Pros & Cons: Time and Material Aircraft Part Repairs

You have a pile of repair orders on your desk. They sit, waiting for you to take action. Do you approve or deny them? It’s a constant price and lead time battle.

With your aged fleet, time and material aircraft part repairs is the best strategy for you. It gives you more flexibility. It’s the shirt that fits nice. It’s not too tight where it's choking you or too loose making you look sloppy.

When you adopt a time and material repair strategy, here’s some of the pros and cons to look out for.

[Tweet "The pros and cons to look out for when you adopt a time and material repair strategy"]

Let’ start with the cons…

Cons for an aircraft part time and material repair strategy

As with any decision, you must always consider your downside, or simply put, the cons.

Here’s some of the cons:

• Unpredictable repair prices. MROs will give you an average but the price swings can be great.

• Unpredictable lead times. Nothing is a guarantee.

• Varied customer experience.

• Varied piece part quality.

• Varied piece part pricing. Some MROs inflate piece parts or charge your NE pricing for NS or serviceable.

• You’ll spend more time managing your repair orders.

Pros for an aircraft part time and material repair strategy

Just because there’s a few cons doesn’t mean you should avoid them entirely. Time and material repairs can have a great upside, depending on your product or ATA chapter.

Let’s run down a few of the pros:

• You can control the cost by supplying your own piece parts.

• You have more control over your repair orders.

• You can fire your MRO for being too slow or having poor quality.

• The labor rates are either fixed or variable based on hours worked.

• You can avoid MRO bottlenecks by using different tiers of preferred MROs.

Whatever you choose, whether it be fixed rate or time and material, there’s pros and cons of each.

When deciding your repair strategy, sit down and write down your goals. What’s the end result you want to achieve?

If you want more freedom, outsource. If you want more cost predictability, fixed rate. If you want more control, time and material.

What's the difference between AR, SV, RP and OH aircraft part conditions?

This is series 2 of our aircraft part conditions defined. In our last post we talked about FN, NE, and NS. From the feedback we got, this cleared up much confusion.

aircraft-parts

Now, were talking about unserviceable and airworthy conditions.

These conditions are looked at vastly different in various parts of the world.

Some people will never use a "SV" component while others prefer it. On both ends of the spectrum you have AR which is removed from the aircraft and deemed unserviceable and OH which is the closest thing you get to NE. We'll explain this a little more as we get into each condition.

When you think of these conditions you first must determine your primary objective, is it price or quality? Answering this will help guide you to the right condition for your maintenance goals.

[Tweet "With aircraft part conditions, first determine your primary objective #avgeek"]

As Removed (AR)

Skylink: As Removed Aircraft Part

This is a component that was pulled off an aircraft. Spoiler alert, that's where "as removed" comes from.

Sometimes she'll come with a reason for removal but often times in the part out world she'll come with nothing, just a removal tag and trace. It could be repairable or beyond economical repair (BER) for all you know.

These items must go to a certified MRO for functional test or repair.

Serviceable (SV)

Skylink: Serviceable Aircraft Part

This condition is intertwined with the repaired condition but there's minor differences depending on who you're talking to.

For a SV unit you'll know that the unit has been functional tested in accordance with OEM specifications and that it'll come with an airworthiness certification depending on what region you're in. Here as you know it's the FAA 8130.

Typically these units will not come with a teardown but only an airworthiness certification stating it passed functional test and it's able to be installed. This varies depending on MRO.

Repaired (RP)

Skylink: Repaired Aircraft Part

The repaired condition is a serviceable unit that requires a little more work.

With repaired units minor piece parts are used to bring the unit into serviceable condition to meet the functional test requirements. Gaskets, bolts, and small expendables are the normal piece parts used in repairs.

This condition will come with an airworthiness certification and teardown detailing what was done and what piece parts were used in the repair.

Skylink: overhauled aircraft part

Overhaul (OH)

This is the most work an aircraft rotable can go through.

Skylink: overhauled aircraft part

This is the "best" of all conditions and requires the most work. With an OH unit you'll be sure that your units will receive the 100% OH kit according to the CMM and any other components to bring it to such a condition. Overhauled units can also be painted and cosmetically pleasing so you know you're not getting a hunk of metal.

Warning: In some situations, MROs will tag certain components as OH despite the CMM not having proper OH specification and they should be deemed RP. It's primarily used for marketing to sell a higher priced unit based on it's classification. We use to see this a lot with pitot tubes and other accessories.

That's it. Those are your 4 rotable condition classifications.

Depending on your operation, make the choices that best fits your needs.

Are you in constant need for aircraft rotables? Fill out the form below and we'll be more than happy to help you out.

3 Incredibly Important Reliability Areas You Need To Know And Improve On

What is reliability? Since 1988 we’ve been playing the reliability game. The gamble of who to trust and what actions to take.

Today, much has changed. Everyone says and does the same boring thing, over promising and under delivering.

It’s common to run into reliability problems. It even gets to the point that some days you just want to run away.

Just ask our supply chain team.

Some days I have to peal them off the ceiling as they explode with frustration. I even have to peal myself off the ceiling some days.

Whether it’s logistics or even aircraft components, reliability is a game of chess. One wrong move and you lose time and money. With the right move you’re efficient. Time and money become your ally.

Many people talk about reliability, but unless you want to pay millions of dollars in consultancy fees, very little guides you in the right direction.

For now, let’s cover the basics…

Aircraft component reliability

The primary goal is to keep your components on wing for as long as possible. We’ll call this the dumbed down version of a much more complex issue.

At this point you’ll want to collect data and information about your aircraft components statistical analysis. This will give you valuable feedback on the data if irregularities developed in operation.

If you’re the type to geek out on this stuff, read this.

The key is to build a foundation for a component reliability program. Which ATA chapters do you have the most trouble with? Can you outsource solutions?

In order for you to answer these questions, having a firm understanding of your fleet and activity of components’ removals is very important.

[Tweet "Start slow and build your reliability program over time."]

Supplier reliability

It’s amazing how many people overlook supplier reliability.

I understand price is important, but it’s not the first or last decision. Your primary objective should be to work with people who can deliver and create the most value to you. 

When you look into your supplier reliability program answer these questions to help build your foundation:

• Who answers you back the quickest?
• Which company has an account manager that responds to you any day of the week, at any time?
• Who helps you resolve issues?
• Who provides solutions in addition to just selling you something?
• Where is the greatest value for every dollar you spend?
• Who solves problems without creating more problems?
• Who do you trust?
• How do their parts look when they’re delivered? Are they in good condition and packaged properly?

Answering these simple questions will guide you to building your supplier reliability program. You’ll avoid the people that over promise and under deliver.

Logistics reliability

If turn-around-times (TAT) keep you up at night then logistics is its angry step brother.

We live in a small world where we can get anything, anywhere in a short period of time and yet complications are still extremely common.

You may have experience with high import taxes, customs delays, airlines losing your packages, shipments being bumped and re-scheduled to a later date, damage parts, and the list goes on and on.

I have found the best logistics reliability program works with someone who is easy to talk to and helps you resolve problems. It’s really that simple.

I have worked with so many freight forwarders and 95% of them give me a massive headache. I feel one coming on now. We found 3 solid partners, one for routine freight, one for small parcel and one for AOG shipments and they are the only people we’ll use.

Build your logistics reliability program around your specific needs and the ease of communication should be very important to you.

Building a reliability program around aircraft maintenance and components, suppliers and logistics will help make your hectic aviation life easier.

Start slow and start now.

Do you have reliability issues? We would love to help you. Fill out the form below and we’ll tackle this together.