Do you feel overwhelmed having to manage your aircraft component repair process?

You deal with hundreds of assets, dozens of MROs and the logistics that has to happen to and from your MRO partners.

And that’s just the beginning. You then have to approve, deny, or cry over the work order quotes you receive. Hoping. Pleading, that nothing was overlooked.

It’s a complicated process. You have to notice all the small details, ask questions, and trust the partners you’re working with.

And maybe this situation sounds all too familiar to you...

How To Overcome Your Asset Repair Issues & Kickstart A Better Repair Strategy

We had an avionic unit that failed upon install for a maintenance check we were managing.

There was an intermittent issue so we had it overnighted back to the MRO that performed the work. The warranty was granted.

It took them 120 days to fix the issue. Of course, we completed the maintenance project with another unit we had in stock, but 120 days for a warranty repair?

Madness.

We then received a bill for $400 for labor charges. For warranty! We kindly declined the bill and after many discussions, the shop decided to waive this fee.

They were being sneaky and if we weren't paying attention to the original warranty granted, we would have paid it.

Below are 4 reasons you should use an asset repair program:

1) MINIMIZE REPAIR COST

Outsourcing to one trusted material partner that can accommodate your aircraft component repair needs will 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? 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 start to drag their feet and become overwhelmed and disengaged. They’ll also markup piece parts to make it seem as through your unit is more expensive to repair than it should be…increasing their margins.

Of course, great MROs do not do this.

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, aircraft MROs, and lessors deal with the overwhelming costs of shipping items for repair. It's not cost effective to ship repairs to various international MROs.

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

Just have them manage it all the way through.

3) LEVERAGING HIGH VOLUME REPAIRS

During your aircraft maintenance you can forecast your repair needs depending on what check you're going through but why not tap into a bigger repair network.

For example, let's 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, MROs, lessors and militaries, 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.