A Romantic Story Of Just In Time Inventory & Decision Making Fatigue

Face it. You dislike fumbling around with aircraft expendables just as much as I like making my bed.

Both are messy.

I’m a terrible bed maker. My corners are never crisp, my pillow is never fluffed and my side is always sloppy. Just ask my wife. Okay, maybe don’t ask her.

Although I’m sloppy at making my bed, being sloppy and unorganized with expendable procurement is much more costly.

I see it time and time again. Partners who procure the same seal, over and over, each time with a greater urgency. They spend thousands of dollars for a measly $300 seal.

It happens far too often. We quote a seal 3 days prior, the quote becomes urgent on day 2, the PO is placed on day 3, and now you’re in an AOG situation.

For a seal (or insert another high usage expendable or consumable)…

We can blame it all on the maintenance crew all day long, but the real problem is in the planning and decision making. 

With so many decisions being made by you, it gets overwhelming and daunting.

Everyday you make last minute decisions to avoid AOGs. It’s common and your not alone.

Decision making fatigue, it’s a real thing

Would you believe me if I told you that you only have so much energy to make a certain amount of decisions in a given day?

Willpower is like a muscle. You can only stress it out so much before it gets fatigued and tired. Each time you make a decision you deplete your willpower fuel tank. Your willpower fades with the more decisions you have to make.

Should you ship it this way, should you call this person, how are you to resolve this problem? Do these questions sound familiar? 

Every time you answer these, you're zapping your willpower reserves. When your willpower is fading and your brain is tired of making decisions, it’s easier to make irrational decisions.

In a 2008 American Psychological Association journal their “…present findings suggest that self-regulation, active initiative, and effortful choosing draw on the same psychological resource. Making decisions depletes that resource, thereby weakening the subsequent capacity for self-control and active initiative. The impairment of self-control was shown on a variety of tasks, including physical stamina and pain tolerance, persistence in the face of failure, and quality and quantity of numerical calculations. It also led to greater passivity.”

Think without thinking and make better decisions by making less

What are you to do? Well that’s simple, make less decisions.

By creating a strategy where you can make less decisions and still  guarantee expendable delivery is a no-brainer. You simply automate the procurement process.

A Just In Time Inventory program does most of the heavy lifting for you.

You determine what high usage expendables you use over a 12+ month period and every month a predetermined amount is delivered to you on time. You eliminate the decisions to decide who to send the Purchase Orders to, how and where to ship, when to track your material and call your supplier and how to follow-up with orders.

Your material shows up when and as needed, no more fumbling around with administration tasks and excessive decision making. 

By automating your high usage expandable procurement you’ll cut your decision making fatigue down and make better decisions on higher value projects.

You’ll also reduce your freight costs, reduce your inventory levels, minimize AOGs, guaranteed fixed pricing and availability and significantly reduce administrative tasks.

So remember this, in order to reduce decision making fatigue, make less decisions and automate your expendable procurement process.

P.S. Our Just In Time Inventory saves  thousands of hours every year for relative administrative decisions, click here to request how it can work for you.

Try This And Combat Your 45 Day C-check Worries

It's often a fight, you versus your aircraft maintenance c-check.

The doors close behind you and it's an all out battle. You're up against a deadline and it's all or nothing.

Either you're on time or you're not. If you fail, money is lost, the pressure thickens, and your bosses get angry. 

It’s a time of intense pressure.

When it comes time for your c-check you begin preparing to be stressed. You prep for your 23 hour days. 

You visualize how you would like it structured, but until your aircraft is in the hangar it’s a guessing game.

But it’s not all lost, having a plan is a perfect starting point.

Create your battle plan

Here at Skylink we have a battle plan for certain activities.

If it’s a maintenance project we organize the logistics in our project management software and prepare for contingencies. 

Your battle plan is specific to your operation, but there's a general truth of how it should be organized.

It should be structured around your primary goal. 

Are you looking to significantly reduce costs, or reduce aircraft down time?

It’s a question you should think about. If you have one, usually the other will suffer. 

Once you have your primary goal in place, you set your foundation.

Set your foundation

You never go into battle alone and the same is true for your aircraft c-check.

Think about who you want to take to battle. Who do you trust? Who communicates well with you? Who has a positive track record?

You probably already have your aircraft MRO chosen, but you’ll also need a logistics company, rotable and consumable support, and possibly a component MRO.

It can get messy fast so having your partners in place will alleviate a lot of pressure during your maintenance check. 

A word of caution, don’t just have your own plan, share it with your partners. Let them get ready to support you. Tell them your goals and what your looking to get out of the project.

Open lines of communication is critical. 

The moral of the c-check story is to not go into battle ill prepared.

Have a plan and have partners to help support your plan. It’s a simple as that.

P.S. Our c-check program is designed for complete rotable and consumable support. One shipment and all supporting spares will arrive to your MRO when and as needed. P.P.S. Click here and tell us about your upcoming c-check and we’ll tell you how we can support you for maximum efficiency.

5 Huge Reasons To Outsource Your Inventory

Airlines burden themselves with inventory. They procure aircraft parts to avoid costly delays and adversely restrict their financial flexibility.

Inventory works against itself.

It siphons cash, requires more administration, and is a pain in the butt.

You look at having inventory as the ends to a mean, but is it the beginning of a long hard relationship of what to have, when to procure it, and how much money to spend?

Airlines need to keep their fleets in the air, true, but you don’t have to specialize in all areas to make that happen.

Think about it.

Do you provide your own on board catering? Probably not, LSG Sky Chefs is who you’ll usually turn to.

Do you supply your own fuel? Not likely as Shell is someone you would consider instead.

What about aircraft maintenance? Yes, some legacy carriers do their own maintenance, but the majority of airlines will outsource this responsibility.

The same goes with inventory.

Why should you spend your time stocking inventory when you can focus more time and energy on core activities?

Inventory is a burden.

The burden of cash

Cash can vanish with the blink of an eye.

You prepare for future issues, but in the next moment your cash reserves are low and you're spending more money on inventory than anticipated.

With no specific plan, inventory and maintenance is a variable cost that is hard for your CFO to forecast and predict.

Costs add up and become a burden to your available cash for other operational objectives.

Airlines spend on average $1.6M on inventory per aircraft. If you didn’t have to invest in inventory, where could you use this money?

The burden of dust

What is dust worth to you?

The longer a part sits on your shelf the more it incurs holding costs.

At 20% of the value of the part per year, this easily forgettable cost of inventory adds up quickly.

Just think, if you have one $1.6M worth of inventory on your shelves for 12 months, that’s roughly $200,000 in holding costs you’ll have to deal with.

Chat with your CFO and see what she has to say about inventory.

Now go back and think of all the waste for expired or superseded parts.

Just another example of spoilage and you’re not even in the grocery industry.

The burden of administration

You’re thinking, duh, administration is a part of holding costs and you’re right.

But…

Let’s talk about its direct burden.

You have to have people procuring, receiving, inspecting, and maintaining your inventory. Think of the time and resources that’s tied to this activity.

Forget procuring just for maintenance projects, think about the resources that are used for you to hold inventory.

Do you see time and money flying out the window?

I do.

The burden of forecasting

How do you know what parts you’ll need and when?

You could consider the mean times between removal and how many flight hours each aircraft accrues, but is that necessary?

Yes and no.

It's necessary information for you to have but not necessary for you to use into inventory strategies.

When you begin to source components to support your MTBR and line up contingencies, you put more burden on time and money.

It adds up. What is your time and opportunity costs worth?

The burden of specialization

Every hour you spend away from your core activities, you're making an opportunity cost decision.

Calculate how much this costs you.

It’s a lot I’m sure.

Stocking inventory both for consumables and rotables is a specialization. You have to train, develop, and watch market trends.

You need to have a pulse on the industry. Who’s reliable and trustworthy, what are the best logistical options for easy distribution, and the list goes on and on.

These are activities you shouldn’t be engaged in. It doesn't make you money and there’s resources that are educated and reliable enough to do it for you.

The moral of the story is, when you're not focusing on your core competencies every activity becomes a burden.

When you tie specialization into pooling and inventory management programs, it becomes even more efficient for you.

P.S. Do you find inventory becoming a burden? Your solution is component pooling. Learn more by clicking here.

Why You Spend 8x More Than You Have To On Inventory

Your CFO opens the bank account and sees red. The money that once lingered in this account has now been spent on inventory.

His stress level is high.

He screams and yells because of the pressure.

If you're not the one he's yelling at, he's yelling at someone.

At first inventory might sound like a good idea.

You stock rotables and consumables to avoid AOG situations.

Nobody likes AOGs. In fact, just writing "AOG" gives me goose bumps.

As an airline, stock is used as a safety net. If you're not in the air, you're not making money.

I should become a professor with that insight. Am I the first?

I get it. Stock eases your mind.

But what about your poor CFO?

Inventory poses a huge financial burden with upfront costs and pesky holding costs.

It’s a burden on your available cash.

Over-utilized capital for inventory

Let's say you need 100 A320 aircraft components to support your No-Go safety stock. You'll easily spend $1,000,000 to stock up.

And that's not $1,000,000 spread out over several years. That's $1,000,000 upfront, cold hard cash due now.

And don't forget the cost of inventory. The dreaded holding costs.

It's estimated that it costs airlines 20-30% of the cost of the unit per year in holding costs. So if you have a million dollars worth of inventory on your shelves you spend how much on holding costs? That's right, $200,000 per year.

It's madness I know.

Spend $0 on inventory

Wait.

What did I just say?

Okay, you're right, I did say that. Spend $0 on inventory.

Before you yell and scream at me, hear me out.

What would you do with the money if you didn't have to invest and re-invest in inventory? Would you spend it on marketing initiatives to attract new passengers? Would you hire more people for your maintenance team for quicker turn arounds? So what is it?

Whatever it is, the money you save would be used on core activities. No, inventory isn't a core activity silly.

Just think, $1,000,000 to spend on something else, something that drives revenue.

It represents an opportunity cost. When aircraft components are on the shelf they're not being sold, and that money could be deployed elsewhere.

Holding costs are the blood sucking bats of inventory

Just because a part is sitting on a shelf doesn't mean it’s not costing you money.

I know, I know, it's just a shelf.

But stocking is much more than buying something, putting it on the shelf, and watching it get dusty.

It's a money pit.

I don't need to re-state what has already been said, so I'm going to let my good friend Wikipedia tell us why inventory is like a blood sucking bat:

"The most obvious holding costs include rent for the required space; equipment, materials, and labor to operate the space; insurance; security; interest on money invested in the inventory and space, and other direct expenses. Some stored goods become obsolete before they are sold, reducing their contribution to revenue while having no effect on their holding cost. Some goods are damaged by handling, weather, or other mechanisms. Some goods are lost through mishandling, poor record keeping, or theft, a category euphemistically called shrinkage.

Holding cost also includes the opportunity cost of reduced responsiveness to customers' changing requirements, slowed introduction of improved items, and the inventory's value and direct expenses, since that money could be used for other purposes.

While it is possible to measure the components of holding cost, it is common to estimate them as at least one-third the value of the stored goods per year. If opportunity cost is included, it is reasonable to use one-half the value of stored goods as their holding cost.

The effect of reducing the value of inventory by $1,000,000 reveals the effect holding cost has on its owner. If holding cost is set at one-third of the inventory's value, $333,333 becomes available for other purposes. At the higher rate, $500,000 becomes available. Whether that money is added to net income and profitability or used for other purposes, it is a noticeable amount."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Spend less, make more

So by now you're wondering how to spend less on inventory, am I right?

Well, it's rather simple.

Become the best outsourcer you possibly can.

There are companies (no shocker here but Skylink is one of them) that invest in inventories.

You make money in the air, they make money selling from their shelves.

It's simple as that.

Partner with someone that makes sense. Do you trust them? Are they transparent? Do they get the "job" done?

An even better strategy would be to adopt a component pooling partnership with this person. It ensures you have the right part, at the right time, in the right place, without you having to invest for your own shelves.

Leave that to someone else.

There are amazing resources (like this one) that can help you eliminate having to invest hefty amounts of money in inventory and paying it for years to come in holding costs.

P.S. I have the perfect pooling program for you. Just click hereto help you save time and money.

Photo credit:  Hloom via Flickr.com  / CC BY-SA, 401(K) 2013 401(K) 2013 via Foter.com / CC BY-SA,

Why Lead Times Are A Nightmare & How To Guarantee Aircraft Component Delivery

How often are you sitting at your desk waiting, wondering, hoping, your aircraft component arrives on time?

It was supposed to arrive 4 days ago but still, you’ve kept waiting.

Every day the component fails to ship is another day your aircraft maintenance schedule is pushed back.

It’s a distribution bottleneck nightmare. And a costly one.

As the days pass, the closer you get to your aircraft being AOG. Scheduled flights are where you make money, not in some hangar. Thousands of dollars are at stake waiting on this measly aircraft component. One component will delay the entire aircraft from generating revenue.

It’s scary. It’s nerve wrecking. It’s a nightmare.

Sitting and waiting on components isn’t the best use of your time. Frankly, it’s an unjustifiable money suck.

In this crazy aviation world, is there a way to avoid this, or at least minimize the effects?

On time delivery

Let’s face it, having the right part, at the right time, at the right place, is critical to airline operations.

After speaking with hundreds of friends and airline partners over the years, it's unanimous. Turn time, lead time time, or whatever else you want to call it is a HUGE issue. It's what keeps you up at night, it’s what delays your maintenance project, and worst of all it's a serious contributor to your AOG expenses.

Meet your new best friend…pooling.

An aircraft component pooling program gives you the flexibility to have the right part at the right time. No headaches of processing POs or wondering if a part is actually “ready to go.”

It gives you complete transparency without the inventory investment.

They’re typically based on a guaranteed service level that work with your unique operation.

If turn time’s are an issue for your MEL, No-Go and even safety stock, aircraft component pooling is something to consider.

Fixed costs

Another benefit to pooling is the fixed costs.

It’s like leasing an aircraft without having to spend the the capital on inventory.

Every month you’ll have a fixed cost based on your service level.

Now you tell me that your CFO wouldn’t be happy with fixed costs? You’ll make his life much easier. But don’t worry, leave me out of it and you can take all the credit.

Even better, pooling programs guarantee stock availability, reducing unnecessary expenditure.

AOGs affect your overall maintenance spending. The more AOGs you have, the more you're going to spend on outright purchases and freight to fix the last minute problem.

Simple to implement

A pooling program doesn’t have to be complicated.

On the basic level you’ll need to know what components you need support with, and from there you can decide on your service level.

Start with reviewing where your issues are occurring and work with a partner that can be flexible with your needs, and help you make the right choice.

An aircraft component pooling program’s goal is to guarantee availability backed by fixed costs. That directly makes your life less stressful and the best part is you don't have to invest in inventory.

Does it get much easier?

P.S. If you need help guaranteeing TAT and component availability, check out our pooling program here. Or if you want to skip that and get right into the details, contact us here.

How Aircraft Component Pooling Can Save You Millions

Why do you spend millions on unnecessary inventory? This questions riddles you with turmoil.

You dance with excess inventory to support your fleet, or gamble with an AOG because your component source dropped the ball.

Yelling and screaming gives you some relief, but you're still dancing.

And let’s be honest, is dancing something you’re good at?

If you're anything like me, dancing is not a pretty sight.

Millions of dollars are put into inventory to sit and gather dust just for “piece of mind.”[CLICK TO TWEET]

It’s either that or subject yourself to mediocre service levels.

So what are you supposed to do?

Aircraft component pooling

Don’t worry, I’m not going to be your Wikipedia for pooling.

It’s rather simple.

You need a part, you have immediate access to inventory that you didn't have to invest in, and you install the component on your aircraft.

That’s a reduced definition, but you get the point.

Aircraft component pooling allows you to have access to an agreed upon inventory that you can tap in to at any given moment. Gone are the days of you having to invents millions in inventory.

Playing with inventory is not your strong suite and it’s definitely not where you make money.

Aircraft component pooling has many benefits and since the average airlines spends 8x more than they have to to support their fleet, there's some serious strategies to reduce the inventory burden.

Time is money, and money is…money

How much is your departments time worth?

I'm sure once you get into the cost of time, the number is shocking.

Now add on the cost of inefficiencies and you'll get a real time picture of where the money is bleeding out due to operational inefficiencies.

Maybe it's chasing a supplier for shipment confirmation on a PO, babysitting an MRO for the OH of your units, or trying to resolve an AOG.

Whatever it is, everything has an opportunity cost.

If your department is spending to much time on processing orders there's something else they're missing out on.

What’s their opportunity cost?

Aircraft component pooling helps you to focus on core activities, while making it easy to access mission critical components.

Reduced administrative costs

When you focus less time on processing orders and fixing problems, you drastically reduce your administrative costs.

Just imagine the costs you could save if you didn't have to process POs.

You would save time and money on:

• Data entry
• Order follow-up
• Expediting
• Working with freight forwarders
• Managing vendor issues
• Getting approval from finance
• Determining if the quality meets your QA standards

The list goes on and on, and all of these activities have a cost.

A cost that is controlled through a pooling strategy.

Less money lost to holding costs

According to Jetblue, they spend 20% on holding costs per unit, per year.

Yes, 20%!

That's crazy.

So if they held a $10,000 actuator in stock it would cost them $2,000 per year to hold that actuator in stock.

I'm sure your holding costs aren't much different.

By utilizing a pooled inventory you no longer carry this stock burden.

You'll save $2,000 a year just on this one component. Now imagine if you had 52 similar parts.

That's $104,000 in savings on holding costs alone.

Now doesn't that sound like a no-brainer?

More cash and less financial burden for inventory investments

Who wouldn't want more cash?

Let's say you have a new aircraft being added to your fleet. There's 52 no-go components that could leave your poor bird stranded if something happened.

Those 52 components would cost you $500,000 to acquire and put in to inventory.

And don't forget your holding cost.

If you're like Jetblue this inventory would cost you an additional $100,000 per year in holding costs.

By utilizing a component pooling program you would avoid the upfront capital expense and holding costs, giving you an additional $600,000 for year one.

You could use this additional cash for anything, but I'm guessing it would be best spent on expanding or fine tuning your operation.

Increase in productivity

Similar to saving time, a pooling strategy will increase your departments productivity.

Gone are the days having to chase a supplier for an AOG component, worrying if a freight forwarder picked up, and checking your email every 5 minutes for a status update.

When you have the right components, at the right place, at the right time, your productivity skyrockets.

You'll be able to focus your attention on other things that matter most.

Whether you think this is a dream or not, streamlining your operation has the potential to save you millions of dollars every year.

Of course, every airline is different, but think hard about the possibilities.

Spending less money on inventory, and having more time for mission critical activities is a good place to be.

P.S. We offer an aircraft component strategy based on your unique operation. Click here and tell us what issues you need to resolve.

How To Properly Scrap A BER Aircraft Part

Have you ever scrapped a BER aircraft part? [CLICK TO TWEET]

You probably wonder what the MROs procedure is to properly “scrap” it.

Or more likely you wonder if they actually scrap it.

Questions race through your mind like what piece parts did they keep, did they turn around and sell the BER core for a small fee, what exactly happened to your unit?

These questions are normal.

It’s common for MROs to have a field day on your piece parts and that's why we created this video for you:

Properly scrapping an aircraft part

Getting rid of a BER aircraft part is easy.

Best of all you get to keep the good piece parts.

In this short video we show you one way to get rid of your BER unit.

Check it out:

As Skylink’s professional actors, Alex, Colin, Ron and Mark show you smashing your unit is an effective way to scrap your BER part.

Or you can cut it in half, burn it, melt it, soak it, or whatever option you chose as long as there’s no possible way it will ever be returned to service.

The best part is, you’ll relieve all sorts of aviation stress.

This is one reason we have partners from large national airlines to small regional operators taking advantage of the value we create in our repair program.

We know how to scrap, we know the value in piece parts and we know how to relieve stress.

Did you enjoy this video? Do you wish you could relieve stress like this? Comment below.

Thousands of Dollars Lost Because You’re Now An Aircraft Parts Babysitter

Do you feel out of control? From delayed shipments and BER parts, to unaccountable partners.

You make decisions knowing, feeling, and thinking it was a good move.

Right?

But suddenly your decisions kick you in the butt taking you two steps backward.

You’re exhausted.

A quick 30 minute task turns into a daunting 2 hour mission.

This is the epidemic we call a flawed distribution strategy.

You do more of what you shouldn’t.

Chasing, screaming, and stressing.

Is it because you forgot to get diapers at the store?

Today, you and your team are more babysitters than strategist.

More often than not, you’re babysitting your aircraft parts suppliers and MROs.

You have a choice to make.

Either go get more diapers, or fire yourself as a babysitter.

Focusing away from your strengths is not a good idea

When you have to babysit your partners, you do more of the small tasks you shouldn’t be doing.

That’s inefficiency at it’s best.

It’s like a CFO shipping and receiving. The two just don’t make sense.

Your strong points are not stocking parts, knowing the ins and outs of the parts market, piece parting to reduce repair costs, or staffing for component distribution.

Your strengths are not the same as an MRO or an aircraft parts supplier. They are to find efficient ways to keep aircraft maintenance costs low and reduce aircraft downtime.

Your profit generating activities is keeping your aircraft in the air and profitable, not babysitting suppliers and MROs.

Right now, you spend to much of you and your teams time babysitting.

It is not in your best interest to:

• Follow up and babysit hundreds of vendors
• Keep track of AWB #s
• Review documentation for accuracy
• Emailing RFQs and inputting hundreds of responses
• Solving BER issues
• Resolving cancellation problems
• Piece parting your repairs
• Finding efficient shipping methods
• Solving supplier problems

Trust, it’s more than just a word

[CLICK TO TWEET]

Your title is not “VP of Nanny Services”

By streamlining your focus and utilizing key strategic partners your life will be much easier and efficient. We’ve talked about the art of delegating before.

Choose your partners wisely. Are they easy to communicate with? Do they solve problems as they occur? Do they give you options to maximize your operational results? Do they have various programs and services for your unique operation? Do they have a total support program? Do you trust them?

Answering these questions will enlighten you into who you're working with. Would you put your life and career into their hands?

You must be 100% confident in your partners. So confident, you’d put your career’s future in their hands.

Now that's trust.

What does an effective aircraft parts strategy look like?

An effective aircraft parts strategy is incredibly simple...for you.

All you have to do is state your need and the aircraft parts should show up at your door as you need them.

Sound too simple?

Well it is.

Remember you do not have time to figure our where to buy aircraft tape, how to best ship your $80,000 INUs, or the best options to forecast consumable consumption.

Your strategic aircraft parts partner is competent enough to have these figured out already. They are the experts in this field, or at least should be.

This is why we rely on our strategic distribution strategy.

Stress is not your ally.

The more you’re stressed having to babysit, the less productive you’ll be.

Streamline your distribution, work with partners you trust, and delegate tasks that are not your operations strengths.

Do you babysit your suppliers? Do you feel like you stock more diapers than mission critical parts? Comment below.

What AOGs And Wrinkles Have In Common

Do you ever look in the mirror and say “it must be the poor lighting?” Years of youth verifiably gone.

Smooth skin has turned into something of another form.

A form in which I’ll keep to myself so you don’t try to hunt me down.

Often times wrinkles associate with age and experience.

But is this always the case?

Is it instead a sign of constant stress, poor habits and work priorities that puts your health last?

There’s constant pressure to keep your aircraft maintenance short and to maximize cycles.

And not to mention the added pressure of AOGs.

AOGs are a recipe for wrinkles.

The wrinkle inducing AOG

Your aircraft has been grounded at your primary operating base.

The engineering department states that a hydraulic hose busted and you have no stock to replace it.

You’re instructed that the hose must be at your base for tomorrow afternoons flight.

You search the entire world but no hose is available.

One of your key partners provides you with a solution, but the 7 day lead time to assemble the hose puts you in a further predicament.

AOGs are stressful. From the time you find out about the AOG to the time the aircraft is in the air, the pressure is on.

You lose thousands of dollars every hour your aircraft is on the ground.

AOGs cause wrinkles because AOGs are stressful.

Aircraft maintenance isn’t always easy and the wrinkles you now see on your face are a product of this environment.

Stress causes wrinkles for several reasons:

• Stress damages cells which leads to premature aging
• Chronic stress contributes to an unhealthy lifestyle
• The stress hormone cortisol degrades collagen

Reduce stress, wrinkles and AOGs

Stress and aviation are not mutually exclusive.

When there’s one the other will be peaking it’s sly little head around the corner getting ready to pounce.

Sorry to break it to you but it’s completely up to you to balance the two.

From taking care of yourself and practicing time management to relying on trustworthy partners to meditation, it all plays an integral part in your wrinkle fighting, stress reducing aircraft maintenance initiatives.

Here a several ways you can reduce AOG induced wrinkles:

• Partner with people you trust and who help you solve problems, not just create them
• Have a sound logistics strategy in place
• Incorporate time management into your schedule
• Take care of your mind and body
• Meditate

Wrinkles and AOGs have one thing in common…stress. [CLICK TO TWEET]

To avoid stress you must work with reliable partners and make sure you have a take-care-of-yourself strategy.

These are the greatest ways to minimize AOGs and fine lines.

Do you have a case of “where did my wrinkles come from?” Do you have AOGs day in and day out? Comment below.

Elegantly Simple Ways To Eliminate Aircraft Maintenance Quality Problems

Do you often wonder why quality is such a problem? From the screams and yells by your quality assurance manager to the stops in distribution from your CAMO, life in aircraft maintenance can be rough.

It’s a test of your courage, a test of your patience, a test of your will.

Nothing is more frustrating and nothing halts productivity like quality issues.

You’ve experienced it.

You know how it feels.

It’s the morning when your parts supplier ships you an alternate when the alternate isn't effective on your aircraft, when they send you an overhauled unit without the proper airworthiness certification, or when they ship you material with crappy packaging and your $20,000 part got damaged in transit.

These are quality issues and these are what’s causing you to lose your hair.

The fact is, quality is a perfect way to cut long-term aircraft maintenance cost and it's stupidly simple.

Yes, stupidly simple.

Let’s see how…

Don’t play with fire, play with ice

Playing with fire in aviation is like being burned by 2,700 degrees fahrenheit jet fuel.

I’ll take my chances with ice.

Working under fire never leads to a productive aircraft maintenance plan.

Mistakes will happen, productivity will be lost and your sanity will get tested.

Not to mention, you’re stress and problems will then be pushed down to your partners, bottlenecking you entire distribution

Creating an aircraft maintenance plan will help you offset your chaotic distribution.

Here are a few ways to prepare yourself:

• Make note of your best supplier and MRO and use them often. They'll save you more money with less problems than the initial price ever will.
• Utilize problem solving partners. Each and every one of your partners must be able to look beyond their operation and into yours. They should do everything they can to eliminate your problems.
• Create contingency plans. What are your fall back choices and what will you do if an issue occurs?
• Know your distribution. How will material flow to your aircraft maintenance base and who’s your go to logistics provider?
• Each aircraft parts supplier and MRO should have an a up to date quality manual and training.

Quality is beyond quality, it's about purpose

Sorry to break it to you but quality is simple.

It’s about good products, good inspections, good processes and most of all, good partners.

Aircraft maintenance is a hosh posh (what does that mean?) of logistics and hundreds of hands involved for the end,  successful work order and a healthy plane back in the air.

Because of course, that’s where you make money.

Quality is all about purpose. If your partners do not have a purpose then they do not have quality. Purpose is not just supplying parts for your aircraft maintenance. Skylink’s purpose is to cut your aviation stress so you can be more productive, happy and truly know someone cares about you.

It’s about solving problems, being a resource and most of all being a trustworthy expert in the field.

Your partners should help solve issues before you even have to ask.

That is true quality at it’s best.

Do you have quality issues? Do your supplier have a purpose focused on you? Comment below.