How To Avoid HAZMAT Creating AOGs

How often do you lose sleep at night hearing the word AOG? I just lost an hour of sleep typing it out.

You want to cut this painfully costly occurrence as much as you can, but how?

There’s always something getting in your way of the peaceful non AOG operation.

Like HAZMAT.

Trucking HAZMAT to the Maldives...funny story

This brings me back to a recent shipment we had.

We had 8 hazardous material boxes that needed to arrive into the Maldives as a part of a kit we were supporting.

Our client’s freight forwarder contacted us (I love these guys by the way...sarcasm) to help arrange the shipment. They wanted these shipped to the Maldives as soon as possible but little did they know that the dangerous goods declarations had to be completed.

We asked them where the ultimate destination was and they proceeded to “educate” us that they were going to the Maldives. 4 boxes were cargo only shipments. The Maldives does not allow this as an air freight import.

So, we brutally tried explaining this to them.

They  told us to ship everything to Sri Lanka and they would “truck” the shipment to the Maldives.

Yes, truck it to the Maldives.

I began to cry when I heard this.

Truck? To the Maldives? Do trucks now have propellers and float?

The Maldives are islands so the only truck that's getting there is on a boat.

So, we finally arranged to have these goods shipped, via boat, to the Maldives from Sri Lanka.

Maybe you’ve encountered this as well.

The logistics of shipping hazardous material is daunting if not properly prepared for. [CLICK TO TWEET]

The nightmares of distribution

The biggest problem with HAZMAT shipping, besides dealing with silly freight forwarders is not knowing the logistics before shipment.

It’s like going to a salad bar with no plate.

Things get messy.

The first order of business is you must know who’s shipping the goods.

Is it your supplier? Is it a third party packer? Whoever it is, you need to know.

The next order of business is to know who stands in your way of delivery.

Are there any intermediaries? If so 2 dangerous goods declarations will have to be created. One from Skylink to the intermediary and one from the intermediary to you.

If you can avoid the intermediaries, I recommend it. As you’re well aware of, too many people touching the shipment increases the probability of errors.

It’s like the holidays, package for perfection

Have you ever sat through a HAZMAT course?

Brutal, I know.

It brought me back to my childhood days where I would sit in class falling asleep and...POW...hit the floor as I fell out of my chair.

Whether you’ve been through the class or not, you should know that each UN has a corresponding packing instructions.

These are all in the IATA Dangerous Goods Manual.

Whether you need to know the proper cardboard box, proper barrel packaging or the associated stickers, it’s very important to package the shipments properly.

If the packaging isn’t done properly the shipment will be sent back, possibly creating an AOG situation for you.

This is why competency is key and we can thank our team member Ronald Cathey for our HAZMAT shipments.

Controlled by countries and airlines

As you can see, shipping HAZMAT is a tedious process, which is why certain HAZMAT fees are associated with these shipments.

Another hurdle that you or your supplier will have to overcome is specific country or airline policies.

In the story at the beginning of the post you heard about the Maldives not accepting cargo only shipments.

These are things that you’ll need to know to avoid HAZMAT creating AOGs.

When your shipment is to an ultimate destination, ask yourself these three questions:

• Does the country allow cargo only shipments?
• Do they allow HAZMAT at all? If not, where can we divert the shipment too?
• What are the other restrictions for HAZMAT shipments?

These questions will help you get ready.

And remember all of this is in your IATA Dangerous Goods Study Guide.

If you thought the countries policies were tedious, we haven't even got to airline specific policies.

Some might not allow oxygen generators (almost all airlines), while others will allow you to ship more than a certain amount of a specific UN number. Some might have a requirement for specific classes to ship a certain distance away from one another in the belly of the aircraft.

These are all things to understand. If a cargo flight is full and your HAZMAT shipment needs a certain amount of distance away from each other than your shipment could get bumped. Not good.

This is why having a plan is imperative to avoiding AOGs.

Just as the country specific policies, the airline specific policies is all in the IATA manual.

Protect your yourself

The best way to avoid HAZMAT related AOGs is to know that you have a pending HAZMAT shipment and prepare.

It’s a great idea to have contingencies (your supplier should have these as well) to mitigate any issues that could occur.

Get yourself a copy of the IATA Dangerous Goods Manual and get trained in proper HAZMAT shipping protocol. This will help give you the advantage of knowing how dangerous good should be shipped.

It never hurts to know.

When you can, never give control to a third-party packer. They just don’t understand what an AOG is and they're usually slow. That's at least my experience.

They also charge a hefty fee as opposed to your supplier just doing it for you. 

Consumables shipments are by far the most common HAZMAT shipments we see.

If you’re looking for a partner who has both a positive consumable and HAZMAT shipping track record I urge you to click here.

5 Ways Aircraft Wire And Cable Can Save Your Life… As A Passenger

Whether you’re a nervous flyer or not, it’s not easy to get on an aircraft after listening to negative news.

News reports never ease the minds of passengers.

Yes, even if you work on aircraft all day.

Whether you've heard about landing gear collapsing or an engine fire, these frightening incidents can make anyone hesitant to fly.

Most of us never sit down to think how aircraft wire and cable can play a critical role to flight safety, for better or worse.

So, why the need for aircraft wire and cable?

Today airlines have miles of aircraft wire and cable used to run almost everything from the plane’s fuel tank, to personal gadgets.

We all know how  crazy you become without your iPhone glued to your hip...me too!

If an aircraft malfunctions, electrical failure may be one of the primary suspects.

Modern airplanes rely heavily on the electrical systems. Aircraft wire and cable play important roles for passengers’ safety and airlines’ ongoing dependability:

Ensures electrical safety Wire and cable keeps electricity intact and where it should be. If the insulation is cracked, the electricity will spark and POOF, a fire. Wiring and cable ensures electrical safety with the proper cable connectors and jacketing, circuit breakers, heat-trace and leak-trace cable and stand-off insulators and tubing.

Prevents explosion All the structural joints and wires are specially designed to prevent sparks and fire. Poor wiring can cause tiny sparks and an explosion in the airplane’s fuel system.

Ensures a smooth ride Bad wiring can create problems such as, weak sparks or no sparks in the airplane’s cylinders. This makes the airplane run rough and will affect the travel time and comfortability for the passengers.

Protects you from fire and dangerous fumes Substandard wiring can cause unburned fuel to pass into the aircraft’s exhaust system causing fuel leak, arching plug wire, and a fire!

Many fire deaths are caused by smoke inhalation. The synthetic materials commonly found in today’s airplanes produce particularly dangerous substances. As a fire grows inside the plane, it consumes the oxygen available in the atmosphere to slow down the combustion process. This process causes toxic gases. No matter how small the fire is, smoke inhalation poses serious health risks.

Keeps you “grounded” Aircraft wires are designed to send information, which helps the pilot communicate with the Flight Service Stations, especially during emergency landings. The pilot can also send emergency messages to collaborators on ground as needed.

We don’t want any passenger or airline crew to fly in a white knuckle manner.

That’s why we offer the finest wire and cable from the world’s leading manufacturers to guarantee you a safe and smooth ride.

Simply click here to learn more. 

Why Aviation Tape Is Boring

For the non-engineer, aviation tape is something you play with in arts and crafts.

It’s boring and brings me back to my childhood days of having to open birthday gifts that my friends’ mothers over taped. Scratching, clawing, and banging the gifts trying to get through the tape’s adhesive structure.

The difficulties of childhood. I can only reminisce on how the 3M Scotch tape created so much stress for me in my younger years.

Back to reality!

The boring truth of tape...adhesion

Recently, a low-cost airline carrier received tons of intense reactions about passengers complaining that the airline used duct tape to repair its aircraft windshield. Talk about fear of flying! This is not duct tape-but a speed tape used to do a temporary fix, while waiting for an extensive repair.

As boring as it may sound, aviation tape has many indispensable uses.

The adhesive quality of aviation tape.

According to 3M “Adhesion is the molecular force of attraction between unlike materials. The strength of attraction is determined by the surface energy of the material. The higher the surface energy, the greater the molecular attraction. The lower the surface energy, the weaker the attractive forces.”

Snooze, boring, now wake up!!

Aviation tape is boring for the following reasons:

• It sticks to things, that's it.
• It’s flat and comes in a roll.
• Colors are usually bland.
• It’s primary purpose is simple, at least to most people.
• It’s terrible when it sticks to you.
• Your friends can hang a sign on your back without you knowing.

Oh the simplicity, but tape is much different in the aviation world.

Boring or not, it’s a marvelous feat of ingenuity and has hundreds of uses in the aircraft maintenance world.

The importance of aircraft tape

Tape is far beyond a characteristic of just sticking to things. Fly-away tapes are used in the construction of aircraft such as:

• cargo bay seaming
• moisture barrier
• mounting
• sound damping
• heat shielding
• cable harness wrapping
• anti-corrosion
• electrical, and electronic systems

And the list goes on and on.

It also has the job of non fly-away activities such as composite bonding, flame spray, paint masking/stripping, processing, and surface protections.

Top uses of aviation tape

Whether you think aviation tape is boring or not, it’s critical to your aircraft maintenance activities.

Without it, your aircraft maintenance checks just wouldn't be the same.

1)      Information: Airlines write notes on tape, or place tape on areas needing mechanical attention for ground crews and mechanics. Labeling damaged areas saves the ground staff at each plane station from documenting the deferred mechanical repair. There are also notes on non-functioning areas like a broken seat, damaged lavatory door lock. These notes serve as polite ways of letting the passengers know that the airline crews are aware of the damage.

2)      Ensures safety of your passengers. In reality you may have just fallen asleep but aviation tape is critical to flight. Take speed tape for example. This aluminum tape can endure a range of temperatures, expansion and contractions. It shrinks and holds its position when it’s cold and the plane is flying high. It also expands without being dislodged in warmer temperatures.

Speed tape is capable to sticking on an airplane fuselage at high speeds, hence the reason the name it 600mph tape. Clever I know.

According to PlaneCrashInfo.com, mechanical related pilot error is the 3^rd cause of aircraft accidents from 1950 to 2010. So, whether you think aviation tape is boring or not, it’s critical to your aircraft maintenance activities.

3)      Guarantees the continuous operation of your business:  One of the top causes of flight cancellation or delay is the problem with aircraft maintenance.  Airlines have to shoulder their passengers’ lodging costs if the cause of delay/cancellation is their own fault, which is applicable in case of mechanical failures. Without quality aviation tapes, aircraft repair is totally impossible.

If your next question is, do we supply aviation tape? The answer is yes, we support many international airlines with their taping needs.

Simply click here to learn more. 

Skyrocketing Honeywell Aircraft Brake Lining Prices

Over the last 2 years we’ve seen a price increase in older braking systems. Some Honeywell aircraft brakes have doubled in price; predominantly heavier, older metal brakes.

While most airlines are moving to carbon some of our partners are still operating older fleets, or they may just have a few active older birds in their fleet. They are now beginning to feel the financial pressure.

In 2011 an older generation brakes were procured for $8,000, but today it’s in excess of $16,000.

Not just a brake assembly supply / demand issue

The skyrocketing prices aren’t because the brake’s are scarce or in high demand.

It’s due to the fact that raw material for these brakes have skyrocketed. The biggest culprit is the aircraft brake lining.

Here are some comparisons to get this point across:

Honeywell Brake Lining List Price Averages

	2012	2013 / 2014
P/N 357403	$73.40ea	$278.00ea
P/N 357377	$76.25ea	$298.00ea
P/N 357376	$79.00ea	$320.00ea

You may be thinking that this is of course the OEM list price but lets then take a further look at distributor pricing:

Distributor Brake Lining Price Averages

	2012	2013 / 2014
P/N 357403	$45.16ea	$208.00ea
P/N 357377	$49.00ea	$223.50ea
P/N 357376	$52.16ea	$240.00ea

The issue with the old generation brakes is the raw materials used to manufacture the aircraft brake lining. The cost of raw materials has skyrocketed the prices for older braking systems.

There are several options you can take advantage of to cut your cost:

• You can buy SV units with lower life remaining. This is only a viable option in dire situation where you can’t wait for an overhauled unit as overhauled units allow you to fly more cycles before having to ground your aircraft for brake removal and replacement.
• Or you could simply supply your own brake lining for the overhaul of your brakes, or the brakes you buy outright. Just tell your supplier you want to provide your own brake lining to cut cost.

Currently Skylink has a few thousand pieces of the brake lining mentioned above in stock and procured back in 2012 when prices were stable.

The price for this lining is 60% less than today’s list price.

If you find yourself needing brake lining for your older fleet, we have the inventory to support you. This is while it lasts of course.

Contact Skylink support today and tell us the quantities you need.

5 Ways To Have A Productive AOG

It’s 5am and you're on your way to work. You feel good. Your outfit is sharp, coffee in hand and you're ready to take on the day. With every breath of fresh air you’re excited and invigorated until…

Your Head of Engineering has a busted starter solenoid which has rendered your bird, Aircraft on Ground.

The initial feeling you get in your stomach is that of stress and anxiousness. Your feel good, great morning has now been crushed.

On standard days you would process an Aircraft on Ground requirement with a frantic hurry. Mass emails, hurried phone calls and rushed order procurement.

Hurrying in an unplanned, unorganized way will only create a flurry of issues.

A productive Aircraft on Ground

Nobody likes the deep feeling of stress in their stomach. And it’s not good for you.

To effectively tackle an AOG you must be methodical, organized and rely on quality partners.

Here are 5 ways that can help any AOG situation turn positive.

1) Organization: People have claimed that they work best with “organized chaos.” Papers are all over their desk, icons fill their desktop and they don’t know their left hand from their right. Nobody works at 100% efficiency disorganized, period. To get the most out of your AOG make sure to have all your information clear and concise. A few questions you should answer are:

• What do you need to procure and what are all the specific requirements (i.e. OEM certs, condition, FAA 8130 no less than 12 months old, etc.). This will help you communicate exactly what you need with your suppliers and reduce unnecessary back and forth communication.
• What’s the latest day I can have this at our facility? The answer to this question gives you a realistic picture if you need to overspend on shipping or if you can wait a day or two. It also helps your supplier plan.
• By what means is it going to get here? By answering this you can relay all the pertinent shipping information to your supplier so they don't have to waste time asking you. Do you need to ship this AOG air, freight, express? Is it DHL, FedEx or possibly another integrator? Does your supplier use their account or yours? You get the point.

2) Streamline your supplier list: If you normally send to 100,000 people in your email list, narrow it down to your best 2 suppliers. This will help you avoid data overflow and avoid market being stirred. Whether you want to believe it or not, when you send to a long list of people a handful are calling around to get market price which in turn artificially inflates demand and increases the current supply price.

3) Forget about price: I know, easy for me to say but hear me out. When you streamline your supplier list you avoid artificial increases in demand and support the current market price. If you use your 2 best suppliers you know for this instance they shouldn't be overpriced. This avoids precious time being wasted  going back and forth trying to negotiate price with multiple vendors. Remember being streamlined is crucial during an Aircraft on Ground situation. Haggling back and forth over market price only wastes time and time is money.

4) Evaluate a contingency plan: Lets say you buy a part from ABC company and they tell you at 4pm that they “can’t” locate their part in inventory. Do you have a contingency plan to fall back on? By having a contingency plan you have a backup for when something unexpected arises, which as you know happens often. And, on a side note your supplier should have their own contingency plan.

5) Communicate, communicate, communicate: There's nothing harder on a supplier than when an AOG situation arises and information is withheld. Your supplier then has to contact you for more information and considering the international marketplace, you may be sleeping. Share as much information as you can upfront and constantly communicate with your supplier. Effective communication will avoid misunderstandings entirely.

AOGs are bad but through effective planning you can block any obstacles thrown at you during the process.

Give an example of a recent AOG situation you were in below. I’ll analyze it and give you my opinion.

Maintaining Leased Engines Through Their Entire Life Cycle

Maintaining leased engines can be stressful, confusing and will ruin a relationship faster than you can say relationship. It’s not just your interests at play.

From MROs, OEMs, airlines and lessors a lot of people have their hands in the aircraft engine lease arena.

Communication is paramount and strong relationships are far from a prerequisite, they're a necessity. [TWEET THIS]

But that’s only the beginning.

Lessors and Lessees have different agendas

Although the names sound similar, you know as much as I do they're two totally different operations.

A lessor will look at the life time of the engine in its portfolio and think of it based on its residual value.

All the while a lessee will only consider the lease period and the bare minimum return conditions. They're not concerned about the asset value at the end of the lease term.

This creates problems.

One, the lessor is focused on maintaining a healthy engine through its entire life, while the other, the lessee, is trying to get through maintaining the engine at the lowest cost to them.

Build relationships

When 2 parties are joined through an aircraft engine lease and each has different objectives, things get messy.

This is why lessors need to build a long-term approach with MROs and aftermarket suppliers to ensure quality service. Having consecutive shop visits MROs and suppliers are able to balance the lessor and lessee interests. They build history and experience working on an engine they've seen through its entire life-cycle.

By retaining a single MRO and supplier for an aircraft engine throughout multiple lessees, the engine will have better value preservation.

From life limited parts planning and used material to customized workshop planning and end-of-life ownership solutions. There are many influences that effect marketability of an engine.

When utilizing single sources, value is created for the lessor because there's no redundant activities or separate maintenance practices and policies.

Do you use single sources for maintaining your aircraft engine lease? Comment below.

Optimizing Boeing Maintenance Intervals

The more often your fleet of aircraft is on the ground, the less profitable you are. It doesn't take an engineer or genius to realize this.

When your system isn't optimized it’s leaking efficiency, just like an oxygen mask with a hole. [TWEET THIS]

Dangerous.

The trick is to structure your Boeing maintenance intervals to reduce downtime and increase up-time.

How do you go about this? What you're doing might be “working” but are you optimizing the system to take advantage of your Boeing maintenance intervals?

Where you are now

Line and base maintenance for your fleet is a standard practice. Each airline is different so I’ll spare you the additional reading.

When your fleet of aircraft is parked for their scheduled checks you pay for man hours, parts, and lost revenue potential.

On average it costs you $15.12 per flight hour for an A check, $32.92 for a C check and $22.87 for a D check.

In a typical 24 year life cycle you will accrue 24 D checks, 67.2 C checks and 48.7 A checks.

We’ll use the C check as a base line here. A C check interval is 6,000 FHRS, that’s $197,520 for every C check, per aircraft.

When your aircraft arrives early you incur unnecessary costs for no faults found, but when it arrives too late there's a high probability for unscheduled maintenance.

Optimizing the maintenance interval ensures you’re getting the biggest bang for your buck. Increased utilization.

Where you want to be

Your Boeing maintenance strategy is one that will continually need improvement.

We've talked about lean six sigma before.

However, the road to get there isn't always easy or straightforward. Statistical analysis is great but other factors are always welcome. The Bottom-Up and the Top-Down Approach, Maintenance Task Packages, and Boeing Maintenance Checks can be grouped into maintenance clusters.

By utilizing this simulation you fulfill 4  purposes:

1) You simulate the aircraft utilization 2) You calculate when a maintenance item turns due 3) You will fit each Boeing maintenance item into clusters 4) You generate maintenance clusters

Clustering is one of hundreds of optimization strategies you can be taking advantage of.

Whatever strategy you take, optimizing it to reduce your total cost of maintenance is the goal. There's no room for complacency.

According to Boeing SASMO application, through optimization you can save $500,000 over a 10 year period.

Now, I don't know about you but I would start optimizing your Boeing maintenance intervals today.

Want more information on your Boeing maintenance checks? Click here.

How Your Operation Can Relate To A 5 Star Restaurant

In the not so distant past I was enjoying a delicious meal at a 5 star restaurant. It was melt in your mouth fantastic but this isn't what drew my attention. My attention was immediately fixed on the service.

Would you like water sir? Yes, please. Boom, the water appeared immediately.

Are you enjoying your meal sir? It's fantastic but could I trouble you for some extra sauce? Boom, done immediately.

Is there anything else I can do? I would enjoy a nice cigar. Sir we don’t carry cigars but I’ll have someone run to the shop next door to get you one.

You see, the meal was great but the service was even better. And even better than the service was the distribution strategy of the services and products.

The server was acting as the liaison to my personal needs while the cooks, runners and everyone else made sure I got exactly what I needed. They were streamlined and even when I made an odd demand they were organized enough to figure it out.

The 5 star restaurant provided me a service where everything was immediately available and immediately consumed by me.

They were like ducks, calm on the surface but fiercely paddling under the water.

All I had to worry about was relaxing and enjoying my surroundings.

Now you’re wondering how in the world this relates to you aren't you?

Why you should be waited on

Imagine if you could be me in the scenario above.

You sit back ready to consume what's provided to you, while your supplier is paddling like a duck to get you the services you require.

All you have to do is focus on consumption and your profit generating activities.

There will be no chaotic scrambling because you have a team of cooks, runners and servers to help with your distribution requirements. Whether it be repairs, outright purchases, aircraft maintenance checks, exchanges or all the above.

Don’t keep putting yourself through stressful events.

Since you’re operating in the aviation environment you should be like a patron at a 5 star restaurant. Consume what's needed while your trusted partners provide you with a streamlined distribution strategy.

Just like the folks at the fine dining restaurant, they actually cared about my experience. If you look for that in a partner, consider yourself reprieved from 99% of all the stress you experience now.

From restaurant to Just In Time inventory for aircraft maintenance

Most people, including you and I eat out often. It’s fun and relaxing.

What we typically don’t notice is that restaurants provide us with a Just In Time inventory strategy. We eat our meals when were ready to consume it. This is what makes the whole experience relaxing. Am I right?

Otherwise we have to go to the grocery, stock food for a couple weeks, of which 30% of it will spoil. Ahh…

Right now your maintenance strategy is probably like going to the grocery. You overbuy or you get material not yet needed costing you time and money.

Once you begin to act as I did at the fine dining restaurant, you’ll begin to relax.

This is why Just In Time inventory may be a decision to consider.

If you would like to learn more about how a Just In Time inventory program can help you, click here

And The Best Solution For A Stress Free You Is...

I'm sure you're running around right now, stressed out, frustrated because nothing seems streamlined. You feel like a chaotic mess and each day seems the same. This is far too common and just recently I experienced this as well.

We procured 2 indicators for a project we were finishing. The lead time was "supposed" to be 3 days, but 3 days turned in to 7. Our supplier then shipped one indicator saying the other unit was "BER."

They sent a replacement unit to the shop but 2 days turned into 4. During the repair of the second unit they began to screen our calls, ignore our emails and avoid responding back to our update requests.

Is this any way to do business?

I think not, which is why Skylink has created a streamlined distribution strategy to limit these encounters.

Why limiting stress should be important to you

The side effects of you running around stressed might not be so apparent, but it impacts you greatly.

If you're constantly stressed your sleep will suffer, your health will deteriorate and your rational thinking will begin to decline.

Now, I may not have to explain this in great detail but these side effects can be impacting your bottom line.

You become less productive which results in more time doing the same tasks, decreasing efficiency. Your rational thinking then declines so you may choose an unapproved vendor to procure from. This then leads to quality assurance issues and / or  canceled orders, losing time and money.

You see, creating ways to limit your stress level will help you become more productive. It will also allow you to work with reliable people since they tend to not put so much stress on you.

A few of our tricks that kick stress to the curb

There are 2 major ways to limits your stress. The first way is to focus on small daily wins. The second is to push your stress onto your supplier and Just In Time inventory for aircraft maintenance planning will do just that.

Small ways to limit stress:

• Get up every 50 minutes.
• Stand-up while discussing an issue over the phone.
• Take deep breaths.
• Get good sleep.

The best solution to limit stress is to use Just In Time inventory for aircraft maintenance planning.

This strategy reduces unreliable suppliers which can be a major factor in your stress level. You get to work with people who actually care about you and your operation.

They will take on the stress you had to worry about and you can focus on profit generating activities. Plus this is what your supplier is supposed to do. They deal with this day in and day out and should be able to leverage economies of scale.

You'll experience less stress because there will be:

• No more logistical headaches.
• No more following up and not getting anywhere.
• An increase in time.
• An increase in communication with supplier.
• No more you being pulled in 100 directions.

I know from experience that stress is a daily occurrence for you. I experience it as well.

However, by adopting certain strategies and relying on trustworthy people, your stress can nearly be eliminated.

By using the small strategies discussed and Just In Time inventory for aircraft maintenance planning you'll be on the right track.

Focus on you and you'll see your bottom line begin to expand.

P.S. Ask about our chaotic distribution diagram by clicking here. You'll see the difference between your operation and a streamlined distribution strategy.

Have you experienced a stressful encounter today? Tell me about it below.

The Shocking Truth About Your Time And How To Save It

Have you ever sat in your office and thought about curling up under your desk and hiding? If you say no, you're not kidding anyone.

I think I can count 20 times that I've wanted to do this.

You may want to curl up under the desk out of fear. Stress has overcome you and you feel that most of your time is resting on the moon, out of your reach.

Is there such a thing as enough time?

No, especially when it comes to aircraft maintenance. You have a thousand things to do and a thousand and one people to communicate with.

Think of this:

We all know the quickest way to get from point A to point B is through a straight line. So why create a mess in the middle?

From multiple vendor shipments to hundreds of MROs to follow up with, the straight line gets out of control very quickly.

Just thinking of this makes me want to curl up under my desk right now.

The good news is this doesn't always have to be the case.

Make Your Supplier Stress and Sweat (Not Literally)

The best solution to regain your time is to surround yourself with good reliable people. If you can't rely on other people then you'll never regain control of your time.

By putting some of the burden onto your supplier, you can free up 25% of your time by creating a Just In Time agreement. You tell them what you need and when you need it on a 12 month forecast and the material arrives at your door, as needed.

What a relief!

But this takes planning and trust.

Mutual understanding will streamline your network and create an efficient supply chain. No need to feel all over the place.

Being efficient

By utilizing a Just In Time agreement with your supplier you will undoubtedly become more efficient.

Give the stress and responsibility to your supplier and give yourself more freedom to work on other important areas that you now only give 50% of your attention to.

You will have time for better focus and better results.

By creating ways to regain your time, you unknowingly increase your efficiency. Don't let your supplier sit there stress free and let you do all the work. Utilize them, partner with them and create solutions so you can make your aircraft maintenance as efficient as possible.

A relationship supported by a Just In Time agreement can only help by saving  your sanity and streamlining your logistics.

P.S. If you want to know more about our JIT program and our relationship based operation, click here.

Tell me about your experiences with not having enough time in the day. Comment below.