Ground Support Worldwide - 11

INDUSTRY EXPERT
COLUMN:

GROUND HANDLING

"informed" means tracking all the variables
that will impact refueling. That includes
set up and break down time, as well as the
actual flow rates for each aircraft. Without
all those details, quickly developing staff
schedules to meet flight schedules as they
update is impossible. That can lead to frustration on the job and pressure to make up
time, and that's when mistakes can happen.
Considering the average cost of aircraft
incident cited in an Alliance Group report
is more than $50,000, avoiding mistakes is
key, and retaining experienced supervising
employees helps you do that. Look at the
difference between a ground crew member with one year of experience, and one
with less than one year. For ground crew
members with less than a year of experience, there are 5.6 more safety violations
per 1,000, according to Airport Workers
United. That means keeping experienced
employees around helps avoid safety issues.
Informed staffing also helps eliminate
unnecessary labor hours, keeping the operation efficient while keeping your team engaged.

TRAINING:

Set your Crew up for
Success

We've already seen that a good employee
is worth investing in. A training program
should be comprehensive and continuous.
Compliance and safety needs are paramount, and continuous training is key to
a safety-first culture. Fuelers need to be
well-versed in specific technology, specific
aircraft types and the airline's standard
fueling process and procedures. Additionally, having a top-tier aviation role to
grow into within an organization provides
a career path for high-caliber employees to
pursue, thus reducing turnover.
There are two important benefits to keep
in mind for training best practices. One is
that employee training records show due
diligence on the company's part in the
unfortunate case of an incident. Another
is that training and opportunity (career progression, employee development) improves
employee retention, by keeping employees
engaged with learning new skills.
One way to balance the labor costs of training is to use computer-based training. Another
way to avoid the start-up costs of a quality

training program is to consider a specialized
partner with established online training. An
experienced solutions provider can help you
start with a strong foundation of compliance
and safety from the very beginning, protecting
both employees and customers.

TECHNOLOGY:

Stay on the Cutting Edge

Don't hamper your team with technology
that's behind the times. The wrong tools
could be slowing your team down, bloating
your labor costs and risking delay.
Density hydrometers give your crew the
actual fuel density at planeside. Since fuel
density varies by temperature, calculating
gallons per flight depends on an accurate
measure of fuel density at the time and
location of fueling. That keeps your team on
target and reduces the danger of fuel venting on the tarmac. Fuel venting incidents
occur mostly when the fueler attempts to
load more fuel than the aircraft tank can
physically hold. Providing the fueler with
the current fuel density is another tool the
fueler can use to ensure aircraft tanks are
loaded properly without venting.
Upgrading to handheld fueling data
technology also has numerous benefits. It
eliminates the need to fetch paper fueling
slips from the gate or dispatch, and speeds
communications with automatic notices
to fuelers. Handheld technology centralizes information for your team, providing
required fuel loads and calculating gallons
for them, based on density measurements
they input at the point of need. The same
technology speeds reports to the cockpit,
and everyone from accounting to the tank
farm, with one push of a button, sending
gate changes, aircraft swaps and fuel load
modifications directly to the refueler.
Real-time notifications of operational
changes and assistance calculating volumes
keeps everyone better informed, and that
translates to improved safety.

TOOLS:

Uniformity Fosters
Excellence

Stationary fuel carts improve reliability by
simplifying processes and improving safety.
A stationary refueling cart already has a
home on the apron, eliminating the need to
compete with other ground support equipment trying to service the same aircraft.
That reduces or eliminates potential damage
to the aircraft, lowering your maintenance
costs. Less equipment in motion around the
aircraft also improves safety by reducing
traffic on the tarmac.
Fuel stands set to preset heights allow
teams to quickly and safely reach fueling
panels. Some models incorporate a cradle
that holds the fueling coupler safely during
connection and disconnection. Bright orange
paint keeps stands highly visible, and the
wide platforms keep fuelers comfortable
and safe while on the stand. Multiple locking mechanisms ensure the stand does
not move during refueling, and the cradle
automatically raises the refueling couple to
the fueling panel, eliminating the need for
fuelers to carry couples up the stairs.

The Right Team Has All
Four T's

Fueling teams face the same challenges
across the industry, but how they overcome
those challenges makes all the difference.
A team that embraces best practices in
attracting and retaining talent, establishes
a great training program, and employs
superior tools and technology fuels more
than aircraft. That team fuels operational
excellence.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Stan Livingston, vice president of aviation for ABM, specializes in providing into-plane
fueling services and ground support equipment (GSE) refueling services as well as the
maintenance and operation of on and off airport fuel storage and distribution systems
at commercial airports globally. For more information, visit www.abm.com/aviation.

MARCH 2020

AviationPros.com

11
http://www.abm.com/aviation http://www.AviationPros.com
Ground Support Worldwide

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