Aviation Health Conference Cabin Fume “Engineering: - Isolating Emission Sources” Dr Ian Hosegood & John Ehret 3 rd October 2017 Commercial-in-Confidence and subject to contract 1
Precautionary principle • A strategy to cope with possible risks where scientific understanding is yet incomplete • Where there is a risk of a morally unacceptable harm that is scientifically plausible but uncertain • The judgement of plausibility should be grounded in scientific analysis. Analysis should be ongoing so that chosen actions are subject to review. Uncertainty may apply to, but need not be limited to, causality or the bounds of the possible harm. Unesco 2005 “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence” Carl Sagan, Astronomer Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 2
CAQE – Risk Management Control Opportunities Elimination Prevention Identification Management Media and propagand Ill worker a Education Workplace Hazards / Predispositions Crew health on topic culture medical and and welfare legal risk response Consequences Union activity Increased Costs Worker Personal beliefs and CAQE Factors health Customer impact Engineering Operational Practices and On time Engineering Fleet APU performance Real & Response & Engine perceived air health quality events Repeat event Extraneous on tail sources odour Manufacturer and engineering controls Medical Triage and Response Management Education and administrative controls Health Risk Communication System Data analysis and continuous improvement
Medical Response to Cabin Air Quality Events (CAQEs) Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 4
Background 1. Trained as an Industrial Chemist with Unilever and ICI 2. Associate Member of the Australian Institute of Occ Hygienists 3. Joined QF in 2001 4. Spent 5 Years in Freight 5. Short time in Cabin Crew and about 10 years in Engineering as Mgr Ground Safety & Environment 6. Now with QF Group Safety Services Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 5
Today • To share our work in Cabin Fume / ECS Fault Isolation using Air Quality Instrumentation • Does not alter any license or certification requirements • Is only used to identify a higher probability area upon which to focus engineering resources • Provides better outcomes for crews Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 6
Cabin Air Quality 1 Aircraft Cabin Fume continues to be problematic with articles in the media, legal Cases, potential health effects, diversions & sometimes lengthy maintenance time as AOG. 2 The Techniques we have developed use science to support odour detection and isolation, to enable timely repairs. 3 The data obtained can also provide additional support after defect rectification prior to Return To Service. Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 7
Benefits • Can help confirm the presence or absence of a defect • Allows for the respiratory protection of Engineers Required to wear an Organic Vapour Mask or Oxygen for both trouble shooting and pack burns whilst trouble shooting the aircraft ECS. • Reduces the probability of a repeat event after RTS, providing an increased level of confidence that the defect was rectified benefiting our crews Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 8
Fume Reports Cabin Air Quality Events (smoke, fume & smell) tend to fall into 4 categories 1 Major Failures APU / Engine Defect with obvious evidence 2 Non-ECS Source identified as food related, oven elements, toast, rotting food, plastic or paper in ovens or those categorized as biological in nature. 3 Fume Report Nil Fault Found 4 Fume Report Minor or Transient defect causing smells and odours which can be difficult to isolate and confirm despite extended “other operator A330 > 1 week as AOG” Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 9
Current Challenges with Fault Isolation Manuals (FIMs) Unless the fault is obvious, FIMs often require engineers / mechanics to use their sense of smell to detect the origin of the odour. Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 10
Odour Fatigue (Olfactory Fatigue) Humans tend to loose the ability to discriminate the strength and type of odour after they are exposed for a period of time due to sensory adaptation for example, during ground runs or pack burns. Other Issues can include:- The persons’ sex. Females have a heightened sense of smell which varies with 1 time when compared to males 2 Whether they are smokers 3 Current health status e.g. head cold Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 11
Human Bias & Priming Priming Can you smell something (Oil ?) Bias A run of APU issues may drive a predisposition to focus on APU troubleshooting. Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 12
Air Quality Instrumentation - Overcoming Human Bias & Priming The use of Air Quality Instrumentation allows the collection of unbiased, data to support the decision making process regarding fault isolation and defect rectification. Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 13
Air Quality Monitoring Parameters Ultrafine Particles (Combustion/ Decomposition Products) Volatile Organics (Fuel Oil) CO 2 (Combustion Products) CO (Combustion Products) Atmospheric Pressure Temperature Relative Humidity Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 14
The Aluminium Case Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 15
Inside the Box Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 16
Radiated Emissions Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 17
Humans vs Instruments B767 – Repeat Issues with fwd Lav smoke detector activating inflight NO ODOURS REPORTED Ground Runs were relatively inconclusive. Inflight monitoring was decided SYD – MEL Return Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 18
Electrical Odour - Isolation of Cockpit Window Heater Fault Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 19
Non – Systematic Approach but Data Collected 30 th June, defect advised to be most likely from the # 2 Engine at high throttle settings Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 20
Ground Run Protocol Twin Engine Ground Run ≈ 47 Minutes Systematic Evaluation of the ECS with Air Quality Instruments 1 APU 2 Engine # 1 3 Engine # 2 Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 21
VH-VGO – Odour Fatigue Nov 2012 Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 22
VH-OQF A380 . In an out of Service 5 Times - 3 significant & 1 Transit Delay in Dallas & 1 Air Quality Ground Run It involved 20 staff, for an 3 x 12 hr shifts in Sydney. All planned work was deferred. The aircraft then operated to with an approx. 2 hr delay before returning to Sydney with another tech log entry related to cabin fume Numerous Components Swapped out During these Periods Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 23
VH-OQF Ground Run Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 24
Benefits of Improved Defect Isolation Ability - Minimises the impact of personal bias and priming and the time taken to isolate non – obvious ECS defects. - The Air Quality Data is available to Support Targeted Maintenance Decisions. - Can support the decision making process for RTS , post maintenance or when Nil Fault Found. - Improved Engineering staff safety - Breathing protection which ensures their health is protected and final odour check occurs with a clean palate - Reduced costs associated with unproductive AOG troubleshooting - Improved outcomes for aircraft crews on subsequent sectors Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 25
Future State Continue to refine our processes as Higher Reliability we deliver this capability across the QF Group. Investigate whether we can utilise these techniques further as we move increasingly towards a Predictive approach. Staff / PAX Safety Lower Costs Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 26
Thank You Questions ? John Ehret jehret@qantas.com.au Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 27
APU Twin Engined Jet* - Ground Run Protocol for Targeting Fume Source Insert Aircraft Registration Number Target Hold Actual UTC Time Bleed Air Time in Change was Date Source minutes Selected Field Notes / Comments APU Start APU and feed both packs with APU Bleed Air - Recirc Fans Off 1 APU Change APU Bleed Air to #1 Pack ON #2 Pack Off 1 APU Change APU Bleed Air to #1 Pack OFF #2 Pack On 1 APU Change APU Bleed Air to Feed Both Packs 1 APU Call for full cabin heat (trim valves open) Flt Deck Fwd, Mid & Aft 1 APU Reset cabin temp to lowest temp position (Trim valves closed) Flt Deck Fwd, Mid & Aft 1 APU Reset Cabin Temp to Mid Point Flt Deck Fwd, Mid & Aft 1 APU Recirc fans on 1 APU Recirc Fans Off 1 Commercial-in-Confidence – Not for Distribution 28
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