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Old 28th Mar 2008, 07:34
  #205 (permalink)  
42psi
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: UK
Age: 67
Posts: 258
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I'd venture that the next few days will see each of the service partners "spinning" that somehow the other was the major problem.

My experience of new launches (routes or terminals) is that at start up you should go in mob handed - you just know the unexpected will happen.

You don't want the launch to go wrong - everyone will assume you've made your best effort - if it goes wrong you've set the pattern and proven you're hopeless. It'll take months if not years (if ever) to recover that reputation.


As for it being the baggage system or the folks operating it ... I can give you personal experience.

Airport: it's the airline/handling agent who don't have sufficient staff/training/equipment......

Airline/Handling Agent: the baggage system is sending stuff all over the place. We can't load the bags into the correct uld/bag truck 'cause that's 1/2 mile away at the correct chute. Eventually the system grinds to a halt as the "wrong" bags at the "wrong" place eventually mean you can't get at the chute to empty it.....

Airport: See, we told you so. If you had more staff at the chute it wouldn't stop the system.

Airline/Handling Agent: We had adequate staff, the sytem went wrong. (Note the word adequate - it's deliberate and means just enough - you need to see extra/plenty/additional etc actually stated)

Oh .. and the experts that run the baggage system will point out that it's self measuring systems tell them which bags go to the wrong place and it's less than x% ..... yep, it will tell them about the ones where it couldn't read the label .... not the one's where it misread the label, thought it got it right but sent it to the wrong place!!



As for making changes etc.... surely they reach a point in the planning/execution where they say ... right that bit's OK ... no further changes are allowed now or we can't be assured of this portion...... for better or worse this bit now stays as it is. Question then is asked ... as it stands is this section go/no-go. If the reply is no-go - the whole show stops.


Perhaps we have here a partial explanation of the dysfunction between airport/aviation management groups and the workforce (flight crew/ground staff).

On the whole those involved at the sharp end balance the need to get the job done against safety considerations .... eg. everyone is usually concious of the dangers of "get-home-itis".

The only focus and objective of the current management culture is "get-home-itis" at all costs.

The result is IR in turmoil and projects which fall apart from the start .... the management culture just can't get their heads around the concepts...
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