2023 AMT 40 Under 40 Maintenance Professional: Dylan Trochim — Airframe Team Leader, Textron/Embraer, Duncan Aviation, Provo, Utah

A year after Dylan Trochim joined Duncan Aviation’s Textron team in Provo, Utah, as lead technician, the team increased the work it performed by 96% and its ELR (effective labor rate) by 36%. During that time, the Textron team added Embraer aircraft to their core work, and Trochim, who had previously gained Textron and Embraer experience at Duncan Aviation in Lincoln, Nebraska, became the Textron/Embraer team leader in Provo. The next year (2022), the team increased its work completed by an additional 38%, while maintaining the same ELR. This year, the team is on track to again increase the number and size of their projects.  

Since Trochim has been the team leader, the team's actual/standard time for quoted work has dropped from 128% to 109%, even with the team’s additional workload.  

Despite staying roughly the same size, the team is getting more efficient. “We’re able to do maintenance scopes quicker just through experience and managing our time well,” he said. 

As the administrator for the Duncan Aviation Provo Engine Run and Taxi Program, Trochim tracks who is run qualified and up to date and thoroughly documents training. He teaches the initial training course, and when he noticed team members in the cockpit struggling with talking on radios during test runs, he started a class on how to safely monitor and talk on the radios and interact with air traffic control. As a pilot, he has had lots of experience talking on radios. 

Trochim understands that for a team to stay efficient, others must be ready to lead. He is creating an empowering culture for his 11-member team. 

“My personal goal is to be replaceable,” he said. “What I don’t want to happen, if I leave, is my team falls apart because I was doing too much and the leadership was all on me.”