Form 451 FAA Manufacturers Questionnaire

MANUFACTURERS SURVEY FINAL CFI Group

Federal Aviation Administration

Department of Transportation

Manufacturers Satisfaction Survey 2011

Survey Introduction

Thank you for agreeing to participate in this survey, which will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. CFI Group, an independent research and consulting firm, is conducting this study. Your responses will remain strictly confidential and anonymous. CFI Group will aggregate your responses with others before reporting the data to the FAA Department of Transportation.

This survey has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget Control and is authorized under number 1505-0191.

Filter Questions

Q1. Do you currently hold an FAA production approval?

1. Yes (Continue)

2. No (Disqualify)

Q2. Do you currently hold an FAA Production Certificate?

1. Yes

2. No

Q3. Do you currently hold an FAA Technical Standard Order Authorization (TSOA)?

1. Yes

2. No

Q4. Do you currently hold an FAA Parts Manufacturing Approval (PMA)?

1. Yes

2. No

Q5. Do you currently hold an FAA Type Certificate?

1. Yes

2. No

Q6. Do you currently hold an FAA Amended Type Certificate?

1. Yes

2. No

Q7. Do you currently hold an FAA Supplemental Type Certificate?

1. Yes

2. No

Published Policies, Standards, Regulations

NOTE: This question pertains to published guidance such as ACs, Orders, Notices, etc.

Please rate the FAA’s policies, standards, regulations, and other guidance material in the following areas. Use a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means Poor and 10 means Excellent.

Q8. Consistency

Q9. Ease of use (i.e. being written in a clear and understandable manner)

Q10.Usefulness to your operations

Q11. Relevance (i.e. providing your organization what it needed)

Q12. Keeping pace with changes in your industry (i.e. being up-to-date)

Q13. Please provide any specific comments below on FAA’s published policies, standards, or regulations. (NOTE: ALLOW MAXIMUM TEXT SPACE FOR OPEN END COMMENTS)

Q14. Are you familiar with the FAA’s Aviation Safety Organization’s (AVS) Quality Management System (QMS)?

1. Yes (ASK Q15)

2. No (SKIP TO Q16)

Q15. With AVS QMS, have you noticed any improvements in consistency and standardization among the AVS offices?

1. Yes

2. No

3. No Opinion

FAA Organizations/Personnel

Q16. At which level(s) do you interact with the FAA? (Select all that apply)

1. MIDO (Manufacturing Inspection District Offices)

2. MISO (Manufacturing Inspection Satellite Offices)

3. ACO (Aircraft Certification Office)

4. FAA Directorate Office

5. HQ (Headquarters Divisions)

Q17. On average, how often does the FAA office contact you? (Select one)

1. Once a month or more frequently

2. Once every 3 months

3. Once every 6 months

4. Once a year or less frequently

5. They have not contacted me

Q18. Would you say the FAA office contacts you…

1. Too often

2. As often as needed

3. Not often enough

Think about your primary FAA contact when you request clarification of regulations and policies. Please rate them on the following. Use a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means Poor and 10 means Excellent.

Q19. Level of personal interface

Q20. Quality of service

Q21. Providing technically accurate information

Q22. Providing complete answers/responses in a timely manner

Q23. How do you communicate with the FAA? (Select all that apply)

1. USPS

2. FAA website

3. Broadcast emails

4. Individual emails

5. Phone

6. In person

Q24.Have you found one method more effective?

1. Yes (ASK Q25)

2. No (SKIP TO Q26)

Q25. If so, why? (Open end)

FAA Oversight Effectiveness

Q26. During the past year, have your operations…?

1. Expanded

2. Contracted

3. Remained the same

Please rate the guidance you received from FAA. Use a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means Poor and 10 means Excellent.

Q27. Please rate how clearly ACSEP (Aircraft Certifications Systems Evaluation Program) findings are communicated to the appropriate managers at your facility. Use a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means Not very clearly and 10 means Very clearly.

Q28. Please rate how much FAA oversight, including programs such as ACSEP, has improved the safety of your products. Use a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means Did not contribute much and 10 means Contributed a great deal.

Q29. Please rate how much FAA assisted you in maintaining or improving your FAA production approval. Use a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means Not very much and 10 means A great deal.

Q30. Please provide any specific comments about the guidance and oversight you received from the FAA below:

(NOTE: ALLOW MAXIMUM TEXT SPACE FOR OPEN END COMMENTS)

Safety Trends/Programs

Q31. Which of the following voluntary safety programs does your organization use as a source for risk indicators? (Select all that apply)

1. SUP (Suspected Unapproved Parts) (ASK Q32-36)

2. VDRP (Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program) (ASK Q32-36)

3. None of the above (SKIP TO Q37)

Q32. Please rate the extent to which these programs have improved industry safety. Use a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means Did not contribute much and 10 means Contributed a great deal.

Q33. Are the benefits of these programs worth the additional costs?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Don’t Know

Q34. Do you feel that safety monitoring, surveillance and assessment programs provide effective, predictive tools?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Don’t Know

Q35. Do you feel that safety monitoring, surveillance and assessment programs assist in targeting company oversight or attention?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Don’t Know

Q36. To what extent are the safety issues identified in these programs publicized to the employee population? Please use a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means Not very much and 10 means A great deal.

ACSI Benchmarks

Now, consider your overall satisfaction with the FAA. Satisfaction includes many things, so please reflect on all your experiences to date with the Federal Aviation Administration.

First, please consider all your experiences to date with the Federal Aviation Administration.

Q37. Using a 10-point scale on which "1" means "Very Dissatisfied" and "10" means "Very Satisfied," how satisfied are you with the FAA?

Q38. Considering all your expectations, to what extent has the FAA fallen short of or exceeded your expectations? Using a 10-point scale on which "1" means "Falls Short of Expectations" and "10" means "Exceeds Expectations," to what extent has the FAA fallen short of, or exceeded your expectations?

Q39. Forget about the FAA for a moment. Now, imagine an ideal agency promoting the safety of aviation. How well do you think the FAA compares to that ideal agency? Please use a 10-point scale on which "1" means "Not Very Close to Ideal" and "10" means "Very Close to Ideal."

Outcome Measures

Q40. During the past year, have you provided feedback to the FAA on your interactions or experiences?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Don’t Know

Q41. Has your feedback led to improvements in FAA processes?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Don’t Know

Q42. Using a 10-point scale on which "1" means "Not at all Confident" and "10" means "Very Confident," how sure are you that the FAA will do a good job in the future of promoting the safety of civil aviation?

Q43. Finally, please provide any final comments.

(NOTE: ALLOW MAXIMUM TEXT SPACE FOR OPEN END COMMENTS)

FINAL VERSION– Page 9