More Concessions?

[FWAAA]

What is it called when a supervisor or manager adjusts your auto TA because of a deal that was made. 😉

[post="261253"][/post]​

I'd call that fraud by both the hourly employee and the manager. Fire them both. It's not like it's hard to replace either of them.

 

[AMFAMAN]

I'd call that fraud by both the hourly employee and the manager. Fire them both. It's not like it's hard to replace either of them.

[post="261290"][/post]​

I don't think you understand the whole concept. For years, better yet decades, AA and most airlines operate what would be called an incentive based workshop. While the approved method of repairing an item would call on many steps and special tools, adding many hours onto jobs, management would ask the mechanics to do whatever is needed to get the job done. Lets speak in general terms here and just say shortcuts, tricks of the trade, not taking breaks or lunches, all without reducing safety. In exchange for reducing the time the airplane was out of service, a deal was(past tense, done no more at AA) always offered. The deal could have been padding a check with OT, AAchievers points(gone now, points for merchandice program), or leave early. Now is it wrong, technically could be, but as the passenger whose plane would need 8 hours of repair time but instead gets it in 2 hours, it could be considered good business. Now you could also say we should always work this way, but remember it is my license and career on the line if the FAA were to see that the maintenance manual wasn't being followed step by step and tool by tool. I would compare this incentive based concept to you bringing your car in for new brakes and asking them to have it done in 1 hour. You can get it done but you're going to pay. 😉

 

[Bob Owens]

I don't think you understand the whole concept. For years, better yet decades, AA and most airlines operate what would be called an incentive based workshop. While the approved method of repairing an item would call on many steps and special tools, adding many hours onto jobs, management would ask the mechanics to do whatever is needed to get the job done. Lets speak in general terms here and just say shortcuts, tricks of the trade, not taking breaks or lunches, all without reducing safety. In exchange for reducing the time the airplane was out of service, a deal was(past tense, done no more at AA) always offered. The deal could have been padding a check with OT, AAchievers points(gone now, points for merchandice program), or leave early. Now is it wrong, technically could be, but as the passenger whose plane would need 8 hours of repair time but instead gets it in 2 hours, it could be considered good business. Now you could also say we should always work this way, but remember it is my license and career on the line if the FAA were to see that the maintenance manual wasn't being followed step by step and tool by tool. I would compare this incentive based concept to you bringing your car in for new brakes and asking them to have it done in 1 hour. You can get it done but you're going to pay. 😉

[post="261296"][/post]​

It might be more accurate to say that the finished product is just as safe. Most of the shortcuts include doing things that put the mechanic at risk. For instance for most maintenance tasks there are scores of referenced steps to be done before doing the job. Often the referenced task refences other tasks that must be accomplished prior to doing the refenced task. These tasks start with grounding the airplane, then can go to pulling and collaring breakers to deactivating systems.

Often the task calls for tooling that the company never even bought-look for a 767 ACM stand. Its in the manual, but the company doesn't own one. How about that MD-80 nose wheel dolly. Good luck.


I have to laugh when mechanics get fed up and actually work exactly as the manual says and everyone is up in arms calling it a "job action". Most people hear it and think of obscure union featherbedding language when in fact its the company's own language that they are following. Sure we have guys that do follow the book to the letter all the time, but they are not the ones who get deals.

FWAAA says fire them both, but when the airplanes are all sitting on the ground because of the language that the company wrote he calls it a job action. The supervisor gets blamed if the planes dont make it out, then FWAAA says fire him for doing what he has to do to get it out. Then they wonder why nodody wants the job. The fact is either write realistic proceedures, accept delays, or make deals. Thats one part of the business that they dont teach you about in college or see off the tarmac. These are complicated machines and they dont break according to your schedules.