- Thread Starter
- #16
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On 4/29/2003 7:07:05 AM atabuy wrote:
sfomm,
Your message contradicts itself with other messages, when you say mechanics might be lazy, and not write up problems they see because they would have to fix them.
Other arguements state that mechanics are so valuable because they are so conscientious about their responsibility to the public and doing the best work possible.
There isn''t a lot of difference then if a mechanic sees something and doesn''t write it up and a foreman signing off a tire he thinks is ok.
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On 4/29/2003 7:07:05 AM atabuy wrote:
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On 4/27/2003 3:16:11 PM sfomm wrote:
On 4/27/2003 7:42:43 AM ualflynhi wrote:
One night on a A-Check I found out we had no main engine oil filter
o-ring.Well not to worry the foreman said after notifying him said I
could put the old one back in.I didnt and cut the o-rings on every job
after that night on the ones I removed so they couldnt be put back on
any aircraft system.
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This kind of thing happens all the time...pilots or mechanics will write up a tire tread as being worn, then a foreman signs it off as OK.
B check airplanes come in at 11 p.m. and are routed out at 6 a.m. the next morning. The mechanic is told "you find it, you fix it"....so the more things a mechanic finds wrong the more work he gives HIMSELF.
Management thinks that if there''s something wrong with the airplane the pilots or flight attendants will write it up. Pilots and flight attendants are told that if something is wrong with the airplane the mechanics will write it up and fix it. Accidents occur when a lot of stuff piles up in the middle ground between these two self-serving and dangerous assumptions.
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On 4/27/2003 3:16:11 PM sfomm wrote:
On 4/27/2003 7:42:43 AM ualflynhi wrote:
One night on a A-Check I found out we had no main engine oil filter
o-ring.Well not to worry the foreman said after notifying him said I
could put the old one back in.I didnt and cut the o-rings on every job
after that night on the ones I removed so they couldnt be put back on
any aircraft system.
----------------------------------------
This kind of thing happens all the time...pilots or mechanics will write up a tire tread as being worn, then a foreman signs it off as OK.
B check airplanes come in at 11 p.m. and are routed out at 6 a.m. the next morning. The mechanic is told "you find it, you fix it"....so the more things a mechanic finds wrong the more work he gives HIMSELF.
Management thinks that if there''s something wrong with the airplane the pilots or flight attendants will write it up. Pilots and flight attendants are told that if something is wrong with the airplane the mechanics will write it up and fix it. Accidents occur when a lot of stuff piles up in the middle ground between these two self-serving and dangerous assumptions.
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sfomm,
Your message contradicts itself with other messages, when you say mechanics might be lazy, and not write up problems they see because they would have to fix them.
Other arguements state that mechanics are so valuable because they are so conscientious about their responsibility to the public and doing the best work possible.
There isn''t a lot of difference then if a mechanic sees something and doesn''t write it up and a foreman signing off a tire he thinks is ok.
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In fact you are right. Actual behaviour is contradictory and often doesn''t make sense when the pressure is on. A "B" check airplane should be on the ground a minimum of two shifts, but it isn''t. One group of mechanics should do the check and make write-ups and another the fixes. The reality is that there is a lot of pencil-whipping because everyone wants the plane to make a schedule without any deferred items. Mechanics figure they''ll get it next time and whatever is left unfixed is not going to bring the plane down anyway. Usually they''re right, but stuff happens.
Schedulers like to have a plane scheduled a month or so in advance, and any deferred item has a limited amount of time when it either has to be fixed or the plane has to be grounded and there are a limited amount of stations with parts to fix the problem. Imagine a 500-plane carrier and every plane has a deferred item. This complicates the plane scheduling, the crew scheduling, etc....rules evolve which favor scheduling, not maintenance.
You should fix a plane correctly from the start but mechanics sometimes can''t on a "B" check...management likes to keep planes on the ground for as little time as possible and they implement rules that they know encourage pencil-whipping. A "B" check should be on the ground for a minimum of two shifts, not one...either that or cut the "B" check workload.
There are many times when a mechanic is encouraged to look the other way. Say you notice a flourescent lite out in the cabin and a relamping doesn''t fix it. Do you make a deferred item (let''s say it''s a 747) and suddenly with that one write-up you cut the planning schedule for the airplane from 30 days to 10? A mechanic who does this will soon hear about it and will think twice before he makes a write-up the next time. It''s only a lite bulb, management says, but in fact it could be a short that causes a fire.
