Abstract
Industry Has to Develop Personnel-friendly Strategies to Retain
Maintenance Technicians
Airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanics are choosing other industries
such as public utilities, computers, and automotives over aviation for greater
remuneration, better career path, and a more dynamic work environment. The
economic difficulties that the aviation industry faces have made newly-trained
maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) mechanics wary of entering it. The
industry can reverse this trend by developing informational recruiting tools and
investing in internal leadership, technical, and management training programs to
win mechanics' trust and thereby, ensure commitment. Other employee satisfaction
strategies include relocation packages and implementation of flexi-time.
This Frost & Sullivan research examines the North American commercial and
military aircraft and engine maintenance, repair, and overhaul markets. It
provides key market drivers and restraints affecting growth, and offers a
detailed competitive market analysis. It also offers strategic recommendations
to overcome market challenges. The market has been divided into two segments:
commercial and military.
Prices to Be Stable Despite Slowdown in the Industry
The pricing of MRO is expected to remain steady with heavy-airframe
maintenance continuing to be labor- rather than cost-intensive and the purchase
of spare parts contributing mainly to engine maintenance costs. Other
price-influencing factors are the intense competition between third-party MRO
organizations and the increasing trend of outsourcing heavy maintenance
activities to lower labor-cost areas. The latter trend has given airlines the
leverage to demand unprecedented concessions from labor unions; however, this is
likely to weaken once the industry bounces back.
Engine original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) actively influence pricing
trends by creating new business models through engine management programs such
as power-by-the-hour, leasing, and engine repair shop agreements. "This
enables organizations to develop engine management programs that give them the
ability to pre-plan expenditures by scheduling, planning, and forecasting engine
shop visits," states the analyst. Joint ventures by OEMs also help defray
costs.
Legislation Limits Military MRO Flexibility
The Department of Defense (DoD) is required by the United States Code (USC)
Section 2464 of Title 10 to have core logistics capability to maintain and
support mission-essential equipment. The law also mandates that core work should
not be outsourced to the private sector. However, "core work" is not
defined precisely and hence, this law is not consistently implemented. "A
more clear definition of core capability in relation to support of legacy
systems and consistency in application of this definition across military
services will help the DoD manage its resources more flexibly and cost
effectively," notes the analyst.
The 50-50 rule of 10 USC 2466 stipulates that no more than 50 percent of
funding for depot maintenance and repair workload across any military department
or defense agency can be contracted to industry. "This law retains and
justifies the current public/private workload allocation but inhibits the DoD's
ability to shift workload and resources," observes the analyst. The U.S.
Government will have to change or modify these laws to build flexibility into
the system.
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