Staying safe as an aircraft engineer

Working with aircraft can be enormously satisfying. If you’re tasked with making them run properly, then you might find that your labour is in strong demand, too, which means that being an engineer can be an extremely lucrative profession.

But it’s also one that comes with a degree of inherent risk. After all, these are complex and potentially dangerous machines, and it’s therefore worth taking a few key precautions.

Understanding regulatory frameworks and responsibilities

When it comes to your legal responsibilities, it’s worth understanding the roles played by the different regulators. Generally speaking, the most important piece of legislation is the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. This is enforced by the Health and Safety Executive in Great Britain. In Northern Ireland, the HSENI enforces the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978, as well as all of the technicalities that come with it.

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority enforces a few rules not directly related to health and safety. For example, there’s the Civil Aviation Working Time Regulations, among whose benefits is its power to prevent engineers from working for so long that they become fatigued, and at greater risk of suffering an accident.

Safe working at height and infrastructure precautions

Aircraft can be very large, and thus, when working on them from the outside, the risk of a fall must be managed. The law requires that employers provide safe access equipment, which means that platforms should be in good condition and protected by barriers. Since aircraft have rounded bodies, specialised equipment is often required to ensure that there’s no significant gap between the access platform and the fuselage.

Falls from height account for a significant proportion of accident at work claims, and they tend to be extremely severe if they are not prevented.

Mitigating maintenance-related risks and human factors

We’ve already mentioned the legal duty to limit the working hours of engineers. But it’s also worth considering fatigue before you hit this legal threshold. You might remain mindful of the state of your body and mind, and take a step back when you feel burned out. Stress and physical fatigue can be a major driver of error, which in some cases can be dangerous.

Ensuring regulatory compliance in parts handling and quality control

There are a number of regulations that apply to engineers in particular, rather than to workers as a broad category. Among the most important of these are the requirements of CAA Part 145, which is there to ensure that maintenance organisations (and personnel) are capable of receiving, inspecting, and installing parts in a way that ensures the safety of the aircraft and everyone who might use it.