Explaining safe work practices in aviation line maintenance

The article presents research results from a qualitative study of aviation line maintenance operations, with the objective of describing operational work practices. In the article, safety is interpreted as a collective competence that is learned and maintained in local work environments. The study identifies features, such as practical skills, support from colleagues, creation of performance spaces, and flexibility in problem solving, that are important for safe work practices in line maintenance operations. The study does also show that these work practices are rooted in a set of formally established safety systems, and they are influenced by organisational structure conditions and different change efforts. The empirical results support the arguement that slack in the organisation can be viewed as a precondition for the existence and effectiveness of several forms of safe work practices.