduce costs as this is the major competitive advantage in the MRO market. These factors create a wide range of safety hazards. Furthermore, outsourcing causes disorganization in the production of aircraft maintenance activities and in the organizational structure of parties. This also gives rise to safety hazards.