tive support end here. After applying these recommendations to your oper- ation, you should start the support process all over again. Designed by fate, a maintenance
operation is not a revenue producer. And despite the fact that some issues cannot be dealt with effectively, all issues, no matter how small, have a cumulative effect on the maintenance program. With an efficient proactive approach, you can bring your mainte- nance process more in line with the rest of the operation, noticeably increase your aircraft availability, and set you on a path to the best three “M” words - Make More Money.
While this type of shop set up would be welcomed in a remote location, it would not be conducive to reducing your maintenance downtime in today’s markets
nance program. Here are a few exam- ples of areas to review:
• Did the maintenance program identify and correct aircraft prob- lem areas?
• What were the top five discrepan- cies, and how do they compare to the fleet?
• Were there any delays in the main- tenance process?
• What is the overall condition of the aircraft?
• How does the effectiveness of your maintenance process compare to similar companies?
After several reviews, patterns
should become evident that can be used to track the overall maintenance program or each individual aircraft. But remember, when reviewing this data it is paramount that each issue be fully examined to include all known and underlying causes. For example, if an investment in mechanic training does not appear to increase efficiency, you may think that the training was a waste of money. However, further investigation might reveal that the switch to a bargain cleaning agent used by helpers is now causing an
rotorcraftpro.com 43
increase in airframe corrosion, thus requiring the additional aircraft downtime to correct. By no means should your proac-
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Scott has been employed with a major helicopter operator for 30 years in various maintenance positions. When not
working his scheduled seven day hitch, he provides technical writing and
research services to private aircraft owners and individuals, and can be contacted at
tekaviation@cox.net
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