AIRFRAME
the aircraft. If that is not possible, Alpine Aerotech will request photos and a detailed description of condition and any damage.
Finding new business While there are different approaches that MROs use to land business, Alpine Aerotech staff prefers to provide a realistic as- sessment right up front, rather than a “low bid” with bad news to come later. Some customers request a bid against a specifi- cally-defined workscope that is often inspection only, to allow them to compare different bids on an apples-to-apples basis. In this case, Alpine Aerotech will comply with the request and will provide additional information including the likely total cost after inspection or historical averages for helicopters with similar workscopes, to ensure the customer knows the full story. “We’re not here to get one job in the door. We’re here to make happy customers at the end of the job — to earn their respect and repeat business,” says Campbell. Alpine Aerotech has established a strong reputation as a high-quality service provider to Bell Helicopter opera- tors and has achieved a high level of repeat customers and referrals. In 2009, Bell Helicopter honored Aerotech by designating it a Platinum-Level Customer Support Facility (CSF). At that time, it was the only Canadian CSF so recog- nized and one of only six companies worldwide to achieve this distinction. Alpine Aerotech has continued to achieve Bell’s Platinum-Level rating every year since.
Disassembly and more The next phase is aircraft arrival, disassembly and detailed inspection. The level of disassembly is dependent upon a few things, including the requirements of any scheduled main- tenance check (the major maintenance check on the Bell 212/412 is a 3,000 hour/five-year inspection), any specific damage that needs repair, service bulletins, modifications or upgrades that are requested or required, and damage or corro- sion that is found during the inspection.
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HelicopterMaintenanceMagazine.com October | November 2013
Alpine Aerotech puts emphasis on customer communi- cation during this phase, and provides the customer with options to consider to reduce costs and/or enhance the end product. Options could include rework or refurbish- ment rather than replace parts, remanufactured panels rather than new, additional upgrades or optional repairs. “Customer involvement here is key,” says Campbell. “They need to be part of the decision-making process to ensure that the end result will best fit their needs as well as their pocket-book.” New parts are expensive, so if a worn part can be re-
paired, reworked or exchanged for a remanufactured part, and the integrity of the part is not compromised (and in many cases is enhanced), most customers will request it. Alpine Aerotech’s long list of manufactured items, such as exhaust ejectors, other exhaust components and a number of airframe panels, and its ability to repair and rework these parts, allows it to provide cost-effective solutions on these items. In addition, when composite panels need replace- ment, many customers will opt for aftermarket remanufac- tured panels that provide additional savings.
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