Does Aircraft Component Repair Keep You Up At Night?

Do you feel overwhelmed having to manage your aircraft component repair processes? This is understandable as each MRO has its way of communicating information to you, not to mention the freight costs associated with shipping to various facilities. From exaggerated mark-ups on piece parts to inflated labor rates, this can easily become a nightmare.

Just recently our repair manager dealt with an issue that I just didn't understand. One of our avionic units was sent to an aircraft undergoing maintenance to be installed. After installation, there seemed to be an intermittent issue with the avionic so we had it overnighted back to the MRO who originally performed the work. Warranty was granted. 120 days later, after having to supply another unit to fulfill the aircraft maintenance requirement the MRO sent a bill for $400+ for labor. We kindly declined this bill and after many discussions the shop decided to waive this fee. This was sneaky and if we weren't paying attention to the original warranty granted, we would have paid this. Needless to say, this MRO is no longer on our approved vendor list for aircraft component repair.

How can you avoid stressing over such issues?

By dealing with an organization who deals with repairs on a daily basis, there are key benefits they possess that you may not.

Below are 4 reason you should be using a repair management program:

1) Minimize Repair Cost

Outsourcing to one vendor that can accommodate your aircraft component repair needs can reduce your overall cost per part. Do you stock piece parts in preparation for component repairs? Do you have replacement units that can be used if your other unit goes BER? What about as removed units that can be used for piece parts for another unit undergoing repair? If the answer is no, then a repair management program may be right for you.

Why not just send all your units to one MRO? This can be answered in 3 words…KEEPING THEM HONEST. MRO facilities typically have ratings for certain repairs and can't perform the vast aircraft component repair services you're looking for. When an MRO get's an influx of repairs they can start to drag their feet and become overwhelmed and disengaged. They will also markup piece parts to make it seem as through your unit is more expensive to repair than it should be…increasing their margins.

By utilizing a repair management program, you have the ability to focus on your core competencies while a reputable company manages your repairs. In doing so they will ensure the MRO is staying honest by remaining actively engaged with them, providing their own piece parts at un-inflated rates and making sure they're not telling you one thing and doing another.

2) Minimize Shipping Cost

Many airlines deal with the overwhelming costs of shipping items for repairs, primarily throughout the United States. It's not cost effective to ship repairs from overseas to different MRO's all across the continental United States which spans 3,400 miles East to West.

You can reduce shipping cost by consolidating shipments with your repair management program provider. They should also have a network of shipping companies in which they do frequent business with, at discounted rates.

3) Leveraging High Volume Repairs

During your aircraft maintenance you can forecast your repair needs depending on what check you're going through.  If any unplanned issue arise you can then take advantage of your contingency plans but just utilizing what you have to repair may not be enough.

For example, lets say you need 5 undercarriages overhauled and made compliant with the most recent service bulletin. This will cost you roughly $6,000 per undercarriage if you send this directly to the MRO. Now, if you utilize a repair management program your 5 undercarriages may be 5 of 20 undercarriages your repair management service provider is repairing for their airline clients. This gives them significant bargaining power over the MRO. They may have negotiated a flat rate overhaul based on their volume and save you $1,000 per undercarriage, $5,000 in total.

You may have many components needed for repair in support of your aircraft maintenance, but if you combine this in addition to what the repair management program is doing for other airlines, bargaining power can increase and substantially lower your overall repair costs.

4) Established Relationships

Repair management programs have built decades of relationships with hundreds of MROs and OEMs.

While many MROs won't allow you to provide your own piece parts which can drastically increase the cost due to inflated markups, a successful repair management program has experience providing their own piece parts, numerous airline client's parts, and other vendor parts to reduce the overall cost of the aircraft component repair process.

With a successful repair management program, relationships have been built minimizing your resource consumption by utilizing the available resources through such a program. This will effectively reduce your overall cost and downtime.

The procurement of spares and the oversight of aircraft maintenance and aircraft component repair for the daily operation of an airline is often very complex and time consuming. Most of the time decisions have to be processed to upper level management which takes further time and money. Why not leave these decisions to one company?

Utilizing a repair management program will not only save you money, but also endless headaches. Repair management combined with rotable support can be a good strategy to relinquish you from the stress and miscommunication associated with repair companies.

What deciding factor would make you choose a repair management program? Comment below.

Which Aircraft Was Used On The First Cross Atlantic Solo Flight?

Answer in the comment section below. First correct answer receives our Energy Drink and Energy Shot.

 

Quality Assurance: Your Vendor Can't Define It

We’ve all experienced an aircraft spares quality control issue at some time or another and if your experience was anything like mine, it was beyond annoying. It was ridiculous. Quality assurance should be an essential part of every organization and it goes far beyond the meaning of a good product. It's better  defined as a good brand. I recently ran into a problem with a new company whom we were dealing with for the first time and it was quality assurance at it's worst.

Imagine this. You send a $10,000 order to a company, which has to be wired up front, but due to a severe time constraint, you overlook your typical vendor approval process to make sure the unit is at your facility the next day. You figure, you can finish the paperwork in the morning. The next day arrives and your chief inspector is ready to review the material but the order never shows up. You call the vendor…no answer! You call FedEx…package is untraceable!

Through some luck you end up getting in contact with the vendor, however he is disengaged and states "we dropped the package off at FedEx, if they lost it, too bad". Now at this point I'm sure you're furious, so you call FedEx. FedEx tells you they reviewed the video tapes and the gentlemen who dropped off the package, came back and asked to retake the package  because he "forgot" something. At this point you know you've found a crook and unfortunately time is going to have to be spent chasing this guy around.

You see this happened to me and if I just had relied on the quality assurance program we had in place for new vendors, this could have been avoided… I was  constrained by a deadline and rushed.

Here are 3 reasons why your vendor needs a quality assurance program:

1. Reduces Risk

With lower barriers to entry, we've all seen an increase in aircraft spares part suppliers, mostly low overhead "brokers", but the amount of honest companies compared to the amount of actual companies is low. What a quality assurance program  forces companies to do is to be organized. They must understand that policy and procedures are necessary to minimize quality control issues during the aircraft spares sales process.

It isn't easy and it takes time  and additional staff to do so.

Quality assurance drastically reduces the risk you'll take in dealing with a company. If they have an internal audit form, a QC manual and specific policies in place, you have a much better chance of knowing your dealing with someone reputable. Isn't this critical when dealing with expensive assets such as aircraft spares?

2. Reduces Laziness

Do you want to deal with a company that appears to be lazy, I don't. A quality assurance program help's distinguish the lazy companies from the companies who are making an effort. If they don't have specific guidelines to abide by in their quality department, they're lazy. And what's worse than a lazy company? Being lazy in quality control means they're lazy in shipping, customer service, among every other aspect of their organization.

Lazy here, lazy there, lazy everywhere!

3. Increases Organization

Having structured, quality control procedures you can be certain that the organization you're dealing with is more organized than the companies who don't. From record keeping, aircraft spares traceability, vendor audits, shipping standards, certain activities have to be in place and organization is essential.

The moral of the quality control story is...try to deal with vendors whom have a history of quality on their side. But make sure you broaden your view, because you deserve not only a high quality product but a high quality service experience as well.

What are some quality  assurance concerns you experience? Comment below.

3 Reasons You Should Fire Your Aircraft Spares Vendor

Are you frustrated? Is it hard to sleep at night because it seems your aircraft spares vendor just doesn't care? This is an all too common occurrence and I know exactly how you feel. It seems in such a critical environment that the distance between us and certain companies only grows further apart. I have a rather funny story to share with you, but a serious one for that matter.

The other day we called a company and needed to buy a $100 part off of them for a rotable we were having repaired. We told them we needed it shipped the same day and we could buy it for $100. He said "In today's environment, I'll take anything I can get". So we proceeded to purchase the part.

The piece part didn't show up the next day. We called the vendor (keep in mind this is on a Thursday) and nobody answered...all day! So we had to buy it from elsewhere, having to spend more time and money on such a small piece part that could eventually have a dramatic effect on us. The original vendor part showed up the next day, which we had to deny. We have yet to get a return phone call.

This is a simple story that had a rather minimal impact on cost, but it happens on much greater scales and we are victims of the larger issues as well, as I 'm sure you are.

Below are 3 reasons why firing your vendor is necessary:

1. Reliability

Poor reliability is devastating to you and the close relationship you need with your vendor. I understand issues arise, whether it be logistics, MRO repair, or OEMs dragging their feet but it's overcoming these problems, solving the problems and working day in and day out to come to a resolution that makes a vendor reliable. During difficult situations you can test a vendor on how they react to a situation and see if they're willing to do everything they can for you. This proves to you they don't just care about receiving a PO, but legitimately care about you personally and your organization.

2. Accessibility

Mediocre accessibility can create bottlenecks in your productivity. A good vendor must be reachable at all hours of the day. Whether it's an AOG, or you just want someone to talk to, it doesn't matter.

Our Account Managers will answer their Blackberry and respond to emails at 3am. They do everything they can to stay in constant communication with our clients. Now, this doesn't have to be the case for everyone, but when they aren't asleep can you call or email them and get a response? Or maybe through a different medium such as Skype or text? If so, you know they care about your operation and are available to make sure that your job is that much easier…it's peace of mind.

3. Flexibility

Now, this point may seem like I'm going to talk about prices but I'm not.

The flexibility of a vendor is critical, why? Because it doesn't take them 3 days to meet your requirement or get a response. Who wants to talk to a machine, press numerous numbers, and then have to leave a voice mail to talk to a human? I don't. Even if they don't answer their voice mail right away as most people are quicker via email, that's a start.

Have you ever heard a vendor say "if you don't hear back from us in 48 hours, consider it a No Quote"? Are these companies kidding! No, I rather you just tell me right away or at least engage with me so I know in the future, you care about my needs. This is not a flexible interactive relationship, but instead you just telling me that you care about yourself and I come second in 48 hours.

Today, it's important to understand the role of a vendor, aside from their product lines. You need the whole package from distribution, to a relationship built on reliability, accessibility and flexibility. When one of these start to deteriorate, it can make things much more difficult than they have to be.

What do you look for in a vendor? Please comment in our comment section below and we will respond.

Wasting money? 4 Reasons Why an Aircraft Asset Disposal Program is Right for You

Are you frustrated with idle inventory? Do you wish the money invested into holding costs could be utilized more efficiently? I feel your pain!

I've visited aircraft graveyards in the Mojave as well as large warehouse facilities of airline material management divisions, much like yours.  But I also understand this because I too sit on millions of dollars worth of inventory that have long since been idle.

Whether it be planning for a surge in traffic with the forecast falling short of expectations, modification of an existing aircraft, or an  aircraft on their last stretch of useful life, these are valid reasons for a surge in surplus. But, is this necessary? Maybe.

Back in 1999,  Skylink acquired an  L1011 (see the trivia question to see which celebrity we bought this from), tore it down and began distributing the spares. Not shortly after all the major components we're sold, demand began to fall and we were left with low turnover inventory sitting on our shelves. Why does this matter you ask?

Well, this what our business model is based on, and yours…creating high yield routes, keeping the aircraft in good shape and providing safe transport.

Here are 5 Reasons you Should Consider an Asset Disposal Program:

Helps Fund Operations

Idle inventory never funds an airlines strategic initiatives. It's wasteful, time consuming, and costly. Liquidating this surplus to continuously help fund your operations is an incentive that can be considered.

Idle inventory, is just that, idle inventory. But the money from liquidating such inventory can be used throughout your organization.

Helps you Focus on Core Competencies

Ian Heller's Five Components of a Business Strategy states that in order for an airline to be competitive it must provide consumer benefits, a model that is difficult for competitors to imitate and something that can be leveraged widely to many products and markets.

So what does this mean for you?

Well, it means do what you do best. Create an unbelievably integrated organization that provides valuable services for the customer at the lowest cost. Idle inventory only adds to this cost and the time spent storing and funding logistical avenues for such inventory can be a burden to an airlines overall model.

Helps Reduce Staffing Cost

An aircraft asset disposal program can also reduce staffing cost. No, I don't mean by making cost cuts by eliminating positions, but more importantly utilizing  staff in areas that are more central to the core competencies.

This will allow you to be more efficient, by reducing staffing cost in unproductive idle inventory monitoring activities.

Helps with Higher Asset Turnover

Healthy aftermarket organizations  whom have been in business for decades know the market and what it takes to liquidate spares. They also have experience in quality control,  logistics, warehousing, inventory management and repair management, by which they perform day in and day out. This is their focus and this is what their good at.

In essence utilizing a good aircraft asset disposal  program may be of interest to you. Lowering costs, focusing on core competencies and engaging with a trustworthy aftermarket distributors is key to managing the over abundance of spares in your warehouse.

What would you want out of an aircraft asset disposal program? Respond in the comment section below.

Which celebrity did we buy an L-1011 TriStar from in the late 90's?

  Answer in the comment section below. First correct answer receives $100 off next order.