Do you have to snag intermittent problems?

[MRP]

So I work for a large Canadian airline flying a 705 jet.
Thanks to way too many sensors it likes to give spurious flight control disagree faults (white status messages on EICAS) particularly after the start. This occurs because the sensors erroneously/momentarily defect a fault and the message won't clear even if it rectifies itself.

The SOP's and QRH reference resetting specific breakers and 99% when we follow the procedure this the white status message disappears. It happens often enough that I know the CB's by memory and the paint around them is worn.

Is this a defect or not?

No - a computer reset is an approved procedure by the manufacturer to allow you to clear nuisance warnings such as the one you describe.

You should have a list of approved resets - not all are allowed in all phases of flight.

However if the indication returns after a reset then it is a defect and needs to be written down. Usually the Engineers can see exactly which component is causing the issues.

Sounds like the Embraer, lots of computer resets. At my company when we do a computer reset due to an EICAS or ECAM fault it is required to be written as a snag in the logbook, then signed as resolved by the pilot who did the reset. Approved resets are considered elementary work and can be signed off by the pilot so there is no need to involve maintenance. This is very important for tracking purposes. Any more than 3 resets in the last 7 days require an inspection by maintenance.