The future of the Indonesian Aviation System – Arising from the Ashes?
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"Lack of parts records and control is also blamed on the owners, leaving the parts preman to do his misdeeds."
The problem is abuse of trust , I had an incident where 80kg of aircraft bolts (around 2,000 bolts) went missing out of the warehouse , as the owner I noticed that a large box that was full to the brim a few weeks was now almost empty and we hadn't sold any of those bolts in the last few weeks.
I called the staff in 1 by 1 (I have 10 staff) and as usual nobody knew anything. Then a staff meeting was held where I said last chance for whoever did it to come clean and own up , if they apologised to me and the other staff the matter would be closed . Nobody stepped forward. So I cut everyone's salary for 3 months until it was paid back and said if it happens a 2nd time I would charge 2 times the value of the bolts and if it happened a 3rd time I would fire everyone and find new staff. The Ops Manager objected to the fact that I didn't include a new staff member who had only been in the company a few days in this punishment , I thought it was odd at the time but as 'cultural issues' were his call the new guy was included also (which I thought was unfair).
5 months later there was another issue on falsified overtime sheets and I fired my 'right hand man' the ops manager whom I had known for 9 years and who was the last person I expected to be the culprit , he also felt he was indispensible is my guess , I also fired his younger brother and cousin who where working in the company and were his henchmen. He was getting staff to claim bogus overtime on outside projects and then pocketing 100% of the overtime for himself . When I asked him who's decision was it that he is to be fired he said mine , no I said , it was your decision when you decided to start stealing .
When I first met this guy I tested his honesty on a number of occassions and he always came through with the truth , his honesty not his qualifications (he also spoke reasonably good English) was why he ended up in that position.
Over the years I had helped this guy pay for his wedding , bought him a motorbike and helped his family financially on many occassions. He was being paid on average IDR 5 million per month and my best guess is stealing another 5 to 10 million a month through mark ups and side commissions on purchases.
When I asked him why after all I had done for him and his family his answer (which he yelled) was 'Itu HAK saya !' (It is my right !)
After he was gone security owned up (there is 24 hr security at our office/warehouse) and admitted that this guy had a secret spare key and was often in the warehouse after midnight. It was never reported they said as they were afraid for their jobs (I'm getting cameras put in with a webcam link now).
As for the poor new guy in the bolt case got his cut salary returned to him as I always felt it was unfair to him. It was a good move as he spilled the beans on a few other scams.
For now things have settled down and the staff know I wont tolerate theft or lies
Can any Indonesians explain why it is his RIGHT / HAK to rip me off ? Is it because I am a foreigner doing business in his country ? Or is it a more cultural thing as now he is a little 'boss' he has the right to scam and steal.
Now I know why Indonesian business owners are so damn hard on their staff and why they insist on a central point of control which really slows down approvals and getting things done, too many bad experiences I guess
The problem is abuse of trust , I had an incident where 80kg of aircraft bolts (around 2,000 bolts) went missing out of the warehouse , as the owner I noticed that a large box that was full to the brim a few weeks was now almost empty and we hadn't sold any of those bolts in the last few weeks.
I called the staff in 1 by 1 (I have 10 staff) and as usual nobody knew anything. Then a staff meeting was held where I said last chance for whoever did it to come clean and own up , if they apologised to me and the other staff the matter would be closed . Nobody stepped forward. So I cut everyone's salary for 3 months until it was paid back and said if it happens a 2nd time I would charge 2 times the value of the bolts and if it happened a 3rd time I would fire everyone and find new staff. The Ops Manager objected to the fact that I didn't include a new staff member who had only been in the company a few days in this punishment , I thought it was odd at the time but as 'cultural issues' were his call the new guy was included also (which I thought was unfair).
5 months later there was another issue on falsified overtime sheets and I fired my 'right hand man' the ops manager whom I had known for 9 years and who was the last person I expected to be the culprit , he also felt he was indispensible is my guess , I also fired his younger brother and cousin who where working in the company and were his henchmen. He was getting staff to claim bogus overtime on outside projects and then pocketing 100% of the overtime for himself . When I asked him who's decision was it that he is to be fired he said mine , no I said , it was your decision when you decided to start stealing .
When I first met this guy I tested his honesty on a number of occassions and he always came through with the truth , his honesty not his qualifications (he also spoke reasonably good English) was why he ended up in that position.
Over the years I had helped this guy pay for his wedding , bought him a motorbike and helped his family financially on many occassions. He was being paid on average IDR 5 million per month and my best guess is stealing another 5 to 10 million a month through mark ups and side commissions on purchases.
When I asked him why after all I had done for him and his family his answer (which he yelled) was 'Itu HAK saya !' (It is my right !)
After he was gone security owned up (there is 24 hr security at our office/warehouse) and admitted that this guy had a secret spare key and was often in the warehouse after midnight. It was never reported they said as they were afraid for their jobs (I'm getting cameras put in with a webcam link now).
As for the poor new guy in the bolt case got his cut salary returned to him as I always felt it was unfair to him. It was a good move as he spilled the beans on a few other scams.
For now things have settled down and the staff know I wont tolerate theft or lies
Can any Indonesians explain why it is his RIGHT / HAK to rip me off ? Is it because I am a foreigner doing business in his country ? Or is it a more cultural thing as now he is a little 'boss' he has the right to scam and steal.
Now I know why Indonesian business owners are so damn hard on their staff and why they insist on a central point of control which really slows down approvals and getting things done, too many bad experiences I guess
Last edited by aseanaero; 19th Apr 2008 at 03:17.
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Drawing out from my 'micro' experiences of the aviation industry the same issues are true for the bigger picture
I was asked during an interview on Radio Republic Indonesia some years ago what is different between the leadership of Indonesia , Malaysia and Singapore and the differences in perceived wealth , legal justice and standard of living since independence in each country.
My carefully worded answer was "In Sinapore and Malaysia the 'top echelons' are also incredibly wealthy, the difference is that wealth was derived from thinking what is good for the country as a whole first and then how the 'top echelons' can make money from it , in this country somewhere along the line that has been forgotten"
Indonesia needs the national pride again to do what is best for the country long term , make some good long term decisions for a modest short term personal gain , not stupid long term decisions for a better short term gain for a small bunch of individuals
For the current President of ROI I have a lot of respect , he is a realist and as an ex general he knows the workings of the military also which is essential for any president here, if anyone can get the message across he can and I think he's doing his best but its going to take a long time not 1 Presidential term. I actually had meetings with SBY on two occassions in 2000 before he was President , he's a street smart guy who knows what he's up against
There is corruption and vested interest decisions in every country , in our Asian neghbours they keep it will hidden and have good 'PR' to keep the dumb whities and Japanese to keep investing . Singapore has done a fantastic job in becoming the 'Switzerland of Asia' but just like Switzerland the dirty stuff is kept well hidden. The Singaporeans also have a good education system , cheap or free IMPROVED and higher standard of education for all Indonesians is probably the most effective way of improving all aspects of business and government services.
In the meantime I'll keep figthing my smaller battles , to the outside World things may not look much better here but it is slowly improving on the regulatory side and in operator aspects but it will take at least 10 years to see a dramatic improvement.
The next biggest hurdle will be who is going to fix the aircraft , has anyone else noticed that 80% of the engineers on the field are 5 to 10 years from retirement age ? I have yet to meet a young apprentice engineer on an airfield even though they are pouring out of the universities and technical colleges each year . I have a part-time engineer on staff and he is one of the youngest (and best) I have met but he is in his mid thirties.
...
I was asked during an interview on Radio Republic Indonesia some years ago what is different between the leadership of Indonesia , Malaysia and Singapore and the differences in perceived wealth , legal justice and standard of living since independence in each country.
My carefully worded answer was "In Sinapore and Malaysia the 'top echelons' are also incredibly wealthy, the difference is that wealth was derived from thinking what is good for the country as a whole first and then how the 'top echelons' can make money from it , in this country somewhere along the line that has been forgotten"
Indonesia needs the national pride again to do what is best for the country long term , make some good long term decisions for a modest short term personal gain , not stupid long term decisions for a better short term gain for a small bunch of individuals
For the current President of ROI I have a lot of respect , he is a realist and as an ex general he knows the workings of the military also which is essential for any president here, if anyone can get the message across he can and I think he's doing his best but its going to take a long time not 1 Presidential term. I actually had meetings with SBY on two occassions in 2000 before he was President , he's a street smart guy who knows what he's up against
There is corruption and vested interest decisions in every country , in our Asian neghbours they keep it will hidden and have good 'PR' to keep the dumb whities and Japanese to keep investing . Singapore has done a fantastic job in becoming the 'Switzerland of Asia' but just like Switzerland the dirty stuff is kept well hidden. The Singaporeans also have a good education system , cheap or free IMPROVED and higher standard of education for all Indonesians is probably the most effective way of improving all aspects of business and government services.
In the meantime I'll keep figthing my smaller battles , to the outside World things may not look much better here but it is slowly improving on the regulatory side and in operator aspects but it will take at least 10 years to see a dramatic improvement.
The next biggest hurdle will be who is going to fix the aircraft , has anyone else noticed that 80% of the engineers on the field are 5 to 10 years from retirement age ? I have yet to meet a young apprentice engineer on an airfield even though they are pouring out of the universities and technical colleges each year . I have a part-time engineer on staff and he is one of the youngest (and best) I have met but he is in his mid thirties.
...
Last edited by aseanaero; 19th Apr 2008 at 03:26.
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Aseanaero,
Heck I dunno. Had it done to me too many times, and at one stage, an Aussie who had been "localized"... Abuses of trust in Indonesia, unfortunately, is not limited to the locals.
One plausible theory, to which many subscribe to but refuse to admit to is, that the culture in the last 10 years is more like, "OK, the old guys has had their chance, now it's my chance. It's my right at this time! Next time, it's guys who replaces me."
At one business recently, the business was a struggle. Staff salaries couldn't be updated. So, we allowed the staff to do their own businesses outside the company to prevent them from falling behind inflation, on condition that their outside activities does not involve company paperwork. In the meantime, I prepared the business for a new partner to go in. He also agreed that since the staff is underskilled, that he would train them and will not fire anyone until the training is done.
Within weeks, the staff complained of the guy's silly decisions. Well, I never trusted the guy's intentions regarding the staff anyways. However, one guy ending up getting fired after everyone dunked him in the cold about outside activities. On his last day, he (happens to be a personal friend of mine), revealed everyone's dirty deeds. When someone complains, I just answered, "I gave you all a chance, on how we can all survive this, but you decided to abuse it, and now you're paying for it with your hands tied to the desk (thanks to the new partner)." The amount of money they siphoned off using company paperwork was actually enough to prevent the company having the new partner to join in, serves them right. I left... never wanted to be there in the first place.
Such common sense is so hard to come by around here... It's funny how in one case, someone was complaining that his case of corruption was being chased while others weren't... his was a "silly long term decision for better short term gain" while the other that was "ignored" was "good long term decision for modest short term personal gain"... so KPK chased the former and warned the latter.
Sad isn't it. The guys 5 - 10 years from retirement are either very honest, our outstanding crooks, and it's very hard to see which one they are. Despite shortages of engineers in the airfields, young aero-engineers pouring out of the universities and tech colleges are ending up anywhere other than the airfield because the working conditions and salaries are often more attractive... leaving the airfield to the idiots and crooks in most cases...
PK-KAR
Can any Indonesians explain why it is his RIGHT / HAK to rip me off ?
One plausible theory, to which many subscribe to but refuse to admit to is, that the culture in the last 10 years is more like, "OK, the old guys has had their chance, now it's my chance. It's my right at this time! Next time, it's guys who replaces me."
At one business recently, the business was a struggle. Staff salaries couldn't be updated. So, we allowed the staff to do their own businesses outside the company to prevent them from falling behind inflation, on condition that their outside activities does not involve company paperwork. In the meantime, I prepared the business for a new partner to go in. He also agreed that since the staff is underskilled, that he would train them and will not fire anyone until the training is done.
Within weeks, the staff complained of the guy's silly decisions. Well, I never trusted the guy's intentions regarding the staff anyways. However, one guy ending up getting fired after everyone dunked him in the cold about outside activities. On his last day, he (happens to be a personal friend of mine), revealed everyone's dirty deeds. When someone complains, I just answered, "I gave you all a chance, on how we can all survive this, but you decided to abuse it, and now you're paying for it with your hands tied to the desk (thanks to the new partner)." The amount of money they siphoned off using company paperwork was actually enough to prevent the company having the new partner to join in, serves them right. I left... never wanted to be there in the first place.
Indonesia needs the national pride again to do what is best for the country long term , make some good long term decisions for a modest short term personal gain , not stupid long term decisions for a better short term gain for a small bunch of individuals
The next biggest hurdle will be who is going to fix the aircraft , has anyone else noticed that 80% of the engineers on the field are 5 to 10 years from retirement age ? I have yet to meet a young apprentice engineer on an airfield even though they are pouring out of the universities and technical colleges each year . I have a part-time engineer on staff and he is one of the youngest (and best) I have met but he is in his mid thirties.
PK-KAR
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Still troubled
PK-KAR and ASEANAERO,
You seem to have much insight in the world of flying, so therefore allow me to ask you smething,
I don't see any progress, because reading the news from April 15th,
http://www.banjarmasinpost.co.id/ind...pdf=1&id=26607
http://www.kompas.com/index.php/read...wat.bermasalah.
http://www.inilah.com/berita.php?id=22977
that from 8 aircraft 4 have been barred from flying and 4 others had defects that needed to be repaired in less than 10 days, there seems to be no improvement at all, or I am mistaken?
Dungdang
You seem to have much insight in the world of flying, so therefore allow me to ask you smething,
I don't see any progress, because reading the news from April 15th,
http://www.banjarmasinpost.co.id/ind...pdf=1&id=26607
http://www.kompas.com/index.php/read...wat.bermasalah.
http://www.inilah.com/berita.php?id=22977
that from 8 aircraft 4 have been barred from flying and 4 others had defects that needed to be repaired in less than 10 days, there seems to be no improvement at all, or I am mistaken?
Dungdang
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Of those cases on the 15th April ramp check...
-YVE RTBs YET AGAIN! Other airlines here was offered this A320 but declined on grounds of age and concerns on its serviceability... only Batavia was "daring" enough to take it... guess what, -YVE is costing them a LOT of money (it had almost total HYD fail on it's delivery flight... that was a sign of things to come)...
You may find it hard to believe, BUT, 8 aircraft... it IS an improvement... previous unnounced publicity ramp checks had at least a dozen, and of worse cases than those found on 15th April, like... finding a dozen Cat A problems in a day. As little as 3 months ago, we'd have about 10 RTB's and RTA's a day in Jakarta alone on a "not so good but not too bad days". 4 Cat As (2 Batavia, 2 Lion... is HARDLY a surprise) and 4 Cat Cs (it's 1 Sriwijaya and 3 Air Asia (journalistic error on the Wings Air part). The 4 Cat Cs I am told, were due in to have the problems rectified even before the DGAC did its inspections.
Naughty airlines are finding it harder and harder to keep up as their maintenance costs increase.
But then, only this weekend I heard of 2 cases where DGAC inspectors were basically trying to find faults that are seemingly beyond this world... One tried to ground an aircraft with unserviceable logo lights, another tried to ground several non-FMC 732s because "adding GPS to the aircraft is illegal" *bangs head on table*.
I think airlines should start offering brown envelopes for inspectors who does inspections correctly instead of offering the envelopes to make the problem go away or delay the problem. The salaries of those inspectors are dismal by local standards, so some have to rely on the brown envelopes to survive. "Brown envelopes for doing their jobs properly" seems to be a good idea when discussing it with an accident investigator, but we think it'll be a nightmare for a while yet.
A bigger problem that is still occuring is unstable approaches. Sriwijaya had an overrun the other week on it's 733 (-CJC), mind you, the Captain is ex GA and a recent addition to the airline while the F/O is reported to be a DGAC pilot. Crew shortages are making it hard for Sriwijaya to standardize the -300 crew into their company culture. The NTSC report on that incident will, yet again, focus on crew training and the DGAC... *sigh*
PK-KAR
-YVE RTBs YET AGAIN! Other airlines here was offered this A320 but declined on grounds of age and concerns on its serviceability... only Batavia was "daring" enough to take it... guess what, -YVE is costing them a LOT of money (it had almost total HYD fail on it's delivery flight... that was a sign of things to come)...
You may find it hard to believe, BUT, 8 aircraft... it IS an improvement... previous unnounced publicity ramp checks had at least a dozen, and of worse cases than those found on 15th April, like... finding a dozen Cat A problems in a day. As little as 3 months ago, we'd have about 10 RTB's and RTA's a day in Jakarta alone on a "not so good but not too bad days". 4 Cat As (2 Batavia, 2 Lion... is HARDLY a surprise) and 4 Cat Cs (it's 1 Sriwijaya and 3 Air Asia (journalistic error on the Wings Air part). The 4 Cat Cs I am told, were due in to have the problems rectified even before the DGAC did its inspections.
Naughty airlines are finding it harder and harder to keep up as their maintenance costs increase.
But then, only this weekend I heard of 2 cases where DGAC inspectors were basically trying to find faults that are seemingly beyond this world... One tried to ground an aircraft with unserviceable logo lights, another tried to ground several non-FMC 732s because "adding GPS to the aircraft is illegal" *bangs head on table*.
I think airlines should start offering brown envelopes for inspectors who does inspections correctly instead of offering the envelopes to make the problem go away or delay the problem. The salaries of those inspectors are dismal by local standards, so some have to rely on the brown envelopes to survive. "Brown envelopes for doing their jobs properly" seems to be a good idea when discussing it with an accident investigator, but we think it'll be a nightmare for a while yet.
A bigger problem that is still occuring is unstable approaches. Sriwijaya had an overrun the other week on it's 733 (-CJC), mind you, the Captain is ex GA and a recent addition to the airline while the F/O is reported to be a DGAC pilot. Crew shortages are making it hard for Sriwijaya to standardize the -300 crew into their company culture. The NTSC report on that incident will, yet again, focus on crew training and the DGAC... *sigh*
PK-KAR
