The Wet Paper Bag of Responsibility

Anyone who ever attended one of the late Bill O’Brien’s training seminars likely heard him mention, “the wet paper bag of responsibility.” Bill liked to use that term to give a colorful description of the responsibility held by the DOM, or accountable manager, when it came to complying with all applicable federal regulations. Sometimes he would add that the DOM was standing on a slippery wet floor as he tried to control the contents of the wet paper bag. Bill would say that without regular recurrent training, these people holding the wet paper bag of responsibility were destined to fail.

Bill O’Brien definitely had a way with words. He was right — there are many responsibilities that are part of being a DOM. We launched D.O.M. magazine four years ago to help address topics important to DOMs and other maintenance managers including regulatory topics.

I am proud to announce that D.O.M. magazine has a new regular contributor — Joe Hertzler. Hertzler is the CEO and cofounder of Avtrak.  He has more than 25 years of experience in the industry and is well known for his in-depth understanding of maintenance regulations and how they affect aircraft compliance.  Hertzler often speaks on the topic of maintenance compliance at industry events, such as the NBAA Maintenance Managers Conference, PAMA meetings and IA renewal seminars. He serves on the National Air Transportation Association’s (NATA) Maintenance and Systems Technology committee. I worked alongside Hertzler as a member of NATA’s Maintenance and Systems Technology committee for many years, and was always impressed with the depth of his knowledge and understanding of the regulations.

Although “Wet Paper Bag of Responsibility” might have made for a fun name for Hertzler’s new column, we chose to name the column “Compliance Matters.” This has two meanings. First, that compliance does matter. Second, Hertzler will be discussing matters pertaining to compliance.

Joe Hertzler is just another addition to the great group of columnists I have the privilege to work with. We want to help you shore up that wet paper bag of responsibility. As mechanics transition to supervisory and leadership roles, they need a new set of tools to help make that transition successful. D.O.M. magazine will continue to focus on the information maintenance managers need to be successful in their careers.

D.O.M. is enjoying tremendous growth, and we have you to thank for our success. We have several advertisers who have shared with us that they made the decision to market their products and services in D.O.M. magazine because they see first-hand how popular the magazine is. They see it on desks as they visit DOMs in different maintenance facilities. Their customers are telling them D.O.M. is at the top of their list of aviation maintenance publications.

We wouldn’t be able to publish D.O.M. without the support of our advertisers. And although our sales staff works with some great marketing professionals, our advertisers don’t open their pocket books and donate money just for the fun of it. They want to grow their businesses. They understand the importance of putting their marketing message in front of decision makers. And they know that D.O.M. magazine gives those decision makers the information they need to excel in their aviation maintenance management careers.

If you know of someone who would like to receive D.O.M. magazine, just have them to go to www.DOMmagazine.com and click on the SUBSCRIBE tab. It’s easy and takes just a minute or two to sign for a FREE subscription!

Thanks for reading!
Joe Escobar