What Does EASA Accreditation Mean to Me? - HECO

Of the many things that our company has to be proud of and is often talked about, is our EASA Accreditation. The accreditation is often mentioned to our customers when speaking on some of the quality standards that we follow. Now, there have been times when we need to first explain that EASA is an international trade organization encompassing almost 1,900 electromechanical sales and service companies throughout the world. After an explanation of who EASA is and their role we can then talk about the EASA Accreditation program.

The accreditation program was designed to assure a repair shops’ commitment to excellence and ensures consistent process and procedures needed that will result in a quality motor repair. The program uses sources of good practices like ANSI/EASA AR100: Recommended Practice for the Repair of Rotating Electrical Apparatus and the Good Practice Guide of the 2003 study The Effect of Repair/Rewinding on Motor Efficiency, by EASA and the Association of Electrical and Mechanical Trades (AEMT). The validation process for becoming accredited is done through a third part auditor. This auditor determines conformance to the criteria of the items on the checklist set forth by EASA. The audit covers 23 categories and more than 70 criteria.

Compliance to the accreditation is assessed using a checklist that includes processes throughout the repair procedure. Shops are assessed on things such as instrument calibration, electrical testing, mechanical measurements, stator core testing and rebuilding, bearing handling/replacement, and mechanical fit rebuilding. Compliance also outlines the minimum electrical, mechanical, and physical equipment a repair service center must have. The auditors also look at a shop’s employee training procedures and schedules. This assures that all employees are up to speed on the latest technologies and repair practices.

Once accredited always accredited? Hardly!

The program is run on a three-year cycle made up of a third-party audit followed by two self-audits that are required to be submitted for approval. At the end of the third year the process starts all over.

Complacency is not an option.

So, what does EASA Accreditation mean to me?

It means that the repair shop that I have chosen is at the top of their game in procedures/practices, equipment, and training. Accreditation gives me the tool to differentiate between the repairs shops that have made the commitment to be accredited and those who have not.

Author: Bob Bolhuis, Director of Equipment Management at HECO

Sources:

https://easa.com/accreditation/benefits

https://easa.com/accreditation

https://www.hecoinc.com/heco-system/easa-accredited

Posted in Repair