Readers Speak - April 2012
What Makes a Good DOM?
Mr. Escobar,
Your article on Sun Quest’s DOM was interesting. After 25 years of being a DOM myself, my first thought was, “What is the definition of a DOM?” I look back on my experience and then I have to ask myself, “What defines a good mechanic?” I believe that one leads to the other and the definition is important. The definitions are important for both because both lead to respect among fellow mechanics, other DOMs and customers. I have come to define a good mechanic that has tremendous value as a mechanic that is strong in three areas:
1. General Maintenance — can read the manual and perform maintenance in accordance with the manual.
2. Inspection — can inspect an aircraft and be able to determine physical discrepancies with an aircraft.
3. Troubleshooting — can duplicate a problem, read about a system, and then by deduction, figure out the problem.
If you have an mechanic that can do all three, then you have a mechanic that has value and is probably worth more than the money you are paying.
Now, the next question is what makes a good DOM versus a DOP (director of paper)? Well, my experience is that the planning, organizing and controlling aspect of the job certainly has great value and has to be there, however you want to define each one of those qualities. But if you don’t have the qualities of a good mechanic as listed above, then all the people on the floor don’t give you the respect that you don’t deserve.
Thank you, Paul Sissons
The Aviation Industry Has Let Me Down
Hello Greg,
I have been a A&P for 25 years, and I have an IA and a private pilot certificate, and a Bachelor’s degree in aviation management. Over the past 6 months, I have read several articles about the “shortage of aircraft mechanics,” including yours.
All of the articles I have read mention money, but that is only part of the problem. You may disagree, but in my experience, aircraft operators are primarily concerned with (in order of importance):
1. Money
2. Time
3. Appearance
4. Quality
5. Safety.
Hiring the best mechanics to ensure safety is a low priority because of the impeccable safety record aviation has compared with other modes of travel. When an accident occurs, it is usually caused by pilot error or weather (icing, visibility, etc.) — not faulty maintenance. Paying for good pilots is much more important if safety is a concern, because they cause the most accidents.
You mentioned shop rates and made the Mercedes dealer comparison. If my company works on 40 million dollar aircraft, and charges a shop rate of $110 an hour, and pays its mechanics $25 an hour, I think it is wrong. Mercedes cars don’t cost $40 million to buy. Mercedes don’t take $20,000 of jet fuel to fill up. Yes, aircraft maintenance is more labor intensive than car maintenance. That is no reason to lower a shop rate. Let’s say an airplane needs a 500 man-hour maintenance event, and you raise your shop rate 20 dollars per hour, and the labor bill increases by $10,000. That’s less than the cost of a tank of gas. Now you can give your mechanics a 10 dollar per hour raise. It is a matter of perspective. Operators can’t control the cost of parts, fuel or insurance, but they can cut costs by reducing mechanic’s wages.
Now I want to address job satisfaction. Although my job is physically demanding, I do enjoy turning wrenches. What bothers me is the culture of the aviation industry. A&P mechanics are often viewed as a necessary evil. Although we generate revenue, we are treated as a liability while others in the organization (marketing, accounting, I.T., etc.) who do not generate revenue, are treated as assets. We have to punch a time clock, they do not. We have to take a drug test, they do not. We can’t make personal phone calls doing business hours, they can. They go to a company-sponsored golf tournament, we do not. I could continue, but you get the idea.
If I sound bitter, it’s because I am. I picked the wrong career 25 years ago, and now I am too old to start over at the bottom of another career. The last sentence in your column sums it up — the aviation industry has let me (and my colleagues) down.
Keep writing.
Regards, Jerry Kusmider
Locking Our Children out of Airports
Hi Greg,
Great article on mechanic shortages. I wanted to add a very important and often missed factor in our aviation future. We have locked our children out of our airports with this homeland security fencing. When I was a child / teenager I spent my weekends at the local airport hanging out at the FBO and wandering about the hangers making a pest of myself asking questions and bumming rides. Now our children can only look through chain link or rot iron. We face an upcoming shortage of pilots, mechanics controllers etc... It will be a true crisis.
I am restoring this Vega and I should be swatting the kids away with a fly swatter but there are no kids on the airport. What a shame! If I were king for a day all the fencing would come down because these kids are not a threat.
I was in the FBO office the other day and a father had brought his two young children to look at airplanes but was being turned away so I intervened and escorted them to my hanger and let them climb in the Vega and gave them pieces of the old plywood that I removed. They were thrilled and I know I made a difference.
What we are gaining with the fencing we are losing a thousand times over robbing our kids of aviation.
Rick Barter