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Local 591 Administrative Executive Board Member Russ Dittmer
December 2022 Activities
Quick synopsis:
Scheduled meetings, teleconferences & calls include:
Weekly Executive Board teleconference, Monthly EAP/MAP Coordinator call, Bi-weekly ASAP/Safety Call, Friday President’s Call, Monthly Executive Board Meeting, Line Mtc & GSE Process Standards Meeting, Present at TOLS on behalf of Local 591
Projects:
Assisting Pres. Schaible with campaigns and legislative efforts, Tracking JCBA questions/answers/future suggestions, Grievance tracking and management system updates and improvements, Tracking Art 33.B Presidential grievances & evidence, Podcasts prep and recording, Website refresh and update project improvements.
Details:
I didn’t need to travel much in December, only needing to fly to DFW and HDQ for a week. I spent a great deal of time writing, reviewing, and researching various topics and issues for the Local. Because of the limited need to travel this month, I was able to catch up on quite a few lingering behind the scenes projects and tasks which needed to be resolved.
In December I arranged a meeting with Local 591 President Schaible the then new Line Maintenance VP, Evita Garces. The focus of the meeting was this Local’s concerns over the overall condition of the AMT training program from the company, with a particular focus on the reports on some new-hire issues and concerns. We’ve been receiving reports of new-hire AMTs, in their Probationary Period (or Trial Period for new AMTs transferring from other Classifications), being assigned to get Airworthiness Release (ARA) qualified and/or engine-run-up/taxi qualified. More disconcerting, we even received some reports of these new-hire AMTs being pressured to get these qualifications. We at Local 591 believe this is an unacceptable level of risk being imposed upon these new-hire AMTs, and those AMTs who are in their Trial Period. They are really supposed to be focusing their energy and attention on learning about company maintenance procedures, adherence with compliance standards, and understanding the need for a strong focus on safety – both personal safety as well as the safety of the passengers on the planes we maintain. This Probationary Period/Trial Period is the critical span of time for these Members to be demonstrating their ability to learn our company processes, understand and work in accordance with the compliance standards, work safely, and to show their employer that they can properly perform maintenance and repairs on our aircraft fleet. While she listened to our concerns, unfortunately she hasn’t opted to formally change the policy, yet.
That said, if you have newer AMTs on your shift, or if you have the opportunity to work with newer AMTs, please take the time, as professional AMTs, to give them the benefit of your experience, and provide them helpful and useful guidance. I know many of us, as new-hire AMTS when we hired on, experienced the misery of the “sink or swim” mentality when we hired on. Let’s not make the same mistake with the next generations of AMTs who will be maintaining the aircraft for decades to come. This isn’t about some contractual ‘formal training’ structure. Formal training is accomplished by the MTS group. Instead, this is your Local asking you to take the opportunity to provide the new guys and gals working amongst us (and not just AMTs here) an informal support network to help them when they are struggling. I like to view this as one of the best things about Unions, they really are simply Members helping Members. Consider this, even if when you or I started working here that level of support wasn’t available to you or me, let’s consciously try to not make those same mistakes as were made with us. Please take the time to show these new Members the right and safe way to do the jobs.. Let’s also remember, during that Probationary Period, that they might not have the confidence to speak up when something unsafe is proposed or something not 100% IAW is suggested – that’s the opportunity for you to show them you have their back, by being professionally assertive and pushing back against that pressure for them, when something unsafe or non-100% IAW is happening or even suggested.
In that same meeting with Evita, we also had the opportunity to discuss an ongoing compliance and safety concern for this Local, that being the aircraft Smoke, Odor, & Fume (SOF) events. We explained our frustration that Local 591 was no longer actively involved in the effort to improve the maintenance program around SOF events. That change occurred well before she came into her new role. She was surprised that we weren’t actively involved or even being kept in the loop, and to her credit she immediately contacted the program manager, who shortly later invited some of us to IOC for a very in-depth primer on what the company has done to date, where they are still finding challenges, and where they hope to go moving forward.
I want to touch on a few more items pertaining to SOF which span more than just December. We at Local 591 also attended some very informative meetings in January, spanning a spectrum of topics from causes, effects, safety, troubleshooting, and also emerging technology. Interestingly, it has been determined that less than a teaspoon of heated engine/hydraulic oil in the aircraft pack systems is sufficient to cause a serious SOF event. The company has been working with a few technology companies to produce a gadget which can mimic the human nose when it comes to ‘smelling’ odors, in reality these gadgets are supposed to detect the chemical compounds which cause those smells. Unfortunately, while some of these prototypes appeared to be promising, after rigorous testing, none were at this point in time, ready for prime time. That said, the company continues to push those manufacturers to improve their technology, as well as exploring new technology options and ideas. Probably the most valuable reason for seeking these “sniffer” types of technology for our Members is so that, when performing verification runs to see if they can identify the odor and/or verify the odor no longer is present, the AMTs would no longer need to remove their respirators to perform the ‘sniff test’, protecting our Members from potentially harmful chemicals. While these technologies being tested still aren’t ready for prime time, I suspect, especially if current cabin air quality concerns keep growing with the flying public, that once a proven and viable smell source detecting solution is found, that technology will likely be incorporated into both existing and future aircraft design, much like power-ports, Wi-Fi, and other such useful or popular technologies.
Three major takeaways I have from those SOF discussions and meetings are that: #1 – the company takes SOF events very seriously, both the operational impact they have as well as the safety concerns of the passengers, crews, and also the AMTs tasked with ultimately solving the SOF issue. This safety focus includes being vigilant about AMTs wearing respirators when accomplishing engine/APU run smell verification checks, and only removing their respirators for as short a period of time as possible. #2 – supporting AMTs following, and not deviating from, the steps in SOF “001” Card for initial SOF troubleshooting is critical to finding the root cause. #3 – mostly (but not all) for the A320 group of planes, proper and complete washing/cleaning of the APU and the APU compartment is a key component to avoiding many SOF events. I for one know first-hand that many aircraft maintenance ‘housekeeping’ tasks are rarely popular. I’ll admit that I never enjoyed the task of aircraft compartment cleaning. While mostly for the Airbus APU compartments, that cleaning process is a messy and noisy task, with additional EPA drainage concerns limiting where such compartment cleaning can occur. We AMTs also need to wear heavy raingear and PPE to do the APU compartment wash job properly. That said, the use of newer cleaning solvents and newly improved heated pressure washer systems appear to be having a dramatic and positive impact on reducing overall SOF events.
There is already an ongoing process within the company working to improve and clarify the existing SOF Troubleshooting Cards. If you have ideas on how to improve the SOF troubleshooting work-cards, or ideas for any facet of the SOF troubleshooting processes, please don’t hesitate to reach out to AMT E-Board Member Mark Erler (merler591@gmail.com) and/or E-Board Member At-Large Eric Alburquerque (eric.alburquerque@local591.com).
Fraternally
Russ Dittmer
Local 591 Administrative E-Board Member
russ.dittmer@local591.com
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