Share to any workspace or social platform
145.A.65 requires the organisation to establish and maintain a management system that includes a safety policy, a quality system with independent auditing, a safety risk management process, and a safety assurance system to ensure continued compliance with Part 145 and to manage safety risks.
What it means in practice
The management system is the backbone of a Part 145 organisation. It must include a clearly defined safety policy endorsed by the accountable manager, a compliance monitoring (quality audit) function that is independent from the activities being audited, a safety risk management process for identifying and mitigating hazards, and a human factors programme. The system must be proportionate to the size and complexity of the organisation.
The compliance monitoring function must audit all areas of the organisation's activities at regular intervals to verify that work is being performed in accordance with Part 145, the Maintenance Organisation Exposition, and the organisation's own procedures. Findings from these audits must be communicated to the relevant managers, and corrective actions must be tracked to closure.
Key requirements
The organisation must implement a safety policy that promotes a just culture and encourages personnel to report errors and hazards without fear of punitive action. The compliance monitoring programme must cover all aspects of Part 145 within a defined audit cycle. A safety risk management process must be in place to systematically identify hazards, assess risks, and implement mitigation measures. The organisation must have a system to collect and analyse safety data, including occurrence reports, audit findings, and maintenance error information.
The accountable manager is responsible for ensuring the management system is properly resourced and effective. The organisation must regularly review the effectiveness of the management system and make improvements where needed.
Common compliance gaps
The most common gaps relate to the independence and effectiveness of the compliance monitoring function. Small organisations often struggle to resource an independent audit function. Safety risk management is frequently superficial, with hazard registers that are created but not actively maintained or used to drive decision-making. A just culture policy may exist on paper but is not reflected in how the organisation actually responds to errors and reports.
Part 145 Training
Ready to master Part 145 compliance?
Go beyond the regulation text. Sofema's Part 145 course covers practical compliance strategies, quality system obligations, and real audit scenarios.
View Part 145 courseSources
Have a question about this regulation?
Search across all regulation pages and glossary terms.