Articles for category Maintenance Minute
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Nov
29
2021
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Posted by Admin
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“Times change.” I’ve heard that saying all my life. “Improvise, Adapt and Overcome” is the unofficial mantra of the U.S. Marine Corps. When I maintained an S76C+ in a former position, our mantra was, “We’re fluid because flexible is too rigid”. The ability to adapt in any situation is crucial. A paradigm shift can sometimes be the only obstacle between success and failure.
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Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
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Maintenance Minute
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Oct
25
2021
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Posted by Admin
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If you have read my articles in recent months, you know I have talked a lot about character, integrity, and other such tools to have in your toolbox to help you have a successful career as an aircraft maintenance technician. Those are all essential. An often overlooked, but critical tool to have at your disposal is an experienced mentor.
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Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute
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Aug
30
2021
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Posted by Admin
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It was an ordinary day and I was having an ordinary lunch with my friend. Something we do each week to break up the day, share some laughs and conduct some business. Today, it was double patty melt day at our favorite hole in the wall restaurant. It is the hard-to-find, off the beaten path restaurant where everyone knows your name and you know them too. When the server returned with my friend’s patty melt, he quickly surveyed his sandwich and quipped, “Hey, you forgot to add mayo.” In one motion she whirled around and without hesitating she replied, “It’s not my responsibility to manage your sandwich.” He was left speechless, but I could not hold back my laughter.
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Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute
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Jul
26
2021
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Posted by Admin
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Several years ago, I attended an aircraft maintenance course designed for a specific model of aircraft. On day one, the instructor told the class that in the classroom environment we would only retain twenty percent of the information that we would be taught. I promptly raised my hand and asked if we would receive an eighty percent refund. Everyone laughed except the instructor. In the years that have followed, the only thing I remember about that class is that statement.
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Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute
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Jun
27
2021
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Posted by Admin
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Adversity…we can try to run from it, but it is in the adversity that we find growth and ultimately, we find excellence. Leadership coach Les Brown says that there is greatness inside us all. I believe that is true, but I also believe that greatness is revealed through the pain and suffering of adversity.
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Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute
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Apr
26
2021
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Posted by Admin
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It all began with a motivational poster bought from the trunk of a car. That poster hung on my bedroom wall for years, positioned so it would be the last thing I saw before going to sleep and the first thing I saw upon waking up. (No, I was not married at the time.) These seven words I saw and contemplated multiple times every day:
Change Your Thoughts and Change Your World.
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Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute
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Mar
22
2021
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Posted by Admin
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I recently came across an unsigned quote about professionalism. It read, “We do not convey professionalism by loud talk or fast work. We do convey that we are professional by demonstrating that there is only black and white, right and wrong, one way and one way only; by thinking ahead, double checking, asking when we are not sure, being responsible for our actions and not assuming anything!” In fact, the dictionary defines professionalism as the competence or skill expected of a professional and goes on to say that professionalism is the key to quality and efficiency. Personally, I believe professionalism goes far beyond competence and skill but most assuredly effects quality and efficiency. As a professional helicopter mechanic, how do you demonstrate your professionalism? What does the top of your toolbox look like? What about your work area? Do you empty the trash cans, or do they spill over on the hangar floor? Do you clean the helicopter windows before the pilot arrives? Do the little things matter to you? I was taught that you never get a second chance to make a first impression so… yes, the little things always matter. When I look in my box of essential tools I will ask if my professionalism passes the test. Will my speech pass the professional communication test? Am I committed to my customers and employees? Am I growing both personally and professionally?
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Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute
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Feb
22
2021
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Posted by Admin
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I recall starting the day with excitement, yet nervous anticipation as my civilian helicopter maintenance career began. As a young man, I didn't have a taller-than-me stacked toolbox filled with every possible combination of tools one can imagine. What I had was a two-drawer portable toolbox that was stocked with the bare minimum. When my new boss and future mentor saw this, he asked, “What are you going to do with those plow tools?” By his raw honesty, he certainly succeeded in his intent to change my perspective. If I was going to be a professional aircraft mechanic, then I had to be equipped for the role.
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Customer Service
Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute
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Jan
22
2021
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Posted by Admin
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It was April 1990 and my day one as a new helicopter mechanic for Carraway Methodist Medical Center. I was not quite thirty years old and had previously served in the US Air Force and for the helicopter maintenance contractor at Fort Rucker. My prior duty and experience were to support and defend and train but at Carraway it was helicopter emergency medical service. With no idea what was about to happen or how it would impact my life and work and even my view of life, the squelch of the radio broke the silence with” Scramble Lifesaver, Scramble Lifesaver - self-inflicted gunshot - Scramble Lifesaver.”.
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Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute
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Dec
28
2020
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Posted by Admin
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My first exposure to aviation began in the U.S. Air Force. When training in my chosen field was postponed, I was asked to crosstrain to a secondary career field. “We really need aircraft mechanics,” I was told. I readily agreed, and so the adventure began. Later, as a crew chief for the F16 Fighting Falcon, I quickly learned the importance of marshaling aircraft and the use of hand signals…flight controls-check, speed brake-check, stop, go, chock, and the aircraft salute. Little did I know at the time that these simple hand signals would become part of an especially important essential tool that we must use every day. We have already discussed the tool of integrity: doing the right thing, and the tool of commitment: the fuel for action. Let us now look at the essential tool of communication.
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Tags:
Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute