Narrative:

While accomplishing the number 1 engine starter service; the perplexing system employed by [company] to identify materials; once again; proved maddening.in particular to the starter service; the jic (job instruction card) calls out the use of pwa 521 typ I or typ ii oil. What is PWA521 oil? I do not see oil stocked on our shelves identified as pwa 521. Where and how does one 'cross reference' this spec? Are the job card writers 'privy' to this information? Pwa 521 is not a commonly recognizable spec at ZZZ. I might add that this number is not a valid number in our parts ordering app.question 1:as it happens; the starter has a data plate indicating the use of oil which meets a military-specification. Nowhere on the data plate is pwa 521 identified. If I 'find' an oil which meets the military-specification noted on the starter and use that oil (in this case turbo oil 2197) am I in compliance with the jic?this is not an isolated case. The technician is exposed to myriad of numbers and specifications provided by approved data and it is not always clear the correct material is being used. The cards might use [company assigned numbers] (which should be the current across the board number); legacy numbers; trade names; numbers specific to a manufacturer or vendor and so on and so on. And to be certain the point is made; cross referencing numbers can at times be confusing; time consuming but most important; inconclusive.question 2:is it out of the scope of management to review the approved data and match the specified materials to a [company assigned number] if routinely technicians suffer thru these headaches; is [company] operating at an acceptable efficiency? Would it not make more sense to put the brain work in one time when the approved data is adopted versus repeating that inefficiency?

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Maintenance Technician reported inconsistent company oil and consumable reference numbers; causing confusion when performing service.

Narrative: While accomplishing the Number 1 engine starter service; the perplexing system employed by [company] to identify materials; once again; proved maddening.In particular to the starter service; the JIC (Job Instruction Card) calls out the use of PWA 521 TYP I or TYP II oil. What is PWA521 oil? I do not see oil stocked on our shelves identified as PWA 521. Where and how does one 'cross reference' this spec? Are the job card writers 'privy' to this information? PWA 521 is not a commonly recognizable spec at ZZZ. I might add that this number is not a valid number in our parts ordering app.Question 1:As it happens; the starter has a data plate indicating the use of oil which meets a MIL-SPEC. Nowhere on the data plate is PWA 521 identified. If I 'find' an oil which meets the MIL-SPEC noted on the starter and use that oil (in this case Turbo Oil 2197) am I in compliance with the JIC?This is not an isolated case. The technician is exposed to myriad of numbers and specifications provided by approved data and it is not always clear the correct material is being used. The cards might use [Company Assigned Numbers] (which should be the current across the board number); legacy numbers; trade names; numbers specific to a manufacturer or vendor and so on and so on. And to be certain the point is made; cross referencing numbers can at times be confusing; time consuming but most important; inconclusive.Question 2:Is it out of the scope of Management to review the approved data and match the specified materials to a [Company Assigned Number] If routinely technicians suffer thru these headaches; is [Company] operating at an acceptable efficiency? Would it not make more sense to put the brain work in one time when the approved data is adopted versus repeating that inefficiency?

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.