PAMA PROSE
BY DALE FORTON
MECHANICS, TECHNICIANS, OR ENGINEERS – THE RESULTS ARE IN!
DALE FORTON has worked in aviation for more than 32 years and as a licensed A&P Technician has been an active PAMA member for more than 26 of those years. For the past seven years he has served on the PAMA Board of Directors as vice chairman of the Board of Directors, Great Lakes Regional Director, Membership Committee Chairman, Governance Committee Chairman, and Strategic Planning Committee Chairman. Formerly a director of maintenance for 135,145, and 147 operations, he has also held positions as service manager, parts manager, technician, and director of product support. Dale has owned his own businesses as well.
here is an ongoing debate about what professionals in our industry should be called. When I first joined the ranks of the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA) in the mid 80’s, I was a believer that we were technicians. Some 30 years later we still have not agreed on what we would like to be titled, although it is a tight race by our results on
PAMA.org. We asked if A&P mechanics should we be known as mechanics, technicians, or engineers. We had 233 submissions. Eleven “other” suggestions were given, but otherwise, mechanic, technician and engineer were the most chosen. Technician lead with 90, mechanic with 69 and engineer with 63. Notice I did not say technician won! First let me say that no matter which you prefer you are all aviation maintenance professionals!
T
We will be posting the results and comments on
www.PAMA.org for you to review. I would like to summarize the themes I saw which permeated each personal choice. If mechanic was the choice the comments mostly focused on two themes. Those who selected it said it was because it is what we are called on our certificate or they said “I am proud to be one.” Those who chose technician stated it was because it is a more professional title indicating a higher level of training and since today’s aircraft are more technical than in the past it is more representative. For those who chose engineer stated it was because most of the world uses engineer and we design and conceptualize repairs. When I summarized these themes I also included my reviews of the comments from our LinkedIn and Facebook discussions. There is not a winner from this small sampling. It shows something I have learned over my years in PAMA regarding this discussion and makes a point that I was recently reminded of and want to share with all of you. As aviation maintenance professionals, we sometimes do not play together well. We are all very similar personality types that hold to common personality traits that make us this way. We are a confident group, leaders, or “lions” a term Gary Smalley uses to describe his use of the DISC (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Compliance) Profile. The second trait we display is attention to detail, meticulous, or a “beaver” to quote Smalley again. We are a confident group that knows what we are doing, how to do it, and we will tell you so. We have to for safety! If we were not this way, we probably wouldn’t have chosen the profession of working on
aircraft. That is why we see people who do not have these traits leave our industry early. In order to sleep at night we have to have the confidence of a job well done. That confidence is supported by the knowledge we use to complete the job. This pride and confidence is also why we continue to have strong differences of opinion.
In your workplace you can discuss an issue with your co-workers, supervisor or subordinate to come to an agreed upon decision on a repair or issue. On a national level, we cannot have that frank discussion typed on a forum. Using these types of forums doesn’t give the opportunity to hear the inflection of someone’s voice, which can lead to possibly misinterpreted points. We have to start somewhere and jump in and hold on with both hands or we get nowhere. We must choose a common ground we can agree upon and stand together with both feet firmly planted in support of a direction. I ask you to think about joining PAMA as that common ground that represents all aviation maintenance professionals. PAMA is the only non-profit organization that represents you, the individual, on legal and regulatory affairs. Mechanic, technician, or engineer—whichever you prefer you are a professional! PAMA cannot change your choice or make it for you. We must all agree. But as the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association, we will continue to represent you as an aviation maintenance professional. AM
44 Aviation Maintenance |
avm-mag.com | February / March 2012
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