WATS 2021 Maintenance Programme

We are pleased to unveil our maintenance conference programme for the  2021 World Aviation Training Summit (WATS) from June 15-16 in Orlando, FL, USA, at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort.

WATS addresses the current and future training issues affecting your business, from personnel selection and recruitment, to regulation and training technologies. It offers unrivalled opportunities to meet with the key decision makers and influencers within the international airline training community, and allows attendees to discuss the latest training technologies and techniques to improve operational safety and efficiency for pilot, cabin crew, and maintenance training.

Be sure to register your attendance as we move ‘Forward Together’.

Maintenance Conference Moderator – Dr. Bill Johnson

Day 1 – Tuesday 15th June 2021

0930-1030  Session 1: Opening Remarks & Keynote Address (all conference tracks)

1030-1115  Coffee

1115-1245  Session 2: The Dynamic Air Sector (all conference tracks)
1) Robert Burke, Group Manager, Training and Simulation Group, FAA
FAA Update
2) Sheri Pippin, Aviation Safety, Air Transportation Division, FAA
Pilot Professional Development Rulemaking
3) Dr. Matt Vance, Professional Pilot Faculty, Oklahoma State University
Undeniable Emerging Trends in Commercial Aviation

1245-1400  Lunch

1400-1530  Session 3: Training Transitions from the Pandemic Experience – Three Perspectives
1) Mr. Hamza Ayaz, Business Development Executive and Project Manager, Modest Tree
Recovering Effective Aviation Maintenance Training in a Socially Distanced World
2) D Smith, Senior Manager, US Department of Transportation Safety Institute
Virtual Live Experiences: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
3) Dr. Joel English, Vice President, Aviation Institute of Maintenance,
TBD

1530-1615  Coffee

1615-1745  Session 4: Training Perspectives
1) Bob Simmons, Director, Baines Simmons Ltd.
Competence vs. Performance – What Skills are Missing?
2) J. Douglas Robey, Vice President of Maintenance Training & Reliability, GP Strategies
Correlations Between Continuous Training, Defect Elimination, Increased Safety, and Lower Costs
3) TBD

Day 2 – Wednesday 16th June 2021

0900-1030  Session 5: STEM
1) Jay Logie, Founder and COO, ATG, Aircraft Technologies Group Inc.
Personnel Readiness, Starts in the Community
2) Davidson Nzekwe-Daniel, Chief Executive Officer, Davidson Initiative Inc.
Building the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals Through Student Engagement
3) Crystal Maguire, Executive Director, Aviation Technicians Education Council
An Update on Aviation Personnel Requirements

1030-1115  Coffee

1115-1245  Session 6 – Technology

1) Christopher J. Rospenda, Global Maximo Asset Performance Management Strategy & James E. Seeber, Sr. Solutions Engineer, IBM AI Applications
The Connected Technician: Using AI, AR, Advanced Analytics and IoT Data to Empower Your Field Workforce
2) TBD
3) TBD

1245-1400  Lunch

1400-1530  Session 7: Pressing Maintenance Training Issues
1) Ryan Goertzen, Vice President of Maintenance Workforce Development, AAR Corporation & President, Choose Aerospace
2) Mark Lopez, Director Technical Operations, Airlines for America
A New Way to Reduce Redundant Requalification Training on Cross Customer Hardware, Revisions to ATA Spec 104
3) TBD

1530-1615  Coffee

1615-1745 Session 8 – Interactive Roundtable: The Hottest Training Issues
Building on the success of our very popular Heads of Training (HoT) forums at the APATS and EATS conferences, the finale will feature an open discussion of some of the most significant issues facing the civil aviation training community today. The session will be moderated by a distinguished panel representing airlines, training organizations, academia, industry and regulatory. This may be the most stimulating 90 minutes of the year.