Aircraft certification affects the entire supply logistics chain; both on the front end (manufacturing for installation on production aircraft) and the back end (aftermarket support). This is because certification of the aircraft is what triggers production. And it’s not just the aircraft, it’s the engines too and all their subcomponents. What frustrates the supply chain is the unpredictability in the timing of the granting of these certifications, making production planning and spares planning ...

I’m writing this article because of the great variation seen in the distribution community regarding the inspection staff who are typically the receiving and shipping inspectors. I encounter many inspectors that I would be proud to have on my own staff in the aircraft operations world or MROs, yet others who frankly may be better suited to sales, purchasing, or administration functions. We’ll come back to this occurrence towards the end and solicit your opinion. It’s interesting that in many qua...

This is now my third article on this topic and here’s the link to the previous post: https://www.aviationsuppliers.org/REVISITED-MILITARY-8130-3-S What prompted me to write this is a major, welcomed update regarding the use of the 8130-3 for Return to Service (RTS) for military and/or government parts. But first the big picture: The big picture: FAA Form 8130-3 Instructions are now in different documents: There was a single 75-page order for filling out the 8130-3. With the issuance of FAA Ord...

Scenario 1: A company reached out to me with a question. I thought it was an odd question coming from them. Did the parts they receive require an 8130-3? This was for some hardware, and we first established that the part numbers did not fit the definition of Standard Parts. So, under the circumstances presented and the requirements in their own manual the answer was yes. They then showed me the documentation received with the parts which they had already received and placed into working shop sto...

A noticeable trend which should give all of us pause for circumspection is that of training vs competency. The noticeable trend is that on paper, employees have the documented training, but in practice the corresponding skills are noticeably lacking. Overall, the issue of training in our challenged and evolving environment is well known. For background on this, read this prior article titled “Critical Need for Training Including Executives”: https://www.aviationsuppliers.org/critical-need-for-tr...