Nwa/iam Proposal ?

[Bob Owens]

I got my buttocks jumped on for hooking up ground power and air had just enough impact to keep me from doing it.

Glad to haer it.

Yes they are indeed one and the same. You wouldn't think it watching them work. Is there some type of pecking order as far as who does what?

I can zip down the line with the best of them now but I remember my first time out on a tug. I first thought that this was the craziest unorganized chaotic thing I had ever seen, tugs and trailers crisscrossing back and forth, buses and ground support equipment running up and down the line aircraft coming in and being pushed back in the middle of it all, people talking back a fourth over the radio in a barrage of acronyms. It was absolutely crazy for someone that has never been subjected to it. I think I have fallen into the groove very well if I must say so myself. This job is very much addicting. I had to call in my first "hold boardingâ€￾ call yesterday. I sure did hate to make that call but one lav was already on MEL and we had two more that would not service. I thought it would be a quick fix but by the time I realized it was not, time was quickly slipping away. I hauled blue water up in buckets on the aircraft to fill the tanks. I called MC and put the lavs on deferral to be fixed that night. The aircraft departed without delay, it was close though. I think I kind of fudged on that one but it did work and the lavs were operational for the flight. Boy how I do love the pressure when it is down to the minute like that.

local. I'm not here to stir the "$hit" I'm just here to tell you how it is.

Kev, I'm not here to take your job or bash anyone I just want you guys to get with the program. We all have a job here to do, so either you guys need to do it or get out. There is no reason for the animosity that exists between the different work groups. You guys that despise the company you work for need to either become a team player or quit and let someone else in that might appreciate their job.

So thats three MELs on one plane alone. How many MELS do you have on average?

 

[Bagbelt]

The proposal put out is part of the pattern that usually goes like this. a)It's the end of the world. B) No wait, maybe, just maybe we can pull this off. c) We kept the jobs but less money, vote for it. Result, everyone is so wound up and scared they will vote for anything.

 

[PlayTheOdds]

Glad to haer it.
So thats three MELs on one plane alone. How many MELS do you have on average?

No Bob that is one MEL that was applied to the fwd Lav. Had I MEL'd the two aft Lavs that would have put the plane in an AOS status. All though the AFT Lavs wouldn't take blue juice at the service panel we filled buckets up with blue juice and dumped them down the toilets. I now had two fully operational Lav's, no MEL required. I then put the service panel on MC deferral. On the next over-night which was last night, the Lav service panel was repaired on the citext package. Like I said, I think I fudged that one a little but it got the job done. The aircraft departed on time with three operational lavs.

I'm not sure of an exact average per aircraft, I don't know exactly how many aircraft NWA has. The MEL average per day is somewhere between 210 and 230. Most of those are lights and seats. It seems we have come to a steady volley of dayshift writing MEL's and night shift clearing MEL's. I think that the daily average will drop a little more in time as the scabs become more efficient and the AMFA guys are integrated back into the system. I can see that MEL's are a necessary evil that must be kept under control, they are something that you have to learn to live with for they will never completely go away.

 

[Kev3188]

I'm not sure of an exact average per aircraft, I don't know exactly how many aircraft NWA has. The MEL average per day is somewhere between 210 and 230.

IIRC, MEL count was 268 as of 0100 Central today....

Interesting anecdote about the MEL's: At my new station, we had a MTX issue at departure time. The mechanic from the FBO came over to defer it, but the A/C had no MEL stickers left to use! So it's decided that the mechanic will just poach some off the next arriving A/C....except that one had run out as well. Finally, after approx. 90 minutes, the third arrival landed, and the mechanic was able to use that A/C's last orange sticker.

 

[Bob Owens]

No Bob that is one MEL that was applied to the fwd Lav. Had I MEL'd the two aft Lavs that would have put the plane in an AOS status. All though the AFT Lavs wouldn't take blue juice at the service panel we filled buckets up with blue juice and dumped them down the toilets. I now had two fully operational Lav's, no MEL required. I then put the service panel on MC deferral. On the next over-night which was last night, the Lav service panel was repaired on the citext package. Like I said, I think I fudged that one a little but it got the job done. The aircraft departed on time with three operational lavs.

So thats two MELS. Or it should have been if your MEL has a way of deferring the service panel seperate from the Lav. If not then it appears you released the aircraft with a known defect without proper documentation.

The fact is even if something makes sense if its not an approved method you are putting your tickets at risk. I ran into a situation where we had to defer a first class seat. The MEL read that the "Lock pin must indicate that the seat is locked". The pin was missing. So even though we could verify that the seat was locked we could not release the aircraft that way, because we could not satisfy the requirements of the MEL as written, we had to change the seat. This was not a typical seat that locks into a track and it took a few hours to replace.

Within days they changed the wording of the MEL.

We dont write them, but we must follow them, sometimes they are not written well but if you work around them they will never be corrected and you are risking getting fined.

 

[robbedagain]

is it allowed by FAA that you can use an MEL sticker from one plane to another?

 

[Bob Owens]

is it allowed by FAA that you can use an MEL sticker from one plane to another?

Why not? Its only a label to remind the crew that its inop.

 

[PlayTheOdds]

Kev, that is a hard one to believe, all the logbooks here have MEL's staged in the back of the logbook and a supply is kept at the gateway in the fold down table.

I don't know if there is anything wrong with transferring an MEL from one aircraft to another but it would be really messy. You would have to line out all the information on the MEL and rewrite it to match the other aircraft and then I doubt that it would stay there. They are very much a onetime use, disposable, item. I don't know if the MEL stickers and placards are standard through out the industry but it is a pretty neat system that really works when done correctly. There are quiet a few steps to go through when applying one.

Like I said Bob I think I did fudge on that one a bit. Had it not been a terminating flight I probably wouldn't have done it. Had the Lavs not worked at all I would not have released the aircraft. I followed up on it the next day and the MC deferral had been cleared so the problem had been fixed that night. We have MEL'd Lavs before that wouldn't take on blue water but it wasn't an issue because all the other Lavs were working. I think NWA should address this issue in their MEL book as well. It might be an inconvenience to haul blue water up on the aircraft in buckets but it beats taking an otherwise operational Lav out of service. That would be an interesting DDG.

 

[Kev3188]

Kev, that is a hard one to believe, all the logbooks here have MEL's staged in the back of the logbook and a supply is kept at the gateway in the fold down table.

Believe it. I was there, were you?

As I mentioned, the logobook on this particular A/C had no more stickers left to "issue," nor did the next arrivng plane, and the third one only had one left. We didn't have an extra supply on hand (we have some now, BTW)....

My point is that it seems the only thing happening MTX-wise across the system is the applying of orange stickers.

In the six weeks I was in a (previously staffed) maintenance station (19.Aug.05-08.Oct.05), I saw replacement mechanics perform all of *one* repair. The rest of the time it was all about defferals.

I see the daily count everytime I check the SOC dashboard; rarely is it below 250.....

 

[NewHampshire Black Bears]

How ABSOLUTELY fitting !!

PTO talking(in association) with "HUMAN EXCRAMENT" !! (NW a/c lavatory's)

NH/BB's

 

[PlayTheOdds]

How ABSOLUTELY fitting !!
NH/BB's

I didn't realize you would get so excited over that NH/BB.

 

[lpbrian]

What a self-absorbed jacka$$ you must be.

I'll keep your well wishes in mind when I get my pink slip. Try to remember that there are real people/families involved here. It's not their fault the IAM hasn't met your criteria.

I hear your sorry arse. In all honesty, was a bit harsh, I feel sorry for for the INDIVIDUALS affected. I hate to see anyone lose a job, especially when that loser Steenbonehead and julie Hag- b**ch will get bonuses. But I hate the IAM. I saw the letter in response to the AMFA strike. Cockroaches response made me sick to my stomach, as did the reponse from all NWA unions. Good luck to you all.

 

[PlayTheOdds]

IIRC, MEL count was 268 as of 0100 Central today....

So Kev exactly haow many aircraft does NWA have in its fleet?

 

[Kev3188]

Not sure today...With as many A/C going to MZJ as there are, it changes daily.

 

[PlayTheOdds]

I don't understand why they are doing that. I know the routes they are doing away with are low yield (or no yield) but it has got to be affecting NWA’s customer service. You would at least think they would use the aircraft to increase the number of flights on their more heavily run routes. When flights are being over booked by twenty and thirty seats you would think there was room to add another flight.