07/15/2008 20:17:29

FlyerGirl,

You know I had an employee tell me one time that he knew I was under pressure to meet a delivery schedule so his position was this "I thought you'd want quantity over quality". Yes, he actually said that.  After inspecting the work and fixing the mistakes I ended up 4 days late.  It wasn't good.  I told him had I'd known that quantity over quality were acceptable standards to him I would have told him to roll his box back out on the ramp when he first got here.  Cutting corners or doing shotty work isn't the answer.  Someone once told me "If you don't have time to do it right the first time, you sure don't have time doing the work twice". 

What you describe here I call the 80-20 Rule:  There always seems to be 20% of the people doing 80% of the work and the 80% doing 20% of something, not sure why that is yet.

3-4 Man shops run the best that I've seen.  There is no room for slackers and everyone takes personal responsible that's produced in the shop.

thebatman,

sometimes you get lucky and find yourself working around a group of guys that all bring something to the table.  I've seen both sides of this coin.  I do agree with your position of making it mandatory for a new-hire to work with a senior tech. 

04/26/2007 13:59:24

FlyerGirl,

I am curious as to what kinds of environments you have been exposed to in the A/C Maint. world. The reason I ask this is because what you have described happens every day in my world, which is a major airline. I am not saying that I know more than the next guy ( or gal ) but I have seen so many times how a person can "fly under the radar" and after 25 years, not know a freakin' thing about airplanes. And the only reason they have a job is because of seniority.

I do have to say, though, that this type of person is a small minority. Most of the mechs I work with are very experienced, and very talented. I've always tried to learn from the senior guys, and after 11 years, it's worked pretty well for me. If I ran the place, I would make it mandatory for new-hires to work with a 25 year guy for 6 months or so, rather than working next to another new-hire like I had to do.

I guess that's enough ranting for one day. Thanks for reading.

04/17/2007 19:18:19

FlyerGirl, You are absolutely correct that longevity does not always equal ability.  Though quite often it does.

I have been in aviation maintenance in one form or another for over 25 years. During that time, I have seen great mechanics ranging from just out of school to those with over 30 years experience.  I have also seen totally useless idiots spread over the full range.

As to there being a bias in the hiring process, probably so. Recruiters and HR types typically only have a resume to go by.  And remember, a resume is frequently nothing more than a listing of jobs.  It does not reflect ability, knowledge nor more importantly desire. The recruiter typically infers ability and knowledge from what is on the resume.  Often this turns out to be incorrect.  That is what really sucks.

Without actually hiring someone and then seeing how they work out, there is no 100% guaranteed way to know for sure what you are buying. The recruiter then will normally take what they perceive as not only the easy way out but the seemingly logical one of equating years in the business with knowledge and ability.

As a Manager at an MRO and previously as a Supervisor with an airline, I have seen the folly in such hiring practices. Yet, I do not see an easy solution. The airline and the MRO cannot afford to interview every applicant nor can we give every one a test drive to see how they work out.  All that can be done is to make the best choices we can with the given information.

I will tell you this, I always encourage my recruiters to hire from a broad spectrum of applicants.  I enjoy having new A&P school grads along with my 30 year veterans.  I enjoy giving the Army rotor head a chance to show me what he or she has to offer just as much as the Air Force heavy jet mech.

Talent come from everywhere, so does crap.  Sorting them out after they are hired is easy. They show themselves by their performance. Sorting them out during the hiring process is not so easy.

You seem to have a real passion.  I appreciate that.  I know that I could use more mechs with the passion that you have shown here.  If you have the ability to go along with that passion, you will be a great asset to your employer.

Good luck in your chosen career. It has been good to me, it should be good to you.

DavidV

01/15/2007 09:31:19

hey man I feel pain I've been in the AF for a lil over 5 years working on F-16's and we have the same type of people.. the people that think they are hot shit but know half of what the rest of us know and when you work with them they take the credit for the job gettin done ahead of schedule even though all the did was drink coffey and smoke.. I guess the moral of the story is theres a lot of lazy ass' that think they are shit hot because they have worked on a certain airframe for years over you when they actully know nothing

12/14/2006 23:10:35

Good post, you make a very relevent point. Now if only everybody thought like that!

12/14/2006 11:52:06

I agree with you wholeheartedly!!! I recently got "relieved" from my job after 1.5 years. No matter what I did I never met the owner/boss's "expectations. It would have been nice if there had been a training program in place as well as help from the mechanics there. When I hired on one of the so called Mechanics told me he wished this wasn't my first job because "We do things differently here." Was he ever right! The only desire two of the three mechanics there had was to plod along at their existing level and goof off as much as possible.

Sorry, I am just so irritated by the backstabbing, lack of training, goofing off (3-4 hours a day when the owner wasn't there) and clichish atmosphere that I worked in. 50% of what I learned there was from the manuals and actually doing the work, 25% of what I learned there was from these two so called mechanics, the other 25% was from the only decent guy there whom I became pretty good friends with. Someone I spoke to awhile ago had this to say about one of the mechanics; "He isn't a ****ing mechanic, he doesn't have a clue what he's doing. I can't understand why he's still working there!"

I have a lot of years of mechanical, electrical and computer background other than in the aircraft industry. I finished A&P school 2 years ago and all I want to do is work on aircraft. I'm not sorry I worked there, it taught me what not to look for in a company, I'm just pissed I got caught in a trap that in some ways makes me look less competent than I know I am.

I'm hoping that I will find the right job where I will fit in and get good training so I can enjoy what I entered this field for, my enjoyment! I've never worked a job to make a million dollars, I only work doing what I like to do.

Thanks for a place to voice my rants! 

12/10/2006 14:04:15

I'll drink to that........Cheers....Jay

11/20/2006 09:46:15

Amen!