capability. An aircraft in this category of readiness can
safely perform all of its intended missions.
All aircraft maintenance departments in the Navy
have a standard organization. The importance of having
a standard organization should be clear if you consider
what happens when you transfer from one aircraft
maintenance activity to another. When you transfer
from one activity to another, you should remember the
following:
The work centers in both the old and new activ-
ities use the same work center codes and names.
Officers will occupy similar billets.
When you perform clerical and administrative
duties, you will use the same publications,
instructions, forms, and procedures.
In other words, when you transfer from one aviation
maintenance activity to another, you should be able to
perform in your new activity within a very short period.
Q5. Maintaining assigned aircraft in a state of full
mission capability is the objective of what
department in an operating unit or activity?
MAINTENANCE LEVELS AND TYPES
OF MAINTENANCE
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Identify the
different levels of maintenance. Define and
compare maintenance upkeep and repair.
The NAMP defines a three-level maintenance
concept and is the authority that governs the
management of organizational-, intermediate-, and
depot-level aviation maintenance. The NAMP provides
the management tools for the efficient and economical
use of manpower and material resources. In addition,
the NAMP provides the basis for establishing standard
organizations, procedures, and responsibilities for the
accomplishment of all maintenance on naval aircraft,
associated material, and equipment. The three levels of
maintenance allow management to accomplish the
following:
Classify maintenance functions by levels
Assign responsibility for maintenance functions
to a specific level
Assign maintenance tasks that are consistent
with job complexity, scope, and range of work to
be performed
Accomplish any maintenance tasks by ensuring
optimum use of resources
Collect, analyze, and use data to assist all levels
of management that are concerned with the
NAMP.
MAINTENANCE LEVELS
The term aircraft maintenance has a very broad
meaning, ranging from a few minutes of aircraft
servicing to many months of overhaul in an
industrial-type facility. More than the words aircraft
maintenance or maintenance are needed to define the
full scope of aviation aircraft maintenance. The concept
divides all aircraft maintenance functions into three
distinct levels. The terms that describe these three
levels are organizational maintenance, intermediate
maintenance, and depot maintenance. The three
aircraft maintenance levels provide an orderly
separation of maintenance tasks. Task complexity,
space requirement, skill level of assigned personnel,
and scope of support responsibility are the basis for the
separation of tasks.
Organizational Maintenance (O-Level)
Organizational maintenance is the day-to-day work
that an operating unit performs in support of its own
operations. The mission of the O-level activity is to
maintain its aircraft and equipment in a full mission
capable status while improving the local maintenance
process. Maintenance at this level includes line
operations (inspections, servicing, handling, and so
forth) and periodic inspections of aircraft and
equipment and associated tests. O-level maintenance
also includes repairs and minor adjustments that do not
require shop facilities as well as the removal and
installation of components.
Operating units perform O-level maintenance in
assigned facilities. A squadron may have exclusive use
of assigned facilities or may share the facilities with
one or more other squadrons.
In an operating activity, permanently assigned
sailors normally perform organizational maintenance.
The operations maintenance division (OMD) performs
O-level maintenance at naval air stations on station
aircraft. The OMD also provides O-level maintenance
and other assistance to transient aircraft.
Intermediate Maintenance (I-Level)
Intermediate maintenance is work that is
performed in centrally located facilities for the support
of operating activities within a designated geographical
1-2