A Different Focus for Saab

As the industry changed in the past several years, Saab Aircraft has had to change its strategies to survive. Saab has made a successful transition from manufacturer to a service and support company. The company now focuses on spares and spare parts programs, operational and technical support, manuals, training, and modifications and upgrades.

According to Saab, it has been voted number one in its category for product support in Professional Pilot magazine for the last two years. The company is proud of its maturity, with 20 years of experience with a reliable product. "Our long term commitment to support remains firm," said Michael Magnusson, president and CEO of Saab Aircraft Leasing, at a recent press conference at its North American headquarters in Sterling, Virginia. "We are focusing on the next 20 years of operation," he said.

One key to that support is the spare parts and logistics services provided by the company. According to Saab, the company has existing inventories of $182 million and $45 million for the Saab 340 and Saab 2000 respectively. Saab has honed its forecasting and planning capabilities, worked with supplier resources, and reliability statistics to achieve a high level of customer satisfaction and in an effort to reach an internal goal of being recognized as the leader of spares products and services in the regional airline industry.

The company has implemented Demand Solutions Software, a distribution requirements planning system using historical data, trends, and lead times to forecast and plan for stock. "We have experienced planners and buyers who use collaborative planning with our vendors," said Magnusson. "Only 37 percent of our stock parts are vendor rotables or expendables. The rest of our inventory is proprietary," he said. "There was a concern from operators when Saab announced that we were discontinuing the manufacture of aircraft. But we have made a continuous reinvestment in inventory and maintained production tooling."

"Ninety-two percent of the time we can fill a customer's order," said Patrick McGuiness, director of logistics. "And for AOGs, we can fill an order 99 percent of the time within 24 hours.

We are serious about dispatch reliability, and 99.8 percent of the time the aircraft is completing its mission," he added.

"We even have groundsupport equipment available for rent to operators," said John LeSuer, warehouse manager at the Sterling, Virginia warehouse. This is another way Saab supports its customers by having the equipment they may need, ready to be trucked to them. The customer doesn't have to own a piece of equipment they may only need occasionally.

"This is a safe and reliable aircraft with a low operating cost, and the support structure is there," said Erik Harrweg, customer service director. "We have a worldwide presence," he added and pointed out inventory supplies in London, England, Linkoping, Sweden, Sterling, Virginia, and Melbourne, Australia. "Our goal is to have the part in stock when the phone rings," Harrweg said. "We also have the benefit of time [with respect to the inventory]. The aircraft tends to take the same type of damage time and time again. So we prepare for that," he added.

Another rung in the support structure is an engineering presence here in the U.S. "We have engineers on staff in Sterling and a complete engineering library," said McGuiness. "We have been entrusted with the blueprints, parts lists, and drawing change lists from Sweden. We feel confident that we can answer any questions an operator has with these resources." -- By Joy Finnegan

Brazil's Gol Shifts Towards In-House Maintenance

While many airlines are opting to outsource their maintenance work to third parties and save on supply and labor costs, Brazil's Gol has chosen to build an in-house maintenance facility. The S�o Paulo-based low-fare carrier recently signed a letter of intent to build such a center at the Tancredo Neves International Airport, located in the city of Confins in the State of Minas. The deal was made in conjunction with the Minas Gerais state government and with the support of Infraero, a Brazilian airport infrastructure company. Constantino J�nior, Gol's president, said this deal is a win-win situation for the low-cost carrier. "The construction of a new maintenance center will accommodate Gol's recent fleet expansion, reduce costs, and centralize the company's aircraft maintenance operations," he said in a press release.

The airline could certainly use the extra room. As one of the fastest-growing airlines in the world, Gol has clinched more than 20 percent of the Brazilian passenger market in less than three years of operation. Like many other carriers in the Latin American market, Gol has used Varig's VEM facility for its maintenance needs but now sees the value--and necessity--to construct a facility that will provide much needed room. This facility is part of an ambitious plan to expand, while keeping costs and fares down.

The impetus for Gol's launching its own maintenance service stems from the airline's aggressive fleet-expansion program. In May 2004, Gol signed an agreement with Boeing announcing the acquisition of up to 63 737-800s. The firm order for 21 airplanes and 22 purchase options will be delivered between 2006 and 2009. Gol's current fleet is composed of 27 airplanes. Gabriela Juncadella, an airline spokewoman, said that as a result of the purchase agreement Gol signed with Boeing, the construction of an in-house facility is now necessity rather than luxury. She claimed the facility will sufficiently accommodate Gol's aggressive fleet expansion and ongoing cost-reduction programs. In addition to having a maintenance reserve, the airline leases some of its airplanes, which allows older models to be replaced after seven years. Citing an average age of 4.7 years, Gol claims its airplanes comprise one of the most modern fleets in South America and one of the youngest in the world.

In addition to expanding its fleet, the Brazilian carrier plans to increase its frequencies in existing markets and add service to new markets in both Brazil and other high-traffic South American travel destinations. The airline intends to have this new route structure in place by the end of 2005.

Another aspect of the company's decision to build an in-house maintenance center relates to economics. Juncadella said the construction of an in-house facility "will enable the company to reduce, and more exactly manage, its maintenance costs." She added that in-house maintenance "will allow Gol to centralize its aircraft maintenance operations." While Gol has no current plans to solicit maintenance contracts with other carriers when the new facility is built, Juncadella said it might be a possibility in the future. If Gol ever clinches a third party-deal, it promises to lead the region with a myriad of services covering line maintenance, heavy checks, and some components work. Juncadella claims, that once built, Gol's maintenance center would be the only one of its kind in Brazil. Departamento de Avia��o Civil (DAC), FAA and JAA certification is expected. -- By Arturo Weiss

Planning the 747 Pit Stop

Picture it: the Grand Prix. There is a crew in the pit waiting for a car. The driver already radioed via wireless link what is wrong and what has to be done during the pit stop. The car arrives and stops. The pit crew lifts the car, removes all four tires, install four new tires, refuels the car, adjust the engine, and releases the car in just 6.8 seconds.

How is that possible? The key is dedication, preparation, and planning.

Couldn't that be a fantastic example for the aviation maintenance and modification business? Let's do some analysis and comparison.

The Ferrari is a fast car. The Grand Prix is an expensive adventure. The race team owner cannot afford to lose the game by something stupid like not being able to change tires in five seconds or the inability to fuel the car in five seconds. Money can only be earned by racing and not by spending time in the pit. Ferraris don't like pits. In the pit they die. Ferraris should race.

The Boeing 747 is an efficient airplane. Running an airline is an expensive adventure. The company cannot afford to lose flights by something stupid like not being able to install a new Mode S transponder and connect it to the flight management computer during the A check or accomplish the enhanced ground prox modification during the C check. Cash can only be earned by flying passengers or cargo and not by spending time in the hangar. Aircraft don't like hangars. In hangars they die. Big jets should fly.

But why can the Ferrari team do a pit stop in 6.8 seconds and the airline team can barely get the 747 out of the hangar? It doesn't have to be this way. There are some factors that can help the airline learn from the Grand Prix situation.

Dedication: In normal airline practice, the members of the team change almost weekly. Why? Because the resource planner wants an easy job. For him or her, it's easiest if every technician can do all the jobs equally well and equally quickly. But people are not machines. Some of them like to do wiring and others like to do testing. Some are happier installing wiring in the aircraft and others enjoy removing racks and working on them in the shop. Some people don't like modifications, they prefer repairs and troubleshooting.

The resource planner will keep the technicians happier by tailoring the jobs to personal interest. It is a lot of effort to do but the crews will be happy and happy people work more efficiently. The airline-dedicated team should stay the same all the time. Within the airline maintenance department, the team will be most efficient after every technician has accomplished a modification job at least three times. Usually the best results will be found after the last airplane in the fleet has been modified. If the modification team is changed every time, it is a waste of money. The team will face the learning curve every week all over again. The waste is not visible because managers are used to spending a certain amount of money for modifications and if it stays within the budget, who cares? But, by having a dedicated team, the costs will be much lower and profit will increase. There is a potential 30 percent gain in productivity, and that is not something to ignore.

Preparation: Preparation is crucial. Airlines are not very smart and end up doing preparations when the aircraft is already in the hangar. Another not-so smart move is when the aircraft is planned for modification and there is no kit. Sometimes the customer seems not to be bothered about that. The customer brings the aircraft for modification along with the kit. The aircraft is then parked in the hangar and technicians spend expensive time sorting out the kit, job cards, doing an incoming goods inspection, and preparing for the job. It is much more efficient to have everything in place so they can start work immediately after docking the aircraft. Worst of it all is that the customer will complain and blame the MRO for delivering the airplane late. Everyone could save a lot of effort by having the kit sent in advance and letting the technicians prepare for the job. This one small detail item can save one day of ground time, meaning that the aircraft will be able to fly one day earlier generating revenue.

Planning: Planning is the most important issue. Everything depends on good planning. Some MROs just fill the planning boards with the job cards and let the technicians work on it. Guess what happens? The technicians will take their favorite job cards first and do the nice activities. The difficult and dirty stuff will be kept for the next shift. Without good planning it is a big mess.

Think Grand Prix: Every team member runs to his or her position before the arrival of the car. The car arrives. The first technician lifts the car. Four techs are running to the wheels. The wheels are removed simultaneously. Another four techs hand over the new wheels and take the removed wheels. When the first four techs are busy installing the wheels, the second four are clearing the space. Meanwhile, the car is fueled and the engine is adjusted. The technicians announce that the job is done and the car is released from the jacks and back in the race. Great planning and coordination: 6.8 seconds.

Planning should be done before the arrival of the aircraft. All jobs should be defined and studied in advance. All jobs that can be accomplished simultaneously should be. The planning should be checked and rechecked and discussed with the people who are doing the work to make sure that it is doable. The whole maintenance slot should be simulated before arrival of the aircraft. When the aluminum bird arrives, everyone must act as planned (think about the pit stop). Within minutes every technician should be at his or her position with instructions, tools, and materials. Good planning will provide at least 20 percent additional efficiency.

If maintenance providers keep in mind the above-mentioned advice--dedication, preparation, and planning--the sky will be the limit. Or, for example, an EGPWS installation: 6.8 seconds. -- By Marijan Jozic