By Robert J. Glogowski

Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanics” that apply their skills are able to guarantee that the aircraft they maintain are capable of completing every flight without any maintenance issues occurring during the flight. 

(Notice that I refuse to use the term “Technicians” which is a “rhetorical noun” adapted if not also recognized by every company human resource manager, various company department managers or supervisors, employee recruiting agents, hiring firms and those who refer to or call themselves “Technicians”.)

Why can’t Industrial Manufactures obtain the same level of qualified and talented Industrial Maintenance “Technicians” capable of apply their skills to make the manufacturing process just as reliable as “an aircraft that takes flight” in the manufacturing of a product without any maintenance related issue or failures arising during production?

(Notice that I loosely, but intentionally use, the term “Technicians” here because it is the most recognized and utilized “rhetorical noun” sadly adapted by every human resource manager, various company department managers or supervisors, recruiting agents, recruiting agencies or hiring firms used in the USA.)

With respect to maintaining an aircraft (while in flight it cannot fail or be repaired) too a manufacturing process (once started it can fail, be stopped and then be repaired) is like comparing apples to oranges.  Without any doubt there are clearly differences.  Make the comparison of maintaining an aircraft to a manufacturing process as though it would require the same intentional reliability standard or goal.  Appling the same intentional reliability standard or goal to the manufacturing process would mean having completed production without stopping or occurring any failures.  Also consider that such a manufacturing process would also have to be designed or forego “reliability engineering” to make possible to function just as reliably as an aircraft is designed for flight.  With this standard or goal applied the comparisons are possible and become completely dependent upon skills of the Maintenance “Technicians”.

Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanics” that apply their skills are able to guarantee that the aircraft they maintain are capable of completing every flight without any maintenance related issue occurring during flight, whereas Industrial Maintenance “Technicians” are less capable to guarantee that the manufacturing process will be just as dependable. Without any doubt there are clearly differences between Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanics” and Industrial Maintenance “Technicians”. 

Why can’t Industrial Maintenance “Technicians” apply their skills to become just as capable of guarantying the goal of any reliability engineered  manufacturing process will meet the completion of production without failure the same way any Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanics” guarantees an aircraft will not fail or require any repair during flight?

Comparing Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanics” to Industrial Maintenance “Technicians” is even more like comparing apples to oranges because their respective disciplines are vastly different in too many ways.  Making comparisons of or between Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanics” and Industrial Maintenance “Technicians” similarities in their abilities, skills and training is at best nonexistent or limited.  Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanics” far exceed the combined abilities, skills and training of most Industrial Maintenance “Technicians”.

Consider the term “Technician(s)” which is a “rhetorical noun” adapted if not also recognized by every human resource manager, various company department managers or supervisors, recruiting agents, recruiting agencies or hiring firms if not almost every company related association within industry today in the USA.  No one has to go to any web page, dictionary, national or internationally recognized organization or government agency to rationalize how rhetorical the term Maintenance “Technician” is abused.  Any job position utilizing the noun Maintenance “Technician(s)” actually has become a generic term without definition or any real meaning if not also a noun that has loss of any value to its purpose or use in any Manufacturing industry. 

Look at any job listing; job board; job description; job page or website offering job positions; or walk onto any manufacturing floor and anyone you ask will locate some individual that has no other skill beyond than that of being a welder; another whom has no other skill beyond that of being an electrician; another no skill other than being a mechanic; another with no skill other than being machine operator; another no skill other than working as a material handler; another who has no skill other than being a computer programmer; another that has no skill other than being a Programmable Logistics  Control engineer; or some other type of engineer; no skill other than plumber; no skill other than carpenter; no skill other than janitor or custodian and many other job positions which used to be specific to certain skills and abilities. 

Almost every individual today working throughout manufacturing today possesses only one real skill which was obtained by receiving a specific education related to learning only that specific skill.   Throughout manufacturing today each individual at some point in this process will be required to perform some additional task by applying only the basics related to the numerous other skills required to complete that manufacturing process.  The only reason that they will perform some additional task will be because they were taught or learned how to do it on the job through repetitive training.  This is the standard accepted throughout manufacturing today which makes it possible for any individual to be referred to as a “Technician”.

The above standard accepted throughout manufacturing today which makes it possible for any individual to be referred to as a “Technician” is not as true for the Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanic(s)”. 

An Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanic” has to be educated and trained to perform maintenance and repairs on every aircraft related system such as control mechanisms, mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, structural, gearbox drives, generators, reciprocating engines and turbine engines and specialized systems components related to landing gears, flight control surfaces, fuel and oxygen systems, air supply and pressurization systems, avionics, seat and cockpit egress systems among others which are too many to mention here. 

An Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanic” receives a great deal of other educational and training requirements involving servicing, moving, loading handling, guiding, jacking, cleaning, inspecting, documenting, using external maintenance support equipment, using specialized tools, using specialized measuring tools, performing operational system checks, engine run tests among many more things which are again too many to mention here.  There are other educational and training requirements involving the using and repairing various materials from fabrics such as were used on the Write Brothers first airplane fabrics to today’s most sophisticated military aircraft metals, various structures and designs, principles and theory of aircraft flight, fuels, nitrogen and oxygen liquids, hydraulic fluids and many other things which again are too many to mention here.

Within the private sector of aviation, the Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanic” requires a year and a half of full time aircraft maintenance education prior to obtaining a Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) general airframe (A) or power plant (P) “A&P license”.  Within the military aviation, the Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanic” is educated by attending a military technical training school (which is the equivalent of most any vocational technical school).  After graduating the military technical training school course programs the individual proceeds to full time work and on the job training until proficiency is achieved in every aspect of performing aircraft maintenance.  While working in the military performing and working as an Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanic” the individual continues Aircraft Maintenance education college program courses and On the Job Training (OJT) throughout the many years or term(s) of service.  

For example:  I attended and completed military technical training school and for eight years I continued taking part time college course studies related to “military aircraft”.  I studied every aspect possible related to airplane and jet aircraft maintenance, from the fabric used on the Write Brother’s airplane, learning about the principles of flight, everything maintenance related to aircraft and jet aircraft, aircraft engines, even maintaining and overhauling engines as simple as reciprocating engines to something as complex as a turbo prop jet engine used on today’s largest aircraft.  After my military service, I attended college and complete the equivalent civilian vocational technical school course studies, complete all related Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) general airframe (A), power plant (P) and General Exams and completed the FAA “Practical Test”, along with 14 years of on the job aviation work experience, I passed all required FAA Exams and then obtained the FAA A&P license. 

Beyond being an Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanic” I have also have taken additional education courses and several years of industrial maintenance training to know how to weld, perform many forms of other industrial mechanical repairs, operator many forms of industrial machines and other equipment, performed plumbing related repairs and also have other unrelated skills such as carpenter and Programmable Logistics Control training.

The Maintenance “Technician(s)” skills are more specific and far more limited in comparison to the Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanic’s” education, training and skills.  Take an Electrician for example while not applying any application of “Technician” to this specific electrician’s skill or trade.  The electrician will certainly invest two or more years training specifically to perform house electrical repairs or installations and perhaps eventually learn and perform industrial electrical repairs or installations.  After five year working as an apprentice most electricians may become licensed or certified.  Being certified as an electrician gives them no additional skill that relates to being an Industrial Maintenance “Technician”.    

The Electrician will also fail to have any work experience related to mechanical, welding, millwright work, pneumatics, hydraulics and many other related skills required to perform maintenance within manufacturing maintenance.  Those other skills will need to be learned on the job by this electrician and taught by other individuals that have such respective skill sets.  If they obtain or begin employment working within any industrial manufacturing industry their job description and job position will be Industrial Maintenance “Technician”.

The Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanic” requires knowledge of basic electrical principles education and training to perform related aircraft electrical maintenance.  For the Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanic” basic electrical principles will not need to be relearned on the job.  Having a broad base of many learned skills, the basic electrical principles or such as bending conduit which is similar to bending tubing used in aircraft hydraulic systems maintenance are already known by the Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanic”.  Already possessing these skills provides a foundation to more easily learn other related electrical skills required within manufacturing or to performing electrical repairs.  Consider the many other skills the Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanics” possess and utilize while performing aircraft maintenance.  

An automotive mechanic or general mechanic may have skills relating to performing mechanical repairs within Industrial Maintenance.  Although some mechanics may not easily obtain or possess other skills such as electrical, millwright, welder, machine operator, or programmable logistics controls skills, plumbing or other job position skills.  All of these individuals including mechanics performing repairs within Industrial Maintenance will also be given the same job description and called Industrial Maintenance “Technicians”.  Doing so makes each skill set they actually possess obsolete by definition, if not also rather meaningless.

Not one of these Industrial Maintenance “Technicians” has or possesses the ability that any aircraft could be maintained by any of them or be able to guarantee an aircraft would be capable of completing every flight without any maintenance issues occurring during the flight.  The same fact applies that each of these Industrial Maintenance “Technicians” would not be able to apply the same intentional reliability standard or goal to the manufacturing process would mean having completed production without stopping or occurring any failures.  They completely fail to possess the training, experience, desire and necessary realm of skills to achieve that goal.

I have also realized since my many years working as an Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanic” the aviation industry has suffered the same fate as the Industrial Maintenance Industry.  Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanics” today no longer are taught the skills and abilities that I had to learn.  Aircraft Maintenance “Mechanics” no longer exist.  Now aviation training standards are coveted by aviation technical schools that pump young students out into the aviation industry similar to the way motorcycle, automotive and semi-truck mechanic training mechanic technical schools do.  Any young student can now spend one year to a year and half at one of many aviation technical schools learning the only the specific basics of working on certain or specific airplanes and then get hired by companies that require only knowledge of their specific airplanes to start working on them and they call them Maintenance “Technicians”.

Industrial Manufacturing Industry and even the Aviation Industry in the not too distant future will have to be designed using reliability engineering methods.  Using reliability engineering might make it possible to become totally dependent upon utilizing automation so machines can identify problems immediately and the same machines can provide instruction to those that observer and operate them, without having to know what is wrong, understanding or even thinking about it to keep them producing.  The term Maintenance “Technicians” should have a defined meaning by then, which will easily be translate to mean, “A young warm body with limited requirement for any skill(s) or abilities”. 

                                                           Copyright © Robert J. Glogowski, March 28, 2013