Running a repair shop

[Greg Esres]

Anyone here familiar with how to manage a repair shop?

Our flight school has 20 aircraft and a hangar full of mechanics, but
nothing much seems to get fixed. Instead, you'll often find the
mechanics working on lawn mowers, boat motors, and painting minivans.

I'm wondering how more professional shops manage the time of the
employees, measuring their productivity and controlling costs.

Thanks.

[Stu Gotts]

That's an easy one. Start billing the customers for all the screw off
time. That way you'll join the ranks of thousands of other aeroplane
fixit shops and still make your Mercedes payment each month.

On Fri, 21 May 2004 18:50:55 GMT, Greg Esres >
wrote:

>Anyone here familiar with how to manage a repair shop?
>
>Our flight school has 20 aircraft and a hangar full of mechanics, but
>nothing much seems to get fixed. Instead, you'll often find the
>mechanics working on lawn mowers, boat motors, and painting minivans.
>
>I'm wondering how more professional shops manage the time of the
>employees, measuring their productivity and controlling costs.
>
>Thanks.

[JDupre5762]

>Anyone here familiar with how to manage a repair shop?
>
>Our flight school has 20 aircraft and a hangar full of mechanics, but
>nothing much seems to get fixed. Instead, you'll often find the
>mechanics working on lawn mowers, boat motors, and painting minivans.

>From: Greg Esres

It isn't rocket science just basic task and people management. You need some
way of accounting for time. You need to be able to schedule at least routine
maintenance tasks. Then you need the leadership to assign the right person to
the appropriate task and see that it gets done.

Someone needs to record hobbs readings everyday so that the status of every
aircraft in the fleet can be known in regards to the next servicing. That
information can go into a computer but even a large dry erase board with
columns and rows marked out is still a great way of seeing status at a glance.

You need parts and consumables, some in stock and some at most overnight
shipping away. So you don't need to stock a lot of stuff if you can afford
some down time.

You need some basic servicing tools. I have a huge box myself but routinely
only use about a quarter of it in GA maintenance, so you don't need as much as
you might think. But if I ever go back to production, or airlines, or avionics
installation I won't need to buy more. You will need a few aircraft specific
special tools but a lot can be made from diagrams in the maintenance manuals in
most aircraft.

I knew of a guy who took the job of turning around an operation like you
describe. He started out establishing a second shift in order to get more
utilization out of the facility. The second shift walked in one day and said
they didn't like it and would work days instead. He fired them all on the
spot. The remaining mechanics got the message and within weeks they went from
one or two aircraft available to a two dozen.

The point is that ultimately someone needs to kick a little tail and light a
fire under the mechs. They probably have great excuses about lousy pay or not
enough parts or support but in the end they are paid to fix planes not lawn
mowers.

John Dupre'

[Craig]

Greg Esres > wrote in message >...
> Anyone here familiar with how to manage a repair shop?
>
> Our flight school has 20 aircraft and a hangar full of mechanics, but
> nothing much seems to get fixed. Instead, you'll often find the
> mechanics working on lawn mowers, boat motors, and painting minivans.
>
> I'm wondering how more professional shops manage the time of the
> employees, measuring their productivity and controlling costs.
>
> Thanks.

Until you get employees that you can trust to correctly use and bill
their time, go to a time clock and logbook labor recording system.
Punch in and out on each job or task.
Find an employee working on company time on one of his private
projects and end his employment immediately. I have a private shop now
with me as the only mechanic, but I still keep good labor records so
as to correctly bill my clients.

Craig C.

[Rob McDonald]

Every shop I ever worked in it was a firing offence (first offence, no
warnings) to do "government jobs" on company time. Even after hours, you
couldn't interfere with paying work, and use of more than incidental
materials or supplies was to be negotiated before the job started.

In my current service business employees are paid for time spent on
billable work done for customers, and approved overhead tasks. Admittedly,
they largely track and manage their own time, but we have been together for
a few years now (small company - six employees) and everybody knows that it
would show if they weren't hauling their own weight, or were "cooking" the
numbers. Whoever is managing them has to know what realistic times are for
the jobs they are doing.

Rob


Greg Esres > wrote in
:

> Anyone here familiar with how to manage a repair shop?
>
> Our flight school has 20 aircraft and a hangar full of mechanics, but
> nothing much seems to get fixed. Instead, you'll often find the
> mechanics working on lawn mowers, boat motors, and painting minivans.
>
> I'm wondering how more professional shops manage the time of the
> employees, measuring their productivity and controlling costs.
>
> Thanks.



--

[tony roberts]

> Our flight school has 20 aircraft and a hangar full of mechanics, but
> nothing much seems to get fixed. Instead, you'll often find the
> mechanics working on lawn mowers, boat motors, and painting minivans.

Hi Greg

How much for a major on a lawn mower?
I think that mine's getting near its TBO :)

Tony


--

Tony Roberts
PP-ASEL
VFR OTT
Night
Almost Instrument :)
Cessna 172H C-GICE

[Nathan Young]

On Sat, 22 May 2004 03:12:53 GMT, tony roberts >
wrote:

>> Our flight school has 20 aircraft and a hangar full of mechanics, but
>> nothing much seems to get fixed. Instead, you'll often find the
>> mechanics working on lawn mowers, boat motors, and painting minivans.
>
>Hi Greg
>
>How much for a major on a lawn mower?
>I think that mine's getting near its TBO :)

That's clever :)

[Greg Esres]

<<still make your Mercedes payment each month.>>

Ah, maybe that explains the owner's Harley, his motor home, his
fishing boat, his weekends at the casinos, his ex-wife, etc.

;-)

[Greg Esres]

<<The point is that ultimately someone needs to kick a little tail and
light a fire under the mechs. >>

John, thanks for your comments. That is indeed what is lacking. The
Chief Mechanic and Owner are motorcycle buddies, so I don't see any
tail being kicked any time soon. Instead, they just keep raising our
rental rates. $137/hour for an C172SP now.

I'm bulding a plan of action should the right moment occur to suggest
to the owner that I could double profits if he'd put me in charge.
;-)

[Greg Esres]

<<everybody knows that it would show if they weren't hauling their own
weight>>

What I'm wondering is if a culture has developed where a certain
amount of slacking off has become acceptable. Sounds like your cuture
encourages good work habits; I could easily see the opposite happening
some places.

Thanks

[Greg Esres]

<<How much for a major on a lawn mower?>>

Depends on what the owner loses at the casinos this weekend.... ;-)

[Stu Gotts]

On Sat, 22 May 2004 14:29:14 GMT, Greg Esres >
wrote:

><<still make your Mercedes payment each month.>>
>
>Ah, maybe that explains the owner's Harley, his motor home, his
>fishing boat, his weekends at the casinos, his ex-wife, etc.

If he had an ex-wife, he wouldn't have any of the other toys!
>
>;-)

[Michelle P]

Greg,
first decide who is salvageable and who is not. Some are easily led by
bad example and can be led by good example.
Second put an add fro their jobs in one or more local papers. specify
multiple openings.
You are going to need at least one certified A&P per shift and at least
one or more IA on staff.
Some will read the paper and get the hint. they should be the top of the
second wave of firings.
anyone who is left should fired on the spot they ae just sucking the
company dry.
You should have a manager for the shop. if you do advertise there job
too and firing them immediately.
Any of this other stuff they are doing should be done on lunch or after
hours.
Michelle

Greg Esres wrote:

>Anyone here familiar with how to manage a repair shop?
>
>Our flight school has 20 aircraft and a hangar full of mechanics, but
>nothing much seems to get fixed. Instead, you'll often find the
>mechanics working on lawn mowers, boat motors, and painting minivans.
>
>I'm wondering how more professional shops manage the time of the
>employees, measuring their productivity and controlling costs.
>
>Thanks.
>
>

--

Michelle P ATP-ASEL, CP-AMEL, and AMT-A&P

"Elisabeth" a Maule M-7-235B (no two are alike)

Volunteer Pilot, Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic

Volunteer Builder, Habitat for Humanity

[Paul]

Greg,

Why make someone else's sloth or incompetence your problem? Vote with
your feet. After enough people cast their "ballots", management will
get the picture or natural selection will run its course.

Life is too short to tolerate this kind of nonsense.

Good luck.

Paul

Michelle P > wrote in message t>...
> Greg,
> first decide who is salvageable and who is not. Some are easily led by
> bad example and can be led by good example.
> Second put an add fro their jobs in one or more local papers. specify
> multiple openings.
> You are going to need at least one certified A&P per shift and at least
> one or more IA on staff.
> Some will read the paper and get the hint. they should be the top of the
> second wave of firings.
> anyone who is left should fired on the spot they ae just sucking the
> company dry.
> You should have a manager for the shop. if you do advertise there job
> too and firing them immediately.
> Any of this other stuff they are doing should be done on lunch or after
> hours.
> Michelle
>
> Greg Esres wrote:
>
> >Anyone here familiar with how to manage a repair shop?
> >
> >Our flight school has 20 aircraft and a hangar full of mechanics, but
> >nothing much seems to get fixed. Instead, you'll often find the
> >mechanics working on lawn mowers, boat motors, and painting minivans.
> >
> >I'm wondering how more professional shops manage the time of the
> >employees, measuring their productivity and controlling costs.
> >
> >Thanks.
> >
> >
>
> --
>
> Michelle P ATP-ASEL, CP-AMEL, and AMT-A&P
>
> "Elisabeth" a Maule M-7-235B (no two are alike)
>
> Volunteer Pilot, Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic
>
> Volunteer Builder, Habitat for Humanity

[Greg Esres]

<<Second put an add fro their jobs in one or more local papers.
specify multiple openings.>>

Wow, you're tough. :-)

<<You should have a manager for the shop.>>

Yes. The chief mechanic IS the manager, which may be poor policy.
Sort of like letting the inmates run the prison.

Thanks for your comments.

[Greg Esres]

<<Vote with your feet.>>

The feet have no place to go. ;-)

The lack of competition is why this sort of performance continues.