The French engine maker is acting to make its product support as strong as its engines.

The helicopter engine manufacturer Turbomeca is trying to change the reputation of its customer support.

Didier Desnoyer, vice-president, operator support, told Aviation Maintenance the company has listened to customers and is implementing new or strengthened services. The initiative consists of redefining the field representatives’ role, improving the back office support, establishing new regional service facilities, and setting up rapid dispatch field technician teams. The French firm estimates 2,000 customers operate 13,000 of its engines.

The initiative is the result of "regular contacts with our customers, through symposiums, notably," said Desnoyer. More than a year ago, Turbomeca created a new position called customer satisfaction manager to better understand what customers like or do not like about it. "Now, customers give us suggestions on technical product enhancements or service improvements," Desnoyer said.

MORE corresponds to customer expectations and complaints, according to Desnoyer. They wanted more responsiveness, more assistance, more information, and more repair capability. Thus, to speed up deliveries, the company is reorganizing its logistics, with hubs in France, the U.S., and the Far East. But "more responsive" does not only mean getting the spare part earlier, but getting answers on specific questions earlier, he added. In this regard, the 24-hour help-line draws benefit from the synergy inside the Snecma group, which owns Turbomeca. Its many locations around the world allow customers to always find someone awake. This person will directly help the customer if possible, he said, or have someone else call back the customer if the problem is complicated.

The TurboLink service gives field reps access to all Turbomeca’s troubleshooting experience. It is their "back office." The teams are dispersed geographically, in Tarnos, France; Dallas, Texas; and Sydney, Australia "for more timely response," Desnoyer said. They include field service engineers and coordinators. The latter "ensure a smooth flow of information to the field rep" and follow the course of action taken.

Improving support means not only helping when customers face a problem or an aircraft on the ground, Desnoyer said. He puts upstream support first, including telephone help to answer questions and avert AOGs. Henceforth, field reps will spend less time on engine repairs and more on customer relationships. The 39 reps are also asked to send weekly "customer reports" directly to Turbomeca’s president. Turbomeca also is trying to have field reps build relationships among themselves. "Otherwise they can feel somewhat lonely in their job," Desnoyer said.

Customers have said repair capabilities are not quantitatively sufficient. In response, TurboSupport centers have been added to perform heavy repair inside the engine. Parts can also be repaired closer to North American customers, with the help of Techspace Aero Canada in Montreal, Canada and Propulsion Technology in Miami, Florida. Both are other Snecma companies.

"Being close to the customer is a commitment you can fulfil by being geographically close or by making the information easy to get," Desnoyer said. The Turbomeca Operator On Line Support, or Tools, web site, launched at the June 2001 Paris Air Show, has 1,000 subscribers, he said, who come up with some 1,000 questions a month. The web site has pages dedicated to safety issues that are available without a subscription.

However, only subscribers have access to online documentation, symposium presentations, and self-evaluation questionnaires. The latter allow the maintenance technicians to evaluate their level of knowledge on a specific subject. Service bulletins are available, too, with e-mail alerts when a new one is released. Technicians can make reservations on the site for training sessions. "We have sessions in several regions of the world and several languages, including English, French, German, and Spanish," Desnoyer said. On-site training at customer facilities is an option.

The site is free to operators with a standard documentation subscription. "It is completely free if the operator gives us its data on logged flight hours and flight hours forecast," Desnoyer added, which helps Turbomeca put the right provisioning in the right place.

Turbomeca’s efforts in customer support are seen as a long-term investment. "We are spending a lot of money in customer support but we believe it is absolutely necessary to take care of the customer in an enhanced manner," Desnoyer said. In order to measure the evolution in customer satisfaction, a third-party organization samples a number of customers around the world and performs anonymous surveys.

Turbomeca Support Around the World

In addition to its approved overhaul and repair centers, Turbomeca is establishing a network of strategically located factory-authorized service facilities. These "TurboSupport Centers" can perform line and heavy maintenance, including engine removal and installation, borescope inspections, and designated parts replacement. Turbomeca says they will be audited regularly. They are required to stock rental engines and commonly ordered parts.

At each center, Turbomeca intends to set up rapid response teams to be dispatched to wherever operators require service.

There are 17 such centers now.

Six are in North America. The U.S. centers are Turbomeca Engine, in Grand Prairie, Texas; Keystone Engine Services, in West Chester, Pennsylvania; Heli-Support, in Fort Collins, Colorado, and TurboSupport Center, which opened in Las Vegas, Nevada last December. In Canada, the centers are Turbomeca Canada, in Mirabel, Quebec, and Acro Aerospace, in Richmond, British Columbia.

South America’s sole center is Turbomeca do Brasil, in Rio de Janeiro.

In Europe, there are seven centers: two each in France and Germany, and one each in Switzerland, Italy, and the U.K. In France, Heli-Union in Toussus-le-Noble, near Paris, supplements Turbomeca’s own maintenance facility in Tarnos.

In Germany, Motorflug Baden Baden is based in Rheinmunster, and Turbomeca GmbH is based in Hamburg. In Italy, Helicopters Italia is in Trento. In Switzerland, TUAG is based in Arbon. In the U.K., McAlpine Helicopters is based in Kidlington.

TurboSupport Centers in other parts of the world include Turbomeca Australasia in Bankstown, Australia, Turbomeca Support Center in Tokyo, Japan, Turbomeca Asia Pacific in Singapore, and Turbomeca Africa in Bonaero Park, South Africa.