The objective of this project is to contribute to the improvement of the learning process by developing an advanced training system for aeronautics maintenance training, based on innovative concepts, new cognitive approaches and simulation technologies.
   
  The improvements of the learning process refer to:
  • reduced time, costs and risks of training
  • improved features to deliver complex contents to trainees
  • more learning by doing
  • more attractive training
  • the possibility to learn by mistakes
  • improved means to provide a more general understanding of the technical system as well as relationships and interdependencies
  • provision of means not only to raise the awareness of HF issues but by experiencing them personally

 

Aircraft maintenance organisations are faced with a number of challenges that AITRAM is designed to address

  • Aircraft are becoming increasingly technologically complex, making the technical competence of technicians even more critical
  • A world-wide shortage of maintenance technicians that is forecasted to accelerate, increasing demands for cost effective training. This also increases the demand for quality on the job training (OJT) to reduce the time from initial recruitment to productive participation.
  • Competition from Asia and third world maintenance organisations in cheaper labour markets has meant that European maintenance organisations have had to rationalise operations and find ways to compete (such as on quality). AITRAM should help to reduce the cost of investment in personnel.
  • The Human Factor (HF) has been identified as the critical area to address in order to reduce accidents and incidents in line with the expressed goals of the Joint Aviation Authorities. Integrating HF in Technical Training (as opposed to providing separate HF courses) is seen as the most effective relevant HF skills to the key audience, the maintenance technician.
  • In addition to the above mentioned points, companies in this area are forced by the legislation. In aeronautics maintenance, namely the JAR66 becoming effective in June 2001, organisations working in the aeronautics maintenance area are now required to train licensed technicians in Human Factors
 

The AITRAM project brings together a unique European expertise to address industry needs in an innovative way. Over the past four years the Aerospace Psychology Research Group (APRG) of the Trinity College Dublin (TCD) has led two major projects looking at Human Factors in the area of aviation maintenance. They provide the HF results which form the basis of this Project. These projects are ADAMS and STAMINA. STAMINA develops HF training curricula and materials for aircraft maintenance organisations to address JAR 66. AITRAM will integrate this into Technical Training. ADAMS has produced a vast range of HF information and provides direct expertise to the development of AITRAM in a number of areas,

  • HF information from the analysis of accidents and incidents
  • HF analysis of the role of procedures (the basic instructions for task performance) in aircraft maintenance
  • Analysis of the HF bottlenecks (barriers to effective performance) in maintenance operations.

The IT for Learning and Training in Industry Programme contains several projects which deal with the use of innovative IT technologies for education and training. Among them are AMPOS and TRAIMWE. Fraunhofer IFF is the co-ordinator and main development partner of TRAIMWE. APRG of TCD is co-ordinator of AMPOS. TRAIMWE strives for the development of a demonstrator of a distributed, multi-user VR training system for maintenance personnel. By integrating the approach of TRAIMWE with the HF results of STAMINA and ADAMS as well as other related projects carried out by the participants, a new quality of innovative training system will be generated, to improve the learning process. This will help to meet the future requirements of Aircraft Maintenance Organisations and to ensure the competitiveness of European Aircraft Maintenance Companies. In addition the consortium will benefit of the results of AMPOS. The AMPOS project is developing a system for intra and inter organisational feedback of technical and HF information on tasks. This will help to generate information on typical operational issues relating to both technical and HF aspects of tasks to inform AITRAM scenario development.

Altogether this leads to significant improvements in training methodology and results. AITRAM addresses the following aspects of training:

  • procedure assessment considering HF
  • trainee’s assessment and self-training
  • Human Factors in task oriented environment
  • awareness of the maintenance technician ( concerning: handover problems, time pressure problems, slips in routine tasks, lack of communication, procedure violation, miss-diagnosis, lack of checks, supervision),
  • improved planning of tasks
  • task training in Virtual Environment

AITRAM will support different types of trainees: technicians only performing tasks in a procedure technicians fully responsible for a procedure technicians performing supervisory tasks

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