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New Manufacturing Regulations
On December 1st, 2007, the new Canadian Aviation Regulation (CAR) 561 will come into effect. This is a major milestone in the introduction of the CARs and one of the final stages in the replacement of the old Airworthiness Manual by the new CARs. The new requirements are very similar to those of the Airworthiness Manual but, being regulations, they are more formal in structure and are directly enforceable. Many of the sections have been identified as designated provisions, with maximum penalties established for both individuals and corporations.
Along with the introduction of CAR 561 there will be associated standards, Standard 561, and changes in Part I of the CARs to require holders of a Manufacturer Certificate to identify the Accountable Executive. The new regulations are intended to apply in such a way that there will be no conflict between the requirements of Standard 561 and 571 of the CARs. CAR 561 will apply to any work performed on an aircraft prior to the first issuance of a standard Certificate of Airworthiness or Export Airworthiness Certificate. Following the issuance of either of those certificates, CAR 571 will apply. For example, the making of a repair part under CAR 571.06(4) will be exempt from any of the provisions of CAR 561.
The privilege of a manufacturer certificate is not actually to manufacture aeronautical products but rather to authorize the issuance of a Statement of Conformity attesting that the products conform to the approved data indicated, and are in a condition for safe operation. In the case of a complete aircraft, a Statement of Conformity is required in order for a Certificate of Airworthiness to be issued. In the case of parts, CAR 571 prohibits their installation, except for commercial or standard parts, and parts made during the course of a repair, unless they have been certified with such a statement. The statement in question usually takes the form of the familiar Authorized Release Certificate, Form 24-0078, which is soon to be re-titled “Form One”. The repair parts mentioned above may not be released on a Form One, but instead are certified by means of the maintenance release covering the repair for which they were created.
The new regulations follow the same general format as the Approved Maintenance Organization requirements of CAR 573. They provide for separate production control and quality audit systems, and include requirements for training and record keeping. Issuance of a Manufacturer Certificate is directly tied to the applicable Aeronautical Product Type Certificate. Applicants must either hold the Type Certificate personally, or have entered into a licensing agreement with the holder. A limited approval may be granted if the Type Certificate has not yet been issued, or where the licensing agreement is still being negotiated. In such cases, however, the finished products may not be released until the type certificate provisions have been fully met.
The regulations specify the manufacturer’s responsibility for the control of suppliers, making a clear distinction between the oversight of suppliers who are approved in their own right and suppliers who work under the umbrella of the prime manufacturer. This should facilitate the control of “direct delivery” authorizations, which may only be applied in conjunction with the authorization to issue a release certificate.
Manufacturer facilities may be located in a foreign state subject to the agreement of the foreign authority, but the applicant must undertake to allow Transport Canada inspectors access to the foreign facilities and pay for the expenses incurred.
The manufacturer’s means of compliance with the various requirements must be set out in a manual that is signed by the Accountable Executive and approved by the Minister.
Unlike the introduction of some previous CARs chapters, such as those relating to Air Operators and Approved Maintenance Organizations, there will be no grace period enabled by exemption. With those earlier chapters the new requirements were published as soon as they were available, and a general exemption was issued to enable certificate holders to transition to full compliance over a period of time in accordance with a predetermined implementation program. In this instance, the process has been reversed. Existing approval holders were notified of the new requirements some two years in advance of the effective date, and they must be in full compliance with them by that date.
With the introduction of CAR 561, the implementation of the airworthiness-related CARs is almost complete. The final major piece of the puzzle will be CAR 563, applicable to distributors of aeronautical products. That chapter is expected to be issued later in 2008. For more information concerning this article, please contact Mr. B. Whitehead.
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