Better Way Award

Purpose

The FAA-ATA Nondestructive Test (NDT) Better Way Award is an annual process established to recognize a government-industry team that has developed and applied a technology, technique, process, or policy that advances inspection or test of civil/commercial aircraft structure, aircraft components, or aircraft systems. Improvements will be assessed as a function of process sensitivity, reliability, and cost effectiveness.

Nature

The NDT Better Way Award is jointly sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Air Transport Association of America. The annual award is presented at the ATA's annual NDT Forum and consists of a plaque, gold lapel pin, and a letter of commendations for each team member. The letter of commendation is signted by the FAA and ATA sponsors and is read during a brief ceremony. Winners are also invited to an ATA-sponsored luncheon held in their team's honor in Washington, DC, with senior FAA and ATA officials in attendance.

Eligibility

Team eligibility includes both United States government and private industry personnel. Employees from universities, national labs, and non-profit organizations are also elibible as supplemental recipients of this award. Teams may have up to 12 members. The accomplishment may involve research, development, engineering, application, management, or policy, and must have occurred not more than 18 months prior to the ATA's NDT Forum. Awards Committee members are not eligible.

Awards Committee

An Awards Committee of two FAA employees and two ATA representatives will review the nominations and select the winner. The FAA Office of Aviation Research and ATA's Engineering, Maintenance & Materiel departments are jointly responsible for chartering, selecting, and maintaining the Awards Committee. The committee is responsible for qualifying nominations, selecting the winner, and organizing the presentation ceremony.

Decisions of the Awards Committee are final and require the unanimous consent of the four committee members.

Nominations

The FAA and ATA are currently soliciting nominations. They may be submitted by anyone (including the awards committee members themselves) and do not need to adhere to any formal format. The nominations should include the names, affiliations, and contact information for all team members; the name and contact information of the nominator; and a one-page description of the accomplishment.

Nominations should be submitted electronically to Paul Swindell, FAA, at paul.swindell@faa.gov. The ATA point of contact for the award is Mark Lopez, at mlopez@airlines.org.

Evaluation of Nominations

Each nomination shall be evaluated through the following criteria:

• How does the new technology, technique, process, or policy result in more effective testing and inspection?
• How does the new technology, technique, process, or policy result in less expensive testing and inspection?
• What technical or non-technical obstacles did the team have to overcome?
• How is the new technology, technique, process, or policy novel or innovative?

Last updated: October 11, 2006