SEATTLE, Nov. 15, 2000 -- The International Federation of Airworthiness (IFA) has presented its annual Whittle Safety Award to a team of human factors specialists at Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group.
The award recognizes the team's effort to develop and implement the Maintenance Error Decision Aid process. This process is a systematic method to identify and analyze factors leading to maintenance errors in airline operations, and provides the basis for improvements to maintenance practices.
More than 50 airlines have adopted the process since it was introduced by Boeing in 1995. Boeing provides implementation training at no charge to airlines.
Two members of the Boeing development team, Bill Rankin of the company's Customer Support group and Curt Graeber of the Airplane Safety organization, were on hand to accept the safety award at a recent IFA ceremony in New Orleans. They were joined by Jerry Allen and David Marx, two former team members who previously worked for Boeing.
The IFA is a British-based organization dedicated to the improvement of aviation safety, and its Whittle Safety Award honors the aerospace community's most outstanding air safety achievements. The award, presented as a medal and citation, is named in honor of Sir Frank Whittle, developer of the turbojet engine.
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