There's an old saying that cleanliness is next to godliness. As it turns out, cleanliness may be next to a few more worldly things as well, including safety, motivation and employee productivity.
Nordam has appointed Brian Schlegel to VP, supply chain management. Schlegel previously served as Nordam's senior VP of support services. Schlegel will lead the aerospace firm's global procurement, inventory planning, transportation and logistics efforts. Mike Bunney has also been added as senior VP, support services. Dave Whitten has been promoted to senior VP, strategy and marketing.
GE has collaborated with Michigan State University's College of Engineering to train the next generation of engineers. GE is one of the first corporate sponsors in the university's engineering theme partnership program, which will provide engineering undergraduate students with the opportunity to learn about transportation and issues related to clean technology. The partnership supports lab enhancements, student design competitions, mentorship and tutoring programs and activities like field trips to GE facilities.
While fuel burn grabs the big headlines in the battle for market share between the mid-thrust engine makers, it is more often maintenance cost which becomes the real acid test when it comes to decision time.
Singapore Technologies Aerospace (ST Aero) has been certified as a Part 147 maintenance training organization by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. The Singapore MRO firm says now that it has this certification, its technical training center in Singapore will be able to provide EASA-certified courses covering narrowbody and widebody aircraft.
Mubadala Aerospace has formed a new senior leadership team to manage its MRO companies, Zurich-based SR Technics and Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT). The United Arab Emirates-based company says it will use the new executive team to create synergies between the two MROs. However, both SR Technics and ADAT will remain separate legal entities. The new leadership appointments are Homaid Al Shemmari, chairman of the MRO network; Jeremy Chan executive vice chairman; and James Stewart group CEO.
Lean manufacturing is a concept that derived from Toyota's production system for cars, and it has since been adopted by maintenance facilities for their repair work. But using Lean for MRO can be difficult, as there are many things that can happen on the maintenance shop floor that manufacturing organizations would not have to worry about. While an introduction to Lean is still valuable to any an aftermarket organization, a few consultants have found ways to tailor efficiency initiatives for the maintenance industry to address some unique problems.
Jet Midwest appointed Tom Corum to VP of business development for Jet Midwest Technik. He comes to the company after three years in the financial services and business brokerage industry. He has spent more than 30 years in the aviation industry.
Jet Midwest Technik has entered into an agreement with SkyWest Airlines to perform premium paint services for the airline's Bombardier CRJ-200 fleet, operated on behalf of United Express.
Aviation Partners Boeing has appointed Bill Ashworth as its new president. His senior management team will include: Mike Stowell, acting president, executive VP and CTO of APB; Dean Poor, VP operations and Patrick LaMoria, VP sales.
Arinc Managed Services has opened a new headquarters in Annapolis, Md. The wholly owned subsidiary of Arinc, Inc. provides 24-hr. maintenance and support for airline check-in systems and technologies.
Xtreme Polishing Systems' Xtreme Skinny used diamond concrete polishing pads at AAR's Miami facility to achieve the floor's wet and shiny finish. The pads are color-coded for abrasion identification and come in grits from 50 to 3000. The pads are attached to a polisher or grinder during the floor restoration project. The pads polish 10,000 to 15,000 sq. ft. www.xtremepolishingsystems.com
An 11-member panel completed one of the most comprehensive reviews of airworthiness directive (AD) management issues ever undertaken. The end of August marked another chapter in the controversy surrounding Southwest Airlines' AD compliance issues that captured headlines in 2008.
What are you doing to ensure your business is competitive? Cemil Sayar, technical director for SunExpress, promotes financial training for the carrier's maintenance staff to empower them to effectively control budgets and costs (see Interview, pg. 13). Despite that cost concerns permeate every layer of the supply chain, how many companies encourage money management training?
Xtreme Polishing Systems' Xtreme Hard is a highly reactive colloidal silica-based densifying agent, which starts working within two minutes. It takes 45 to 60 minutes to dry and has an 8.7 pH level with no VOCs. One gallon of concentrate makes five gallons of product. Each gallon of solution covers 400 to 600 sq. ft. www.extremepolishingsystems.com
Lufthansa Technik Philippines plans to open a one-bay hangar, big enough to hold an A380, in February. It will perform cabin modifications and C checks for about 12 aircraft per year in the new space.
The Middle East aircraft maintenance market has commanded much growth and development in the past decade, driven largely by the success of Dubai International Airport and other hubs. Market-watchers expect the expansion of air traffic volume and fleet sizes in the region to continue, and MRO along with them. By 2015, the UAE will have more commercial aircraft than Japan, now the world's third-largest economy, says Bill Lay, PricewaterhouseCoopers' Dubai-based partner.
Pratt and Whitney and Rolls-Royce have announced plans to form a new engine joint venture to power future mid-size aircraft based initially on the geared turbofan configuration. As part of this, Rolls-Royce will sell its equity and program shares for $1.5 billion in International Aero Engines.
Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance will offer 787 component pool access, maintenance services and logistics support. Its Epcor subsidiary will offer auxiliary power unit support for the Hamilton Sundstrand APS 5000 on the 787. While it's still in the definition phase, AFI KLM says it also is working on structures solutions.
Boeing is speaking to potential customers about a future program for Boeing 777 passenger-to-freighter conversions, but when this program will be launched depends on 777 residual values coming down. Senior VP-Commercial Aviation Services Lou Mancini declines comment on when the 777 freighter conversion program will launch, but says, generally, there is a 20-year rule governing when it becomes suitable to make a freighter conversion program available.
As airlines look to increase passenger comfort and connectivity on their aircraft, many are looking to retrofit the Inmarsat SwiftBroadband satellite communications system, or satcom system on older aircraft. A satcom system with SwiftBroadband allows the operator to offer e-mail, text and telephone services to passengers.
New regional links are forming. For example, a Qatari delegation visited Egyptair Maintenance & Engineering earlier this year to see the facilities and discuss collaboration. Says Marketing and Customer Service Director Engineer Sayed Anwar, “With Qatar, there still are in negotiations at the top management level.” He adds that the carrier also is negotiating “with more than one significant partner.”
AirAsia's founder Tony Fernandes is pushing for the low-cost carrier and Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to collaborate on airline MRO, pilot training and ground services to achieve cost savings through economies of scale. Fernandes told reporters in Kuala Lumpur that AirAsia may be sending its Airbus A320s to MAS Engineering & Maintenance for heavy checks. “If you put the volume of MAS and AirAsia [together], it becomes a mega MRO that can become a real competitor to Singapore's MRO,” he says.
Timco Aviation Services has appointed Fred Rasch to VP of MRO sales. Rasch worked at Timco previously from 2001 through 2005, then serving as director of contracts and pricing. Airframes
Airline cabins are effective indicators of the health of the commercial air transport industry. Intensive cabin modifications, even when combined with a C check to optimize downtime, run up substantial costs when aircraft are kept out of operation for the weeks it takes to freshen up the interiors. The fact that airlines, such as Qantas, Delta and Iberia, are sending their fleets for retrofits could be a favorable sign that a recovery is under way, as many of the modifications are meant to match older aircraft to new models, such as the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787.
