In January, I was standing against the back wall of a hotel ballroom and found myself thinking about the ways we work together in the aviation community.
My moment of reverie made sense: I was attending an “Industry-Government Forum,” a common event for aviation policy wonks and businesspeople in the Washington area. The scene was typical, 100 or so industry professionals attentively splitting time between panel presentations and laptop computers. There was lively discussion and a few beleaguered topics – questions asked, answers offered and a lot of shop talk in the line for the lunch buffet.
During all of this, it struck me that while much has changed about the way people collaborate, personal engagement is and always will be the lynchpin of working with the government … and each other. It takes more than an email address and a social media account to build the relationships we need in order to thrive together.
Success in the aviation maintenance community depends on cooperation stimulated through direct engagement. By attending and participating in events – whether a symposium, conference, forum, coffee klatch or book club – professionals build solutions to long-term problems and sometimes take care of the smaller ones on the spot.
At last year’s Annual Repair Symposium, a member of the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) experienced such a victory. The association made good use of the story (click here to read it now, it’ll be worth it), but the sequence is pretty simple:
1) Member has problem with incorrect instructions for the use of FAA form 8130-3.
2) Member raises problem during symposium question-and-answer session.
3) FAA corrects problem with a memo 21 days later.
This kind of regulatory instant gratification is pretty satisfying. Three weeks is light-speed for government action.
In the MRO world, there are opportunities for success-through-engagement right around the corner:
- ARSA’s Annual Repair Symposium – March 18-20 – Arlington, Virginia.
- The Aviation Technician Education Council’s Annual Conference – April 11-14 – Orlando, Florida.
- MRO Americas (co-located with the Aerospace Maintenance Competition) – April 14-16 – Miami, Florida.
Come together with us. Individually, we complete work and serve customers. Together, we enhance the aviation industry and protect the flying public.
Brett Levanto is the Director of Operations at Obadal, Filler, MacLeod and Klein, the Virginia-based law firm that manages both the Aeronautical Repair Station Association and the Aviation Technician Education Council. Visit the global aviation maintenance industry’s information portal at avmro.ARSA.org.
