B767 captain reported that company was using MEL to move aircraft instead of repairing it after noti...

Narrative:

After reviewing the maintenance history and log I noticed the captains VOR head had been written up at least 8 times in the last 10 days. The auto/manual function was switching out at altitude. The deferral 34-xx-xx-xx-xx/xy for the captains EFIS control panel; map and plan modes was in the correction action column for the most recent write up.reviewing the ddg (dispatch deviations guide) the captains VOR head is not a deferral item for its part of the standby system. Why the EFIS control panel was being deferred was puzzling and required further explanation. After a couple of phone calls maintenance explained that deferring the EFIS control panel stop the head switching back and forth because it was in manual all the time. This is not a fix just a way to move the airplane. We were told that repairs were to be made in ZZZ now that maintenance had a clearer understanding of the problem.flying the plane in VOR mode on the captains side eliminates all way points and course to be flown out of view. Not a desirable situation. Looking across to the first officer side is not reliable way to operate for extended periods of time. The ddg is a [priority] and it should have been addressed. However the deferral continues to be extended. The operations requirements for this ddg needs to reviewed. In the current climate of RNAV flying redundancy is key. As an example; I would not accept this condition on an ETOPS flight.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B767 Captain reported that company was using MEL to move aircraft instead of repairing it after noticing that the VOR head had been written up 8 times in the last 10 days.

Narrative: After reviewing the maintenance history and log I noticed the Captains VOR head had been written up at least 8 times in the last 10 days. The auto/manual function was switching out at altitude. The deferral 34-XX-XX-XX-XX/XY for the Captains EFIS control panel; map and plan modes was in the correction action column for the most recent write up.Reviewing the DDG (Dispatch Deviations Guide) the Captains VOR head is not a deferral item for its part of the standby system. Why the EFIS control panel was being deferred was puzzling and required further explanation. After a couple of phone calls maintenance explained that deferring the EFIS control panel stop the head switching back and forth because it was in manual all the time. This is not a fix just a way to move the airplane. We were told that repairs were to be made in ZZZ now that Maintenance had a clearer understanding of the problem.Flying the plane in VOR mode on the Captains side eliminates all way points and course to be flown out of view. Not a desirable situation. Looking across to the First Officer side is not reliable way to operate for extended periods of time. The DDG is a [priority] and it should have been addressed. However the deferral continues to be extended. The operations requirements for this DDG needs to reviewed. In the current climate of RNAV flying redundancy is key. As an example; I would not accept this condition on an ETOPS flight.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1685716
Time
Date	201909
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	TPA.Airport
State Reference	FL
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B767-300 and 300 ER
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Parked
Component
Aircraft Component	Position Computing System
Person 1
Function	Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Procedural MEL Deviation - Procedural Maintenance

B767 captain reported that company was using MEL to move aircraft instead of repairing it after noticing that the VOR head had been written up 8 times in the last 10 days.