Project Tour: American Airlines

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Project Tour:

American Airlines Ground Equipment Maintenance Shop

Patrick Brown


“This is worthless f**kin’ s**t right here,” the West Crew Chief said with a snarled tone, pointing to the KPIs on the Story Board behind him. Turning to Bob but talking to the Shop Manager, he barked, “I need g*d d**m parts so I can get above his piss ant line here.” This was great! Progress at a new project isn’t always pretty but the underlying behaviors are beautiful.


I walked into the American Airlines DFW Ground Equipment Maintenance Shop with a vague understanding of the challenges they were facing. It was more challenging than I could have imagined. To say it was a “hostile work environment” wouldn’t capture what was truly going on. Of course you had the requisite management-worker tension found in most unionized environments, but it was the underlying issues that told a more foreboding tale. I witnessed damage caused by employee joy rides1 , man-lift “jousting”, “summer air conditioning”2, and new parts being thrown away to avoid work3. Before RLG’s arrival, managers at the shop weren’t much better. They had perfected a weaponized form of micromanagement— surgical email strikes combined with JDAM-esque face-to-face communication.

FAIR Model In Action From this backdrop, Bob Van Hees is showcasing the art of coaching, trying to tame a beast that would overpower a lesser man. Only five months in, I was particularly impressed with the progress he has made despite the challenges. When dropped into a situation such as this, Bob has shown how the FAIR model can be used as a map for success. The framework acts as a guide for implementing positive change in the most difficult environments. Focus After the initial assessment, Bob asked, “what are we trying to achieve?” It is important to find out what is truly important to the business because these are the key drivers you want to leverage going forward. After meeting with the Ground Equipment leadership team, three SMART goals were identified that would have maximum effect on the shop’s success: • • •

Preventive Maintenance (PM) compliance = 95% Annual PMs = 100% Out of service (OTS) <7%

A core problem for the shop was that the Annual PMs, if missed, don’t rollover to the next month. If the shop is busy and can’t complete the Annual PM, the next chance for it to be performed is the following year— where it is sometimes skipped again. This results in some Annual PMs not being done for years! Therefore, the next step was to prioritize the goals. The thought process was that if the shop could complete all of their Annual PMs it should result in fewer breakdowns and OTS equipment over the long haul. As a result, ofthe three goals, the main focus was on 100% Annual PM completion. This provided a laser-like focus going forward and gave a sense of control to an otherwise chaotic situation. Accountability: What’s the score? Next, Bob developed KPIs for each shift that showed their respective performance relative to the goals mentioned above. Because small wins are so important to maintain momentum, you must develop KPIs that capture incremental performance. Before RLG came on board the crews didn’t even think they had a problem. As the shift performance was dissected, the root of the problem became more apparent. The 2nd shift was missing a large part of their Annual PMs and dragging down the performance of the shop as a whole. The metrics became a tool that the shop’s leaders could use for having the important conversations about how to improve their performance. 1 2 3

Crashing, sideswiping and running over things for fun. This procedure involves kicking out the windshields and removing all the doors, only to complain later about being cold in the winter. But the work is signed off as being done.


Involvement The Focus and Accountability aspects of the FAIR model give you the time necessary to build the relationship with the client. You can’t rush this process and must ensure the relationship is in place before you move for significant change. At this step the leader must get out of his office and move to the floor, also known as “Management By Walking Around.” Getting the manager out on the floor where the work is being done is great, but what are they doing once they are out there? They must be having the crucial conversations and modeling the correct behavior. Additionally, the front-line must be able to make decisions which directly affect the results in their area of the business. Great examples of this aspect of the FAIR model were exhibited during the Crew Talks and Boardwalks I witnessed (discussed below). Response: After seeing the crew’s performance, what are you doing about it? No matter what the result, there must always be a timely response to link the Antecedent with the Consequence (ABC). This is the only way to change or encourage behavior. At the Ground Equipment Shop, the Shop Manager wanted to change the Shift Supervisor’s behavior but wasn’t giving him any feedback. Furthermore, the Manager would focus his attention solely on the few bad performers instead of those with perfect performance. Bob is coaching the Manager to incorporate more positive recognition into his interactions with the Shift Supervisor and front-line workers – to “catch people doing things right.” I saw a positive trend in this area and a genuine effort to change on the Manager’s part, a significant victory considering how unnatural it was for him. By using the FAIR model, you can change behavior that can lead to bottom line results. Going into a new environment, the model helps you formulate a coherent game plan by asking the right questions: What are the organization’s goals? Is there alignment throughout the organization pertaining to mission, vision, values, and goals? Are the goals being communicated consistently throughout the organization? Do the KPIs capture all the key drivers of the business? Are the KPIs relevant to the work the front-line is performing – can the workers influence the results? Are leaders getting out of the office and having the right conversations with their workers? Are leaders modeling the correct behavior? Are results being discussed? After seeing results, are they adjusting their action plans as necessary? Are they communicating expectations and following up with the assigned work with timely feedback?


Operating Rhythm Operating Rhythm provides structured time in which managers have the maximum potential to influence. These interactions focus on behavioral expectations that drive results. At DFW, I witnessed a budding Operating Rhythm implementation using Crew Talks, Boardwalks, and Business Reviews. Operating Rhythm implementation is fairly new at the Ground Equipment Maintenance shop. I am fortunate to have been able to see the implementation challenges that I would have otherwise missed on a more mature engagement. After implementing Crew Talks and Boardwalks on 2nd shift a few weeks earlier, an attempt was made to incorporate Crew Talks on 1st Shift. The South Crew Chief had expressed interest to Bob about starting Crew Talks for his shop but, on the Tuesday I arrived, he said he had changed his mind. On the surface you would think this Crew Chief had a bad attitude and doesn’t care. A few hours later……. “Bob! Your numbers are wrong!” challenged the South Crew Chief. Obviously he has been watching the board, albeit not openly until now. “We did four PMs yesterday, this only shows one!” Bob calmly suggested they go into the system and find out why. After researching, the database showed the crew had indeed finished four PMs yesterday but three weren’t closed out until today. Bob assured the Crew Chief that he would get credit tomorrow and the discrepancy reported to the Manager. This was great to see how even the biggest resistor can be emotionally connected to the “score.” These signals indicate you are on the right path and provide you with the energy necessary to forge ahead. I overheard a story from a mechanic who was upset that a Crew Chief, who was covering two shops, didn’t accurately credit work completed. The Crew Chief credited all the work done on the shift to his guys and didn’t report any work completed for the other shop. This showed up on the KPIs and caused people to get upset. Bob emphasized to me the importance of recognizing the emotional connection everyone has with the metrics and to ensure the accuracy of your data. 2nd shift, which Bob had been focusing on, was a much more refined operation when juxtaposed against the morning crew. The Crew Talk went well considering how new the process was for the Crew Chief. While his delivery was a bit rough, he hit all the high points regarding situational awareness, clarity of work assignments, and soliciting feedback from his crew. When asked if anyone had questions, a mechanic mentioned a problem he foresaw and immediately other members of the crew provided solutions. These are the conversations and behaviors we want to see! I was told this was a drastic improvement from the previous week, in which only half the guys would even show up (and those who did would be disrespectful, loud, and not pay attention). To solidify the Crew Chief ’s positive behaviors and consolidate his progress, Bob talked with the Crew Chief shortly after the meeting and gave him positive feedback as well as things to improve. Later, I saw members of the crew looking at the metrics during their free time — a first Bob would tell me when I inquired about this later. These “green shoots” are the beginnings of true behavioral change. Exciting stuff! The Boardwalk is critical component for this project’s success. A key challenge of this engagement is getting the Manager to model the correct behavior and not manage through email and fear. We can’t expect him to turn into Dr. Phil overnight; he needs time to build his underdeveloped people-skill muscles. The Boardwalk is a forum for him to practice his new behaviors multiple times a day and make incremental improvements over time. When the Manager walks out on the floor, he needs to realize the front-line workers take notice. They see him and the other leaders caring about Bob’s “piss ant” lines and, whether they like it or not, the front-line realizes that this is where they should put their effort in order to be rewarded.


Another issue is with the 2nd Shift Supervisor. In the past, by relying too heavily on his Crew Chiefs, he didn’t really understand his business. The Boardwalk, in effect, “forced” him to intimately understand the key drivers of his shop’s performance. While slightly uncomfortable presenting at the boards, the Shift Supervisor now seemed to have his finger on the pulse of his operation. He was being proactive in asking the right questions and looking ahead at bottlenecks down the line. These new behaviors will no doubt result in quantifiable performance gains. The Business Review is the newest aspect of the Operating Rhythm at the Ground Equipment Maintenance Shop. It is an essential part of the Operating Rhythm, allowing for a more macro-view of performance trends and the key issues affecting the business. I witnessed the sixth Business Review and saw the hurdles that must be overcome when introducing a new process. Whatever could have gone wrong did. First, the normal Business Review computer was missing and we had to track it down, eventually finding it being used for maintenance on the shop floor. The mechanics graciously (luckily?) offered it to us when they were done. When it came time for the review, the Manager was considerably late to the meeting, the on-coming Shift Supervisor was a no show, and the other Shift Supervisor was out on medical leave. This only left a few front-line team members and not much value was added. Bob did an excellent job with what he had and is refining the process going forward. I was very impressed with Bob’s ability to build relationships with the workers in the Ground Equipment Maintenance Shop. He is working with a difficult group of unionized workers but you can see that he is slowly winning them over one shift at a time. On my last day a worker asked to speak with Bob privately after the Crew Talk. The mechanic was upset with an underperforming team member and was frustrated with management’s lack of response to his complaints. For the mechanic to be so open with Bob there must be a genuine level of trust that has to be cultivated over time. This really summed up the reason for Bob’s effectiveness — building authentic relationships with all members of the team, from the very top to the very bottom.

Other Key Take-Aways from the Project Tour: •

Build relationships first — you can’t be effective without first establishing client trust.

My most important tool is listening — first understand the client, understand their pain and get a sense of what is happening.

Treat the project as if it’s your business — you can make it or break it.

Celebrate the small wins to gain momentum — you can’t expect 100% buy-in immediately. You must celebrate every “victory” no matter how small. This will give you the credibility needed to push for more change.

Operating Rhythm is not a rigid process — the different aspects of OR must be customized according to the client’s needs and the situation on the ground.

Workers are emotionally connected to your metrics — always double-check the accuracy of your data!

Be humble, don’t take credit, set up your client to win — recognition of others is a powerful tool for building momentum for change. A coach’s job satisfaction must come from helping others be successful.


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