Every aircraft part repair station has two turn-around-times (TAT).

How long the component will take to get evaluated and how long the work order will take once approved.

We'll call these pre-work order quote time and post-approval repair time.

It can get frustrating says Skylink's Asset Repair Manager, Madison Rodrigues.

Sometimes MRO's are just unreliable and unorganized. For example, a repair vendor quoted us capabilities, alerted us that our unit has arrived, set an evaluation date, and stated when we could expect the work order quote. All of a sudden they emailed us and said they don't have the manual anymore and mistakenly quoted us capabilities and after 30 days had passed.

Standard problem repair stations get into is quoting the same capabilities, repair averages, and turn-around-times without looking at the current scenario of their business.

They'll quote an average ten-day turn-around-time whether they're extremely busy or slow.

Realistically if the MRO is busy, the test stands will have longer repair queues and their labor capacity will be maxed out.

It's unlikely to bare the "average" 10-day turn-around-time. 

It's more likely to take ten days to evaluate the component.

That's different.

In our quest to navigate turn-around-times, here are a few steps you can take to predict your repair turn-around-times accurately.

What does an "average turn-around-time" mean?

The problem with average turn-around-times is the information is based on one scenario.

That scenario is — the part comes in for repair, it enters repair queue, the technician evaluates the unit, it goes into pricing, the client reviews the work order quote, the client approves, the repair is completed.

It rarely works this way. It would be straightforward to determine an average repair turn-around-time based on this scenario.

Let's define what average means:

Average is an amount, standard, level, or rate regarded as usual or ordinary.

Most MRO averages aren't averages at all.

A standard repair would be the "average" turn-around-time for all repairs bearing a particular part number over a given period.

The average would account for BER units, completed repairs, functional tests, technicians taking the day off because they're sick, a client sending in ten repairs bottlenecking the test stand queue, and many other scenarios.

The average is not what a repair would look like in an ideal world; it's the average of the real world - TODAY.

One of the best ways to predict you're aircraft part repair TAT is by asking your MRO these questions:

1. Do you have a lot of parts in the queue for this type of repair?

2. How long will this part number take to get evaluated?

3. How long will it take once the work order quote is approved?

4. Have you recently seen repairs that took longer than average?

Your repair turn-around-times need to factor in transit time.

It's a common belief that repair stations are solely responsible for turn-around-times.

But you quoted a 14 day TAT!

It's easy to put all the pressure on MROs, but there's a lot of variables to consider.

• The condition of the unit.

• The capacity of the test stand.

• How many technicians are on staff.

• How long it takes in transit to get to the shop.

• Obsolete components.

• OEM support.

• Etc.

One of the most significant factors affecting your repair lead times is the transit time to and from the MRO. 

This is one hundred percent in your control.

If the average repair turn-around-time is ten days and it takes ten days in transit, five days to MRO and five days to return to you, then the total repair cycle time is likely 30 days.

Why 30?

You have to factor in your team packing the aircraft components, inspecting, quality assurance, payment if you don't have terms and other variables.

Transit time is one of the most significant factors in determining how long your repairs take. 

This is why we store most of our Asset Repair Care clients components in our warehouses.

It helps eliminate inbound shipping time.

When trying to determine your turn-around-times take a hard look at your transit times.

An easier way to determine your aircraft component turn-around-time.

Once you factor in what average means and your transit time, you can begin creating the best guess scenario for your average repair turn-around-time.

If an MRO says their average repair takes 10 days, but you found out, by asking the right questions, that it'll take 10 days to evaluate and 7 days to complete, you've determined it's more likely to take 20 days to repair.

Then, because you're now looking at transit times, you see that it'll take 10 days total in transit. You also know customs can be a pain, so you add on an additional 5 days.

Your total transit time is 15 days, making your full repair cycle time, 35 days. 

With this new information, you decide to send three unserviceable components to your repair partner instead of one to reduce future lead time and stock issues.

Looking at your aircraft part repair turn-around-times in this way, you and your team can better prepare.