I
I
i
I
Mechanics at the engine build-up shop at GSO
recently performed the first Boeing 767-200
engine change. Jimmy Allred, engine shop su
pervisor, oversaw the operation and Charlie
King, maintenance manager-CLT, provided
technical advice on the procedures for changing
the engine. The CF6-80C2 engine which powers
the B767-200 produces 52,000 pounds of
thrust and weighs 10,800 pounds. According to
both Allred and King, the operation went
smoothly and according to schedule, a credit to
the teamwork and professionalism of the em
ployees involved in the operation. Mechanics
and other personnel involved were (1 to r): Randy
Sharpe, Bruce DeHanes, Tim Smith, Kevin Bo-
denheimer, Jimmy Allred, Dennis Young, Ken
Fusselman, Jeff Roberts, Charlie King, and Don
Kinsella. Seated in front is Bill Forsythe. Not
pictured were Jim Raper, Jeff Fischer, Bill Kirk-
man, Joe Herrin, Rick Chitty, and Bill Nixon.
'Go get 'em' attitude improves OTP
4
The crew of an inbound Pied
mont F28 had just called BWI oper
ations to report a problem with
their right aileron — the controlling
surface on the wing that causes the
aircraft to bank for a turn.
Almost instantly, a yellow flag
went up behind the scenes, from
maintenance to passenger services,
at the hub and the home office.
After all. depending on the magni
tude of the problem, repairs of this
sort could result in a 90-minute
maintenance delay, or even a flight
cancellation.
Contingency plans began to be
hashed about: how long will it take
a mechanic to troubleshoot and
make the repair. . .are replacement
parts in stock. . .how will the down
line stations deal with the delay. . .
at what point should arrangements
be made to protect passengers. . .
will crews need to be re-routed?
Bob Sivilich, line maintenance
mechanic-BWl, is seated at a mi
crofilm viewer, calmly spinning
through to the appropriate systems
diagrams. He received word of the
F28 problem a few minutes ago.
The repair of Flight 1851—and the
fate of its eight downline legs—was
now in his hands.
He knows well that a single delay
in an aircraft routing at any given
point has the potential to "snow
ball’' into several subsequent de
lays down the line, at least until the
aircraft is able to resume schedule.
But more importantly, he knows
that his primary role as a line
maintenance mechanic is to as
sure the safe operation of this air
craft, and that outranks all other
considerations.
Within moments, Sivilich is on
the line with AOCC (Aircraft Opera
tions Control Center) conferring
with maintenance control on the
technical aspects of the repair.
Armed with an aileron power-
control unit switch in one hand
and the tools to install it in the
other, Sivilich is ready and waiting
at the gate even before the F28’s
engines finish spooling down.
"These are the kind of guys I like
to equate with firemen," said Phil
Coley, regional director-line mainte
nance, INT. "When the bell rings,
they’re putting out fires.. And when
they’re waiting for the bell to ring,
they’re preparing themselves on
how best to put out fires or prevent
them from happening in the first
place.”
According to Coley, Piedmont op
erates 25 line maintenance stations
from Ixindon to Miami to Los An
geles. employing more than 810
maintenance people. This includes
the aircraft mechanics, ground ser
vice equipment mechanics and air
craft cleaners.
"These are the people out in the
field who meet every aircraft that
lands with a problem. They’re out
there checking all the log books,
fixing all the ‘squalks,’ and making
the equipment look good and run
safely,” Coley said.
"But our main goal is to provide
a safe, on-time, reliable operation.”
Sivilich’s prompt and accurate
analysis of the malfunctioning aile
ron switch, and his expertise in
safely repairing the problem, al
lowed for Flight 1851 to proceed
within 20 minutes of its scheduled
departure from BWI. Coley says the
report on the delay read like a text
book case study. Exceptional com
munications, quick response to a
problem, and an outstanding sav
ings in time.
"It’s the type of people we have
out there, the type with that ‘go get
’em’ attitude,” Coley said. “We're
very fortunate. We have some of the
most productive maintenance em
ployees in the airline industry. Of
course I’m kind of partial. But our
record speaks for itself.”
And speak it does. Last month.
Piedmont reported one of its best
days in terms of maintenance relia
bility for all fleet types (the percent
age of aircraft that operated with
no mechanical interruption). The
B737-200 on that day was 98.8
percent—and that’s the low end of
the scale. The F28 reliability factor
was 99.5 and the B767 operated
with 100 percent reliability.
"We operate in the neighborhood
of 1,400 flights per day and yester
day we had only nine maintenance
delays. Even for us, that’s an im
peccable day,” Coley said. Typically,
the company averages 14 to 16
maintenance delays each day.
Coley also noted that Piedmont
recorded just 12 MELs on one partic
ular day in October out of its fleet of
193 aircraft. "Now, that is the best
ratio in the industry,” he said.
Line maintenance mechanic Bob
Sivilich performs maintenance
on a F28 at BWI.
The MEL (Minimum Equipment
List) is an FAA approved list of cer
tain aircraft components and sys
tems that are not vital to the safe
operation of the aircraft. For exam
ple, if there is a problem during the
day with a landing light or one of
the numerous generators on board,
and the item appears on the air
craft’s MEL list, the aircraft is con
sidered airworthy and may be
utilized until the problem can be
addressed downline or at an over
night maintenance station.
"At Piedmont, we utilize the MEL
for its stated purpose,” said George
Mason, vice president maintenance
and engineering. "But, we also be
lieve that the MEL is a measure of our
relative health as an organization.
"The line maintenance activities
to clear MELs are one element of a
network that focuses daily in
resolving discrepancies. That net
work includes maintenance plan
ning. maintenance control, parts
provisioning and parts movement,
maintenance training and even
heavy maintenance,” Mason said.
"Our success is attributable to
the fact that we all march to the
beat of the same drummer.”
Coley says that if our people do
their job right, which includes pre
ventative inspections and mainte
nance as well as on-the-spot
repairs, then line maintenance
should not be considered a major
factor in the company's daily on-
time performance effort.
“But, if we were to look at main
tenance as a burden, then we ac
count for less than 1.8 percent of
all delays,” Coley said. “And that
speaks pretty highly of our equip
ment and the ability of our people
to keep them operating safely and
on time.”
system performance
October performance;
Departure 90% OT; Arrival 83% OT
As we near the end of the year, where do
we stand on our annual goals? Departures
are at 85% (right on target] and arrivals are
78% (two points off). We are slightly ahead
of 1987 and very close to achieving the best
performance year on record. By maintain
ing our current departure performance
trend for the next two months we will have
half of the pie. The other half is going to be
a little more difficult to accomplish but by
departing on time we minimize the outside
stimuli (air traffic control, weather, etc.) that
affect our arrival performance.
November and December are historically
the “toughest” performance months for
Piedmont and the rest of the industry. Al
though this sounds contradictory to the
above paragraph it’s just to let you know
what we’re up against in the next two
months.
We encourage aJl employees to continue
their proven commitment to a safe on-time
operation during the busy Thanksgiving
and Christmas season!
90%
Dept
A r rv
80%
1988 Annual
Goal
Piedmonitor • November 1988