Ground Support Blog

It amazes me as I travel the country and the world to see how many ramp workers ignore basic safety protections. Take ear protection as an example. I don’t know any airport workers over 50 who don’t have some hearing loss. Many have significant hearing loss in one or both ears — me included. All those years of engines and APUs running within feet of your head take a toll on your hearing if you don’t wear ear protection religiously.

And I didn’t get religion until the damage was already done. Then I started carrying the ear protectors with me everywhere I went when I was on the job. Because I found that if I didn’t have them on me, the ramp could go from quiet to noisy all of a sudden and I was left with unprotected ears. In that short amount of time, over days, weeks, months and years, the damage gets done. And it’s not reversible.

So now it really pains me to see so many of our young workers without ear protection on the ramp. Many of them, probably like me, either forgot to bring their ear protection with them or think the exposure is only momentary; there’s no sudden pain or blood spouting to warn of injury. By the time you realize that you have hearing loss, it’s usually too late. Damage does occur from incremental exposure.

So we need to be role models for young workers by wearing ear protection ourselves, always. And we also need to remind them when they’re on the ramp without it. As their supervisors we need to make compliance with safety procedures mandatory. Aside from the health of our workforce, these safety measures reduce workers’ comp claims and improve our bottom lines. Not a bad combination.

The jury’s no longer out on whether GSE needs to go electric.  Studies done by a wide-range of groups — from the Department of Energy to private companies — all show that electric is cheaper in the long-run, especially when the cost of fuel goes up, and electric vehicles are cheaper to maintain.  (And for cold weather operations, electric has a clear advantage.)  The environmental benefits are also beyond dispute at this point — the carbon footprint of electric GSE is significantly smaller than for gas- or diesel-powered vehicles. The big issues are infrastructure and paying for new equipment or converting old equipment.

So two things need to happen — the airports need to update their infrastructure to support electric GSE and GSE operators need to find the money to invest in new equipment or conversion of old equipment. GSE operators are not alone in wanting to go electric on the ramp. Airlines and airport operators will be under increasing pressure to reduce their carbon footprints.  One way to do that will be to reduce their emissions on the ground. So they are going to be pushing ground handlers to convert their vehicles so that they can get the credit for the resulting reduction in emissions.

Ground handling companies may end up getting squeezed to make investments in new or converted vehicles, even when it is not economically an opportune time. But before that happens, companies need to look into what opportunities there are for government grants. And while I haven’t seen any public utilities giving grants for GSE, that doesn’t mean that they can’t be pursuaded to do so. For example, the recently passed stimulus bill has $6.9 billion for state block grants for energy efficiency improvements and reduction of carbon emissions. Each state can spend this money broadly on projects covered by the legislation. GSE operators need to meet with their airport operators to see whether some of that money could be used for infrastructure improvements at their airports and purchases of electric GSE or GSE conversions. The Department of Energy and EPA have or have had grants for energy efficiency improvements which should be explored. The FAA’s  Airport Improvement Program grants may now or in the future be available for carbon reduction projects. While the focus may have been on delivery fleets and shuttle buses in the past, this doesn’t mean that airport operators can’t make the case for electric GSE at their airports.

I know that a number of airports hire dedicated personnel to pursue grant opportunities. GSE  operators need to make sure that their needs are covered in the pursuit of such grants.

Preventive maintenance is never easy to budget for — in time or money. We’re always too busy fixing broken equipment that we never get around to doing the preventive maintenance which, of course, eventually results in even more broken equipment. Stopping this cycle is difficult in the best of times but clearly a much greater challenge today. These may not be the worst of times, but I can’t think of any worse times for aviation in my lifetime.

But we need to break this cycle, if for no other reason than it really costs more in the end.  Tightening the fan belt today could keep it from breaking and having to be replaced tomorrow. We all know this but that doesn’t make it any easier when we’re just trying to make it from day-to-day. I know, you’re thinking who’s going to tell the ramp sup his critical piece of equipment isn’t available because of some PM check? But you miss this PM check and then you miss the next one and pretty soon, you have a broken piece of equipment to contend with. Not a good scenario.

Back when I was responsible for ground equipment, I got caught in that same cycle of putting off preventive maintenance for one reason or another and then ending up with broken and unusable equipment. We finally decided that we had to bite the bullet and stop this cycle, because it was costing us more time and money in the end.

So we decided that we would give the ramp sup a schedule of PM items and tell him he needed to do what it took to temporarily replace that equipment — rent, borrow or steal (OK, not steal) — because the checks needed to get done. And we were going to stick to our plan no matter what. It wasn’t easy, but after a few months we noticed a difference in the number of breakdowns.

We all know this but we’re pushed by the constant pressure to keep things moving. I know it’s tough to “just say no,” as a former first lady used to say, but sometimes we really do just have to pause and do the right thing for the long term.

The first quarter financial results released by the airlines reflected what most of us already knew — the current financial situation of the airline industry is challenging. Despite the redundant barrage of negative news regarding finances, there is tentative optimism that things will improve and — given the cyclical nature of the industry — it’s a matter of when. The decisions being made today could have a great effect on the industry as a whole — both positive and negative. It remains to be seen what exactly will be left in the wake of the downturn.

With the financial hardship of the airlines begetting capacity slashes and employee furloughs, it begs the question of whether or not qualified personnel are being retained. This is an important consideration for all different areas of ground support operations, but I want to speak specifically about the purchasing of GSE.

The murmur throughout the industry is that the control has been turned over to the financial thinkers. The primary focus is on cost. While that is an understandable — and obviously necessary— focus, what implications does that have for GSE on the ramp? Are the people planning and making the purchasing decisions qualified to understand the particulars of the operations on the ramp? Is there enough technical staff at the airlines to lend expertise? Or are the purchasing decisions primarily made on financial considerations?

The answer could result in a lot of equipment that isn’t fit for the operation and costs more in the long term due to decision-making personnel with insufficient technical knowledge and resources. Those long-term costs could include increased turnaround time, additional maintenance of equipment, worker injury and the list goes on.

A lack of understanding and a lack of money is indeed a dangerous combination and could lead to decisions that will affect the industry even as it recovers. It’s important to be making sound choices now, rather than truly paying the price later.

Sometimes it takes a memorable shot played over and over on the evening news — in this case a baggage container (an LD3?) sticking out of a 747 engine — to get us thinking about basic ramp safety. To the average CNN or Fox viewer, it’s hard to imagine how this could happen. But to those of us in the business, the potential for aircraft damage on the ramp is constant. A moment’s inattention or distraction can spell serious damage. In worst case scenarios — that do happen — injury or death can result.

So it’s worth taking the time to review basic ramp safety. Good to talk among ourselves and to re-emphasize the basics with our employees and co-workers. I’ve learned the hard way — I’ve inadvertently damaged aircraft, injured myself and had more close calls than I want to remember. Over my years at the NTSB, we investigated several

1. If you’re not trained on equipment, don’t operate it until you are. Some guy giving you a quick OJT is usually not enough to operate safely.

2. Look at the big picture. It’s not enough to focus on what you’re doing; you have to look out for everyone and everything around you.

3. Tag broken equipment. Telling someone is just not enough to prevent its use.

4. Don’t rush. Yes, the pressure to avoid delays is constant but the cost of errors is worse. 

But I’m sure you all have your own ramp safety pointers. Please feel free to share them so we can learn from each other.

Randy Babbitt, long-time ALPA President, Eastern Airlines captain and aviation enthusiast, brings decades of aviation experience to the post of FAA Administrator. Although not yet confirmed by the Senate, I am confident that his nomination will fly through. He has a proven track record with unions which will serve him well with the often contentious union-management issues that have plagued the FAA for the last eight years. He has the aviation credentials to garner respect from the aviation industry and its highly skilled workforce. And his negotiating skills will come in handy when dealing with Capitol Hill or defending the FAA’s budget to OMB and the White House.

But the FAA issues are a lot for one man — even one as qualified as Mr. Babbitt — to tackle. And it’s not all about NextGen — the highly-touted air traffic modernization program. Now, ATC modernization is clearly needed for survival of the nation’s airlines but there are other equally important issues that have festered unresolved for way too long. Just as efficient management of the airspace is critical to aviation’s economic survival, so to is maintaining our ground infrastructure — i.e. the airports — especially GA airports, and FBO facilities, both of which we are losing at an alarming rate.

My wish list for the new Administrator would include a re-energized and re-focused effort to save GA airports. In my home state of Massachusetts alone, as many as five GA airports may disappear in the next year and we don’t have that many to start with.  I am also concerned about the continuing reduction in the number of viable FBOs. FBOs have been the backbone of GA and I would like to see a concerted federal effort led by the FAA to revitalize this segment of aviation.

As small FBOs go out of business or are consumed by ever bigger conglomerates, we lose a lot of the spirit of aviation. Certainly the spirit I found at the grass strip where I learned to fly. The FBO there not only mentored me, encouraged me, but also forgave the costs of more than one flight when money was tight. 

Whatever your particular wish list, I hope you let the FAA and Mr. Babbitt know. And from my knowledge of him, I think he will be listening and acting on our suggestions.

Economic realities being what they are today, FBOs are hiring more and more non-native speakers of English — Some legal, some not so legal. But this isn’t going to be a diatribe against immigrants — far from it.  I’m a big believer in the American dream, and the immigrant’s place in that dream.

But I’m also a big safety advocate and I’ve been concerned for a while that FBOs are not providing non-native speakers with the tools they need to perform their jobs. Those tools include either adequate training in reading and writing English — too expensive for most FBOs — or translations of enough technical data to ensure workers have the safety info they need.

Who’s making sure that these workers read enough English to ensure the safety of the work they perform? Too few workplaces translate key technical and safety information for their workers. And even those who may have some Spanish translations, what about all those non-Spanish speaking foreign workers? How are they getting their information?

Some data is available for free from manufacturers and oil companies. Sometimes you may need to pay. I’ve been using Continental Translation Service in Manhattan that specializes in technical translations — a family-run company in business more than 50 years. And they’ve been doing aviation translations at least that long. I recently cadged a 1949 aviation maintenance book from their library (interesting read, more to follow). But no matter what company you use, you need to make sure the company has the technical expertise to provide the quality work you need.

Everyone has an interest in making sure that their workforce reads and writes enough English to perform their jobs safely.  Sure, it’s a management issue, but everyone has a role to play. If you have a co-worker who can’t read enough English to know what to do, you have an obligation to speak up. The individual either needs better training — or more multilingual aids.

The day before the opening of Aviation Industry Expo, the ITW GSE Group (J&B Aviation, Hobart Ground Power, Trilectron Industries and Axa Power) hosted its annual ITW Golf Invitational at the Revere Golf Club in Henderson, Nevada.

About 100 members of the industry took to the green for 18 holes of a four-person scramble tournament.

The event comprised of players from the airlines, airports and equipment suppliers – “a full gammut of the industry,” according to Brian Piety of  J&B Aviation.

Now in its 11th year, the event was developed  as a way to gather the industry. “I saw it as an opportunity to bring key people in the industry together and have some fun,” Piety says.

The game was followed by an awards banquet for the day’s winners and a raffle.

There’s something very unique about the ground support industry.  Maybe it’s because people tend to stay.  They may move to another company, but they still stay in the industry.  Or maybe the industry has had its challenges for so long there’s the feeling that we’re all in this together.  Regardless of the reason, what’s unique about this industry is that it is a real community of people.  We’re about to gather for our “annual meeting,” this year in Las Vegas, and here are a few thoughts.

(1) We need to make this industry as efficient and competitive as possible.  That means we need to continue to work together.  It’s really special that GSE personnel can talk to a counterpart at a competitor.  And vendors are welcome to share how a problem was fixed at another airline.  Most industries don’t enjoy that level of communication.

(2) We need to continue to support an annual show.  It appears that this will be a good show.  I suspect attendance could be down, but all the airlines and suppliers will still be there.  There may be attendees and suppliers who think we should bring up the “every other year show” if there isn’t a lot of new stuff.  While there may not be a lot of new products and new technology, there certainly is justification in getting together as a community to maintain relationships and start new ones.

(3) And finally . . . We’re in rather tough times, but let’s be thankful for the great things about the ground support industry as a whole!

The 12th annual Aviation Industry Expo — the show focused on GSE/AS3 — will be held next week from March 10 – 12 in Las Vegas.

Ground Support Worldwide will be on hand to bring you the latest happenings from the Las Vegas Convention Center — including coverage of the seminars and show events, as well as images from the show floor.

Continue to check back for multiple updates throughout the show.

For more information on the show, including a schedule of events, please visit: www.aviationindustryexpo.com.