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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1469.PDF
FLIGHT International, 22 August 1963 285 THINK AHEAD' The Vital Necessity for Better Aircraft and Engine Parts-support By G. C. SCOTT Previous articles by Mr Seott on after-sales support, to which he alludes in the second paragraph of this latest contribution, were both controversial and critical. This one is no less so, and is offered as a stimulant both to action and discussion. THE title above may remind some readers of the snappy slo gans which confront the occupants of offices and factories in the United States. The need to think ahead is at the foundation of every aspect of aircraft construction and opera tion, in Britain no less than in America. Nowhere is this more important than in After-sales Support, for without thorough preparation Support degenerates into panic—callsign "AOG." It is three years since the last of a series of articles by the writer on this subject appeared in Flight (August 19, 1960), and it has been interesting to observe, as a customer, the attention which the industry has paid to Parts Support since the matter first came under serious discussion in the columns of Flight (October 16, 1959), nearly four years ago, at about the time when the industrial divorce and re-marriage called "rationalization" was beginning. It has not been always easy to reconcile the confident forecasts of men in high places with continued redundancies among men and women in low places, or the satisfaction of Ministers and managers with order-books so thin in export content. "After all, from the country's point of j'iew, it is the exports that count," to quote Sir Roy Dobson speaking to Frank Beswick in Flight (March 30, 1961). How accurate was a City forecast of May this year, that "The outlook for the aircraft industry is set fair"; an outlook which depends on a new generation of numbers—10, 111, 121, 125, 206 and 218—which will in turn depend upon Support for their continued success ? Government Influence Lack of Government orders is usually the reason for closing down this plant and then that. Reason? Or excuse? Sometimes the reason is because of Government orders; it has been said that there are few surer means of killing an air craft's commercial prospects than for the British Government to order it. Certainly, no one can attribute the Viscount's striking success to Government orders. More recently, the Herald has started to move ahead in the commercial field, apparently since the RAF lost interest, whereas the pressure of overseas interest in other entries may have dropped a little since the Ministry became a customer. Foreign commercial interest in a British aircraft seems to bear a kind of inverse relationship to our Government's stake in the order-book. So far, the One-Eleven and Trident appear to have escaped close attention from the Ministry, and the One-Eleven is already well ahead in the export field. On the other hand, the Ministry have 100 per cent interest in the Belfast, nearly 20 per cent in the VC10 and a stake in the Beagle 206. This is not to suggest, of course, that a Government order lowers the quality of the product, for the exacting requirements of the AID are acknowledged everywhere; but it is suggested that Ministerial custom sometimes places excessive strain upon a manufacturer's capacity to support his aircraft with parts. It is after all only human to pay more attention to six men from the Ministry sitting in your office than to a letter from some place you have scarcely heard of. British Government orders, unfortunately, are an easy way out which manufacturers are inclined to make for first. Thereafter there is a risk that the cuckoo may demand, and receive preference in, Support. Proof that capacity to support is regarded as an important factor by a potential customer can be found in several decisions against the purchase of European-built aircraft for the American Armed Forces, the reason being that the supply of parts might be cut off in the event of war. Neither do foreign airlines relish having to compete with the RAF for parts. A director of a foreign airline, once interested in a British aircraft, expressed to one of the manufacturer's representatives the hope that there would be no likelihood of the RAF ordering this machine if his company did. During the summer of 1960 the following warning was addressed by the director of technical purchasing of Trans World Airlines to an American symposium on Support: "Manufacturers who per sist in treating the air-carrier industry as the 2 per cent tail of a 98 per cent customer will find their orders for parts and supplies sud denly stopped." Airlines everywhere, and business and private operators as well, expect to be treated as 100 per cent customers, no matter who else has bought the aircraft. Reputation Ever since the war there has been a tendency among British manufacturers to make heavy weather of Parts Support, owing very largely to lack of managerial interest. Exports have, as a result, suffered considerably. During 1961 the then president of the SBAC told Frank Beswick in a Flight interview that British after-sales service was frequently better than that produced by others, including the Americans. But is "frequently" enough when foreign effort sometimes is better than ours? It is discon certing that, British operators apart, few of the big-league air lines have as yet made selections from our post-Viscount shop window. More new customers such as Braniff, and more "come agains" like Aer Lingus, will boost our reputation and our sales far more than orders from "New State" airlines. There are many could-have-beens: Caravelles could have been Comets; Friend ships, 748s or Heralds, Electras, Vanguards; Hercules, Argosies; 707s, VClOs; and 727s, Tridents. Political and financial pressures are complicating factors which have diverted orders away from Britain. Even so, there are operators who must have been influenced in their choice by the Support requirement; operators who might have felt that American, French or Dutch Support was better than British; and now Germany and Japan are also joining our compe titors. A good reputation for Support is as important to a commer cial aircraft constructor as it is to a vehicle builder. Realization Towards the end of 1959, co-incident apparently with the start of "rationalization," there was a widespread rush within the industry to get rid of "non-productive" labour; such meaningless accountants' jargon, so often an obsession with man agements under pressure! Parts departments, entirely "non-pro ductive," were slashed to half overnight. Valuable know-how was discarded at the stroke of accountants' pens, regardless of the fact that in a few instances the seeds of experience were beginning to flourish into good reputations among customers abroad. This incredible waste, dictated presumably by Government policy at the start of "rationalization," must have offset much of that scheme's intended advantage even before it had been put into effect. That the reputation of Rolls-Royce, at least, did not so suffer is a mercy for which we must remain greatful. Fortunately, 1960 brought a return to sanity among firms with experience or prospects of commercial business. Great efforts were made to repair the damage caused by these disastrous econ omies, and commercially conscious managements now appreciate that Support must be planned. One big aircraft manufacturer, as a start to his 1960 Support rehabilitation programme, went all-out to reduce the processing time for parts orders from five weeks to five days. Elsewhere, however, the attitude of makeshift persists; a tendency remains with some of the more Ministry- minded suppliers to stick to the "old-boy" system and let panic measures take care of emergencies. Requirements A manufacturer's first Parts Support obligation to a new customer is to give him a complete picture of the aircraft parts breakdown in a properly printed and fully illustrated Parts
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