Lockstitch,
I'll take being called a "Mad Scientist" as a compliment but in fact my @rse is hairy and my knuckles are permanently scarred from working at arms length in confined spaces with my nose shoved up against the skin. Under all the sociology, we are talking about getting better working conditions for hairy @rsed maintenance people. The root of 'human error' maintenance lapses is the fatigue and stress imposed by the working conditions and odd hours that are too often found in the engineering world. Our regulators impose strict controls on the working conditions and hours of pilots. Rightly so, and it isn't simply a matter of 'looking after the boys' it is an honest attempt to reduce the incidence of 'pilot error' accidents. But as the 'pilot error' rate falls, the proportion of accidents due to maintenance errors naturally increases, which ought to focus greater efforts onto the reduction of human error in engineering.
Sadly, the regulators have so far only paid lip service to human factors with action limited to placing a human factors module into AME licence exams. Companies will do nothing unless and until they are obliged to do so. One day we will have aircraft that are ergonomically designed to assist maintenance. We will keep them airworthy in well lit, environmentally controlled work areas equipped with proper rest and refreshment facilities. Our hours of work will be controlled to ensure adequate rest periods after overnight working and 'double-shifts' will be a thing of the past. And one day, pigs will fly. The fact remains that for most of us, aircraft maintenance is performed in almost Victorian conditions. It is also a fact that a contributory factor to this is our own traditional engineering 'macho' attitude. Which might just be why the CAA have chosen to start with us rather than at the corporate level?
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Through difficulties to the cinema