We continue to hear reports that operators are bleeding cash, and that every aspect of spending is being reviewed. With this in mind, we’re seeing airlines open up to using PMA parts, parts traced to foreign airlines, and increasing use of aftermarket parts (AKA the ‘surplus’ market). With the proper controls in place, these practices save the operators considerable expense and lead time. And so it could be with two other sacred cows I’ll challenge: When buying aftermarket spares other than new,...

Reducing Turn Around Time (TAT) seems to be on a perpetual hit list among writers of journals, case studies, and contracts. Indeed, what a nobler topic to champion? Speedier TAT’s result in greater availability of the asset being turned around. For aircraft this means more Revenue Kilometer Miles; for engines and components, greater availability of spares, or a reduction in spares inventory- music to the ears of CFO’s. What irks me however, and compels me to pen this blog, is that most of what h...

A reader of my blogs once called me to ask my opinion of the practice of drop shipping; this because she wanted to draft some procedures for her Quality Manual and staff.   We need to initially distinguish the difference between ‘drop ship’ vs. ‘direct ship’, which many seem to confuse or use interchangeably. ‘Drop ship’ is a commercial term we use to describe that a part is being shipped from your supplier straight to your customer; it is not gong to be physically received at your facility. ‘Di...

A characteristic of human expression which seems to be on the wane is that of passion. You’ll know when a person is passionate about a topic of discussion when: the blood vessels in the neck are seen to bulge, the hand motionsbecome more expressive, and the tone of their voice changes to that level characterized as “don’t dare to interrupt me during my discourse or I’ll wag my finger at you.” That such impassioned expression is on the wane is a casual observation on my behalf, but if true, why? ...

The famous General Douglas MacArthur is quoted as saying “Rules are mostly made to be broken and are too often for the lazy to hide behind”. At first I was surprised that this quote was attributed to a ranking member of the military known for strict adherence to rules and regulations, but on closer examination he was referring to the prosecution of battle plans, and I doubt he would tolerate the wear of an unkempt uniform out of regulations. In aviation we generally observe that the rules and re...