CHAPTER 2 MAINTENANCE ADMINISTRATION

Chapter Objective: Upon completion of this chapter, you should have the knowledge to identify the importance of office arrangement and procedures, recognize the various types of office equipment used in the Aviation Maintenance Administration work center, identify the types and purposes of official correspondence, recognize the purpose and use of the filing system used in Aviation Maintenance Administration, and identify the types of in-service training.

As an AZ, most of your duties will be in an office. You may be assigned to a small office where you are responsible only to the division officer; or to a large one, where you are one of several petty officers and strikers working under the supervision of a chief petty officer.

An office makes an impression on those who visit it, not unlike the impression one person makes on another. It is important that the office create a good impression; it is even more important, for the sake of the work and the worker, that the surface impression be based upon a genuinely good office situation.

As with the individual person, office atmosphere is the product of both physical and mental factors. The physical factors are the more obvious; therefore, they are presented first.

OFFICE ARRANGEMENT AND PROCEDURES

The amount of control you will have over the physical conditions in the office varies with the office location and the type of duty. Both aboard ship and ashore, conditions outside your control usually determine the kind of office and equipment you will have. You may or may not have a choice in arrangement of furniture. Without a doubt, you will be expected to take your share of responsibility for the general neatness and care of the place. You should perform these duties as a routine part of the job and not wait to be asked or told.

When you begin work in a new billet, one of your first needs is to learn as much as possible about the overall organization. Then you should become familiar with the office organization and the immediate chain of command.

After understanding all the functions of the office, you will see how your own duties fit into these functions. This knowledge makes the various jobs more interesting. The files, for instance, once thought so dull, take on a new interest with the knowledge of the use of the records they contain.

You should know the name and the rank or rate of every person in your office, and the manner in which every signing official makes a signature. You should also learn what part of the office operation each person performs and how your own work contributes to the general functions.

The next step is to see the office as part of a larger plan. The office may be viewed in two ways - as a part of the squadron or station and as a part of the overall aircraft maintenance program operating through similar offices in all aviation ships and at all air stations.

OFFICE ARRANGEMENT

If there is a need to rearrange the office furniture, you should think and plan before you start to move things around. Place the desks so that people who use them will have enough light, but no glare. There should be as much air as possible without locating anyone in a draft.