January/February 2023 - 12

SPECI AL FOCUS
Arnoni finds himself more concerned with the
challenges faced in 2022 continuing throughout
2023, saying he foresees them continuing for some
time - and hopefully not worsening.
" Supply chain is killing us. We are a repair station
but we also have a PMA side to our business and
So supply chain is an issue. It's huge and it affects
everybody in their business, whether they make
their parts or not. Because if they don't make their
parts, they got to buy them from someone that's got
to make them, and we're all in that same boat. Or
maybe I should say plane, " he details.
All of the people Jennings said he speaks with in
the MRO world are seeing the exact same things.
Everyone is trying to find the same critical parts
to keep airplane flying.
" We're all trying to get creative. I mean, with FAA
regulations and certifications, you can only be so
creative. You've got to stay within those limitations.
But it's creating a very close-knit community because
it's not really what you know, it's who you know. And
so we're at a trade show like NBAA today, and we're
connecting with those people. Do you have this? Do
you have that? Where can I find this? And those connections
and relationships really help you out because
you can find most of these things, but it's not easy.
And that's going to continue for a while, " he said.
To combat the
challenges faced,
many are turning
more insular, focusing
on what can be
controlled in-house
or found in their local
communities for 2023.
FLYING COLOURS CORP.
" We use in-house
training to mitigate
the workforce issue
as best we can. We
can take somebody
right out of school
and train them to do
a lot of the jobs in
our shops because
we have a good
in-house training
program. "
Spencer
Hoggarth, Flying
Colours Corp.
we make most of our own parts, and lead times
are getting extraordinary. We had a supplier here
yesterday that used to consistently give us eight- to
12-week lead times, and we're now 25- to 30-week
lead times on the same product. It's crazy, and it's
the same year for everybody in aviation, " he said.
Complicating the supply is the war in Ukraine.
While the continuing conflict between Russia and
Ukraine has exacerbated supply chains since its start
in February of 2022, Arnoni points out an additional
layer of the issue - the military is pulling from the
same supply pool as everyone else.
" You hear the headline on the news that we're
giving billions of dollars of aid to Ukraine. ... Most
of that aid is military and missiles and drones, and
all of the surrounding countries want more aircraft
and more drones and more missiles. Someone's got
make all that. And when Lockheed and Boeing ...
start filling up the supply chain to make all of that,
little guys at the end of the line get pushed back and
that's what is happening.
" The people that make the metal are having a supply
chain problem. It sits out in boats in the middle of
the Atlantic and when it gets here, the military eats
it all up. How are we supposed to make any parts if
we can't get the materials? And then when we get
the materials, the part has got military priorities.
12 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023
Lessons Learned for a New Year
One issue that's likely to linger well into 2023 is the
technician shortage. Jensen said there's no real clear
answer in sight, so companies are taking matters
into their own hands.
" It's going to get worse before it gets better.
Something that we've done as a company on the
central coast is we partnered with our local community
college, and we started an AMT program
there and the first cohort's actually going to kick
off in January 2023. So 19 months later we'll see
our first graduates and be able to accept more
technicians into the workforce, both locally in our
community as well as throughout the US. So we're
doing our part to try to help solve that problem. But
I think it's going to take a very proactive approach
where people really push to find solutions to get
more people engaged in the aviation community
and understand that there's a career out there for
AMTs, " he said.
The tactic is a positive takeaway from the obstacles
the industry faced in 2022 - focus on what
can immediately be controlled. In this case of the
technician shortage, it's employee retention and
creating an environment people want to be a part of.
" Back in the day, employees were looking for a
place that they could call home for a career. That's
no longer the case... A two-year stint is a career at
a company for young people coming out of the tech
schools, etc., these days. So you're trying to get as
AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY
January/February 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January/February 2023
