Hurry Up And Wait (Or Is It The Other Way Around?)

Oct. 4, 2011
The last couple of days I've been doing a fair amount of hurrying up and waiting outside a government test facility where a project I'm working on is slowly making its way over all the hurdles necessary to win government approval. And I'm not complaining, not really. Not about the hurdles anyway. But I could do with a little less waiting; especially for appointments that are inexplicably delayed – as those of us who showed up on time sit and wait. Or pace. Nerve-wracking to get this far and not know whether our product will pass or fail. So all this time waiting reminded me of so many days on the ramp. Where we hurried to get everything ready for a flight scheduled to come in … and then waited. For ATC or weather or some other reason that messed up the schedule. At least in those days there was some flexibility in staffing. So when the inevitable delay of one aircraft meant scrambling to cover two, the delayed aircraft and the next one on the schedule, you could call in extra staffing. There were always a few extra people on a shift. These days it seems managers staff for the best-case scenario. When the airline schedule falls apart, it's wait … and then rush like mad to try to cover two or more aircraft with manpower – “person”power – for one. Not a good situation – for equipment or workers.