MAINTENANCE REVIEW BOARD REPORT

Background

Conducting maintenance and gaining experience thereof is a fact at every maintenance

organization every day. To understand why certain tasks are performed and at which interval
they are performed is crucial. Therefore, evaluation of them should be performed at all time
and on continues basis.
When introducing a new fleet of aircraft into the organization there is no experience and the
organization must follow the MRBR (Maintenance Review Board Report) and MPD
(Maintenance Planning Document) when setting up their own MP (Maintenance Program) or
buy a MP from the manufacturer of the aircraft. For most operators there is neither time nor
knowledge to develop their own MP when starting to operate the aircraft and the best solution
then is to buy a MP. This MP might not take operating conditions into account as e.g.
climate, and utilization of the fleet. For this reason, it is obvious that this is not an optimal
solution for the operator.
The knowledge based development of the operators’ MP starts as soon as feedback of
experience from operating and maintaining the aircraft reaches the organization responsible
of the Part M incorporation.

Definition of maintenance

To maintain a complex system without knowing the reasons for conducting maintenance is
dangerous, the objective of maintenance is to restore safety to the designed in-level. Defining
this process correctly is hard.
Maintenance is the process where a system designed-in level of failure resistance is restored
to or as close as economic viable to the most adequate level of the design.

The need of a maintenance program

The main purpose of the maintenance program is to restore safety to the designed-in level
before the degradation reaches a level where a failure could occur.
 Figure 1. A typical maintenance program development planning

Initial development of a maintenance program

There are three main actors relating to the initial development of the MP, the manufacturer,
the Industrial Steering Committee and the Maintenance Review Board.

Maintenance Review Board (MRB)

1. The Maintenance Review Board (MRB) process (with MSG-3 as a tool) is an

acceptable means of compliance for developing a maintenance program/scheduled
maintenance instructions as part of the compliance with the ICA.
2. MSG-3 is an analytical methodology, officially recognized (FAA/TCCA/EASA)
based on Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM).
3. The MSG-3 logic is owned by ATA. MSG-3 is reviewed and updated by a
Maintenance Programs Industry Group (MPIG) and approved through the
International MRB Policy Board (IMRBPB), AAs.

In the manufacturers PPH (Policies and Procedures Handbook), the process for developing
the initial maintenance program is clearly described. The PPH is prepared by the
manufacturer and presented to the ISC (Industrial steering committee) for review and
approval. ISC then forwards it to the MRB chairpersons and other regulatory authorities for
acceptance.
ISC must in conjunction with the aircraft Type Design Organization document and present a
proposed MRB report in the form of a Maintenance Program Proposal to the MRB
chairperson for approval.
The ISC is a joint venture between manufacturer and operator and its responsibilities lies
against the regulatory agencies and airline industry to ensure that the MRBR is developed and
assessed in accordance with the PPH.
Following table is taken from BAe Systems Regional Aircraft PPH, section 1 p.13 and covers
the functions and responsibilities of the Maintenance Review Board activities.

Table 1. The Maintenance review board process and the process owners.
Function Responsibilities
Maintenance review board chairpersons Approve maintenance review board
Regulatory authorities report

Maintenance review board members Attend maintenance review board and

Regulatory authorities industry steering committee meetings.
Accept the policy and procedure handbook.
Review the maintenance program proposal.

Industry steering committee Control and co-ordinate all maintenance

chairpersons Airline industry and BAe review board report evaluation activities.
regional Aircraft

Industry steering committee Produces Policy and Procedures Handbook.

Airline industry, BAe regional Aircraft and Controls and agrees to working group
Type certificate holder activities. Produces Maintenance Program
proposal.

Working group chairpersons Control and co-ordinate working group

Airline industry, BAe regional Aircraft and
Type certificate holder
Working group membership
Airline industry, BAe Regional Aircraft,
Type certificate holder and major vendors.
activities report results to the ISC. Report
any
areas of difficulties to the ISC.
Review all technical data and MSG analysis.
Propose maintenance tasks and frequencies.

BAe Regional Aircraft Provide all technical procedural training.

Gather all technical data. Perform the initial
MSG analysis. Print and distribute the
maintenance program proposal. Print and
distribute the Maintenance review board
report.
Composition and Process
The MRB process is the standardized process used as an acceptable means of compliance to
develop scheduled maintenance instructions ensuring the objectives of an efficient aircraft
maintenance program.

Figure 2. Figure showing maintenance process

MRB Applicability
1. Uses of the MRB Process
The MRB process should be used for:
 i. Transport category airplanes designed to carry 10 or more people or having a
maximum weight of 33,000 lb or more,
ii. Transport category “A” helicopters, or
iii. Powered-lift aircraft.

2. Optional Uses of the MRB Process

Additionally, an MRB may be used for any aircraft by choice of the Original
Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)/type-certificate holder (TCH).

Maintenance Review Board Report (MRBR)

Purpose of an MRBR
Industry and regulatory authorities generate an MRBR as a coordinated effort of achieving
timely compliance with the applicable certification regulatory requirements and the minimum
scheduled maintenance requirements. An MRBR contains the minimum scheduled
tasking/interval requirements for a particular aircraft and on-wing engine maintenance
programs. Develop the MRBR in accordance with the guidelines in this advisory circular
(AC). Do not confuse the MRBR requirements with an operator maintenance program. After
FAA approval, the requirements become a base or framework around which each operator
can develop its own individual aircraft maintenance program.

Use of the MSG Analysis Process

You must use the latest version of the ATA MSG analysis process and procedures for the
development of an MRBR for all new aircraft or engines. For development of derivative
designs (amended TC), the applicant should apply the most current version of MSG-3 logic
to those systems or structures that have changed. Reapplication for a TC after an expired TC
application requires using the most recent version of the MSG logic process. The FAA no
longer supports MSG-2 at the committee or working group (WG) level. Each OEM/TCH is
responsible for supporting the regulatory requirements for their MSG-2 aircraft.

Approval of an Operator’s Program Performance

Aircraft/engine design and performance form the MRBR requirements. An operators’
program performance is the responsibility of the operator, with oversight by the local
regulatory authority. The appropriate certificate-holding district office (CHDO) must initially
approve and thereafter accept changes to an operator’s aircraft maintenance program and
methods used to implement these MRBR requirements. Refer to Figure 2-1.

MRBR Sections
The Maintenance Review Board Report (MRBR) contains the Minimum Initial Scheduled
Maintenance Requirement.
 1. System and power plant
2. Structure
3. Zonal and lightening / High Intensity Radiated Fields (HIRF)
Manufacturer to identify an appropriate method capable to confirm that in-service
operation will not reduce the HIRF and Lightning protection to a level that is
inadequate to maintain Type Certification objectives
- Identification of dedicated maintenance tasks if needed MRBR
- Identification of a ‘Lightning/HIRF protection Assurance Plan’ specific
tests on a representative sample of the world fleet at specified intervals

Figure 3. Development of MRBR

Significance

The FAA convenes an internal Maintenance Review Board (MRB) for examination and
approval of the proposal. Final issues are identified and resolved and the product of this
review is known as the Maintenance Review Board Report (MRB). This is a living document.
Once the airplane is placed in service and experience is gained with the design, items may be
added or deleted from the report. Intervals for task accomplishment may be escalated.

Developing the scheduled maintenance tasks for a new airplane is long and very costly.
Consider that for the 777 airplane, the project of defining tasks was begun in early 1990. The
original MRB document was adopted by the FAA in 1995, just two weeks before the airplane
was certified. The project involved several hundred people from all over the world. It
included mechanics, design engineers, maintenance engineers, regulators and countless other
skills. No one can begin to imagine the total labor hours expended or the total dollars used.

The MRB is the framework around which each air carrier develops its own individual
maintenance program for the airplane. The essential elements of the MRB are included in the
airline's Operations Specifications Part D, which defines the maintenance program.
Ultimately, the MRB items are translated into a series of task cards that anyone can use while
doing "Scheduled Maintenance Tasks."