Carrying out project management of aeronautical engineering activities
Overview
This standard identifies the competences you need to project manage aeronautical engineering activities, time and resources, in accordance with approved procedures. You will be required to ensure that the project management activities are capable of meeting the aeronautical engineering requirements, and that the plans effectively integrate with existing processes. The scope of the standard requires you to produce project plans for significant aeronautical engineering processes with complex requirements having multiple operations and resources, and will cover such items as component/product manufacturing, installation and commissioning, testing and trialling, planned maintenance, and plans for capability studies or equipment replacement programs.
Your responsibilities will require you to comply with organisational policy and procedures for project managing the engineering activities. You will report any problems with the activities that you cannot personally resolve, or that are outside your permitted authority, to the relevant people. You will be expected to work with a minimum of supervision, taking personal responsibility for your own actions and for the quality and accuracy of the work that you carry out.
Your underpinning knowledge will provide a good understanding of your work and will provide an informed approach to applying project planning procedures to aeronautical engineering activities. You will understand the project planning process and its application, and will know about the aeronautical engineering activities within your organisation, in adequate depth to provide a sound basis for carrying out the project planning activities to the required standard. You will understand your organisation's methods of operation in sufficient detail to enable you to make informed decisions.
You will be aware of any health, safety and environmental requirements applicable to the aeronautical engineering activities being project managed. You will be required to demonstrate safe working practices throughout, and will understand the responsibility you owe to yourself and others in the workplace.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- confirm the operational activities that are required to achieve the operational methods and procedures
- identify the most suitable sequence of operational activities
- schedule the time and resources available for undertaking the operational activities
- ensure that operational schedules are capable of meeting all relevant requirements
- incorporate new operational schedules into the operational process with minimum disruption
- produce project management plans
- identify potential difficulties and produce appropriate contingency plans
- ensure that operational plans comply with all relevant regulations and guidelines
- specify clearly the operational plans and record them in the appropriate information systems
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- how to access information on health and safety regulations and guidelines relating to the engineering activities to be project managed
- the implications of not taking account of legislation, regulations, standards and guidelines when producing the project plans
- the requirements and importance of understanding and applying human factors as defined by the regulatory requirements and the potential impact if these are not adhered to
- how to obtain information on the activity to be planned and the type of information that is available (such as customer order requirements and instructions, quality control requirements, product specification, manufacturing methods)
- how to access and use the appropriate information and documentation systems
- how to interpret engineering schedules and the techniques used for project management and planning activities
- the types of data that should be included in the project plans (such as time scales, resource requirements, health and safety issues)
- the document formats, codes and conventions that are used in preparing the project management plans
- the factors to be taken into account when preparing the project management plans, especially those covering working conditions and safety
- how to assess resource requirements, and the main types of resources involved with different types of engineering activity and the typical timescales for providing them
- how to plan resources
- the obvious (and hidden) costs of resources/activities
- the normal timescales for carrying out specific engineering activities and how and why they vary
- the methods and techniques for capacity planning
- the products (or assets) involved in the activity being planned and their availability
- the development of the project management plans (to include both master documents and working instructions, along with their purpose, content and status)
- how to prepare the project management plans (to include the structure, style, clarity and compliance with relevant standards)
- the process used in the organisation to validate the project management plans produced
- the control procedure for ensuring that the project management plans are maintained up to date
- the procedures for changing the project management plans and why control procedures are used
- the importance of maintaining records, what needs to be recorded and where records are kept
- why contingency plans need to be drawn up and how to develop them
- whom to inform about the project management plans
- the different ways of presenting information to different people
- the importance of providing the right information at the right time
- the roles and responsibilities of key personnel in your organisation
- the problems that can occur during the implementation of the project management plans and how these problems can be rectified
- the sources of technical expertise if you have problems that you cannot resolve
- the organisational procedures for providing information to different people
- the extent of your own authority and to whom you should report in the event of problems that you cannot resolve
Scope/range
Scope Performance
Carry out all of the following when producing the project management plans:
- use the correct issue of company information
- collect relevant information on the engineering requirements, operations, methods and resources
- determine the availability of resources required
- ensure that health and safety regulations and safe working practices are taken into account
- ensure that the influence of working conditions is recognised and included in the schedules
- present the engineering plans in the appropriate formats
Produce project plans and carry out project management of two of the following:
- drawing/design activities (such as electronic components, printed circuit boards, thick, thin or flexible film circuits)
- manufacturing activities (such as machining, detail fitting, fabrication of components, moulding)
- mechanical assembly activities (such as mechanical, structural, fluid power)
- electrical/electronic assembly activities (such as avionic)
- installation activities (such as mechanical equipment installation, electrical/avionic installation)
- lifting and moving large components/assemblies (including transportation/delivery)
- finishing activities (such as stripping finishes, painting, plating, anodising)
- material processing activities (such as heat treatment, annealing)
- modifications and repair activities (such as airframe, systems, avionics)
- materials handling (such as movement of materials, materials storage, removal of waste)
- operational activities (such as quality systems and audit, scheduled safety audits and risk assessments)
- maintenance activities (such as planned preventive maintenance, part/sub assembly exchange, breakdown response, maintenance records systems, line setting)
- equipment capability/performance measurement
- plant and equipment (such as plant layout, equipment changeover, equipment replacement)
- testing and trialling
- commissioning/decommissioning
- research and development
Obtain accurate details of activities and resources from two of the following people or departments:
- management/directors
- design office
- industrial engineering
- client/customer
- suppliers
- process engineering
- quality engineering
- plant engineering
- purchasing
- sales
- production engineering
- safety engineering
Prepare and review plans of resources, to include five of the following:
- people with the necessary skills
- facilities
- financial
- materials
- space
- equipment
- support services
Identify any difficulties and produce a contingency plan detailing one of the following actions, to ensure that the project plans meet requirements:
- agree revised requirements with management/client
- change timescales in agreement with management/clients
- reschedule
- obtain additional/alternative resources
- recommend a change to the process
- other specific actions
Record and present the project plans to the appropriate people, by the following methods:
- verbally
Plus by one other method from the following:
2. written/typed report
3. specific company documentation
4. electronic mail
5. computer-based presentation
6. other appropriate media
Scope Knowledge
Values
Behaviours
You will be able to apply the appropriate behaviours required in the workplace to meet the job profile and overall company objectives, such as:
- strong work ethic
- positive attitude
- team player
- dependability
- responsibility
- honesty
- integrity
- motivation
- commitment