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Expert in Airline/Aviation/Aircraft Maintenance/Repair/Overhaul (MRO) Management and Power Plant Engineering
Available for your Consulting and Expert Witness Needs
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| Summary of Expertise: |
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Primary Expertise Areas:
(links show more experts in each area)
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Expertise Description: |
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aircraft engine expert
aircraft gas-turbine engine expert
airplane engine expert
jet engine expert
jet turbine expert
turbofan expert
turbojet engine expert
aviation science expert
aircraft code expert |
Expert has spent over 40 years working with aircraft engines. He started out with a comprehensive five-year English apprenticeship in manufacturing and maintaining aircraft gas turbines; he then spent 14 years as a manufacturer's service representative providing technical support to operators. Next, he spent eight years as an airline power plant engineer responsible for the in-service monitoring and maintenance programs on various engine types. From there, Expert moved into management of the engine overhaul shops, ending up as the Director in charge of all aspects of the airline engine and component maintenance. Using his background knowledge of gas turbine engines, he established an aircraft engine maintenance management team that maintained one of the highest levels of engine reliability and lowest engine costs in the industry. |
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aircraft engine diagnostics expert |
As an airline power plant engineer, Expert wrote the in-service monitoring schedule for engines, which included interpreting the OEM-provided computer-based performance trending and module analysis, as well as physical inspections such as oil and magnetic chip analysis, and boroscope and isotope inspections. He established a reputation for being able to determine incipient engine failures and pull the engine before expensive secondary damage occurred. He was able to pass this skill on to his successors so that they, too, became proficient. |
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aircraft engine failure analysis expert |
Expert notes that when an aircraft engine fails, the resulting tangle of torn metal requires considerable experience to know what to look for. After many years of examining engines in the overhaul shop, Expert is able to zero in on the symptoms most likely to lead to the primary failure. His skill at determining the causes of failure has been recognized by OEMs and airworthiness authorities alike, and has resulted in demand for his services as a technical expert in legal cases. Some of his successes include:
1) Identifying causes of a turbine blade failure problem in a major US airline, that saved Rolls-Royce $1,000,000 in warranty claims.
2) Identifying a shop problem as the cause of a high rate of RB211 vibration failures in Eastern Airlines.
3) Identifying the cause of a series of engine failures in People Express as cleverly concealed sabotage, resulting in the FBI taking over the case. Pratt & Whitney presented Expert with a plaque in recognition of his contribution.
4) Expert was a technical expert to the litigant in a lawsuit that involved a five-year investigation of an engine failure causing the loss of an aircraft. The findings resulted in the defendant settling the lawsuit out of court. |
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aircraft engine maintenance management expert
aircraft engine maintenance expert |
Expert's experience in aircraft engine maintenance management includes engineering of engine maintenance management programs as well as the management of the facilities providing the maintenance. For the most cost effective program overall, it requires the balancing of capital costs in facilities and spares inventory versus the contract costs of outsourcing maintenance, at the same time as balancing the cost of desired quality level versus the cost of sacrificing reliability. By his involvement in the airline maintenance board, Expert was able to strike the best balance for his airline, and has the experience required to tailor programs to the circumstances of individual customers. Some examples:
1) Canadian Airlines International DC10 non-stop flights from Vancouver to Hong Kong were suffering a 60% rate of having to make technical fuel stops in Taipei during the winter months of adverse headwinds. In response to this, Expert led a team that developed a CF6-50 "Superbuild" program that reduced the requirement for fuel stops from 60% in 1990 to 20% in 1992.
2) The USAF Command Post fleet CF6-50 engine overhaul contract was up for bids in 1991. Because of the sensitive nature of this fleet, the contract was normally restricted to "Continental USA only", but under NORAD agreements, Canada was allowed to bid. When the USAF saw the results of the Canadian "Superbuild" program, they awarded the contract to Canadian Airlines. They were so satisfied with the contract that five years later, when they contracted out the Command Post fleet maintenance to Boeing, they instructed Boeing "to make sure Canadian keeps the engine contract."
3) During Expert's spell from 1981 to 1986 as JT8D power plant engineer, he developed a workscope that increased the JT8D average time between shop visits from 3500 hours to 7100 hours. Direct engine operating costs came down from $60 to $35/hour (excluding LLPs).
4) In 1995, Delta Airlines visited Canadian on a benchmarking exercise, and were intrigued by Canadian's low costs. Delta ended up adopting the Canadian program originally developed by Expert.
5) Hawaiian Airlines, with their short stage lengths and resulting high cyclic usage, were dissatisfied with the reliability of their JT8D engines. They were averaging only about 1200 cycles between shop visits. In 1996/97 they sent a number engines to Canadian for overhaul. By 2000, the only Canadian overhauled engine removal was for time expiry at 10,000 cycles since last shop visit, and all the other Canadian overhauled engines were still in service.
6) For the first 6 years after introduction of the CF6-80C2 engine on 767 and 747 aircraft, Expert had to explain to the company president why the engine had not cost as much as the OEM had predicted. Costs had been minimized by switching engines from the high rated 767 to the lower rated 747 fleet in an innovative program that effectively gave the 747 a free ride. |
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competitive benchmarking expert |
Competitive benchmarking of aircraft engine costs has always been fraught with problems due to different accounting systems used by different operators. In 1994, a group of airlines and OEMs formed the Atlanta Working Group (AWG) to sort out these problems. Expert was a leading member of this group. Over the three years of its activity, the group identified all the problems and suggested solutions. At one AWG meeting, Expert presented a paper on accounting for repairables that he had introduced in Canadian Airlines. British Airways recommended this paper to Qantas, which resulted in Qantas visiting Expert in Vancouver and adopting a system based on his presentation.
In 1995, Canadian Airlines hired an internationally renowned consultancy to do some company-wide benchmarking. Unfortunately, without the benefit of the AWG findings they got the engine costs benchmarking all wrong. Expert was immediately able to identify the errors they had made and present correct comparisons. |
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gas turbine engine expert |
In addition to the use of gas turbine engines in aircraft, aircraft gas turbines started being adapted to industrial applications in the early 1960's. Expert's first job with Rolls-Royce in 1965 was to provide technical support to North American operators of the Industrial Avon engine. The engine had been sold as a gas generator, for natural gas pipeline pumps, with an 8000-hour warranty, but was achieving only about 1200 hours between failures. By 1969, an Avon had achieved 23,500 hours without removal and the Industrial Avon went ahead to capture 75% of the aircraft derivative gas generator market by the mid 1970s. Expert was credited with playing a major part in this early success with his detailed reporting of defects and suggestions for quick fixes. But his biggest contribution was convincing the Rolls-Royce aircraft engine oriented development engineers back in the UK to abandon the cautious life development sample method of extending engine life, in vogue at the time, for condition monitoring. He was able to do this based on his intimate knowledge of the condition trends in the engine. This enabled the Avon to streak ahead of its competition in time between shop visits as service bulletins took effect.
After 1979, when Expert had joined Canadian Pacific Airlines, he adapted the same philosophy to the 737 fleet and doubled the average time between shop visits of the JT8D engine. These are but two examples of Expert's willingness to "break the mold" and examine what is really required. |
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aircraft MRO shop turn time reduction expert |
Expert has eight years experience of running an engine shop and component shops, working with shop floor personnel to achieve reduced turn times by up to 60%. As part of an airline maintenance organization, he has the experience to know how to balance the cost of reducing turntime versus the cost of taking no action. He has also consulted for MTU Canada to identify the steps needed to reduce turn times, and has the knowledge to develop critical path plans for an MRO activity, and translate those plans into manpower, plant and pool spares requirements. Expert notes that aircraft MRO (Maintenance/Repair/Overhaul) shops, whether major airframe hangars or engine shops, or minor component facilities such as for coffeemakers, need to reduce turn times to an absolute minimum to remain competitive. There are three main elements to reducing turn time: planning, capacity, and money. Critical path planning and anticipation of snags with a plan to overcome them, constant monitoring of parts through the system to identify minor delays and correct them before they become a major bottleneck, are the first key to turn time optimization. With the best planning in the world, delays will still occur if the physical capacity of any step of the process is either inadequate or only just theoretically adequate. MRO activity has too many variables to operate smoothly at theoretical capacity without creating bottlenecks. Extra backup capacity is needed, whether in the form of extra shifts, capital equipment or spares pools. This is where the third element comes in—money. To reduce turn time is going to cost money, either for extra direct or indirect manpower, or for capital equipment, or for additional spares pools, or all three. Not to reduce turn time is also going to cost money in non-productive downtime and/or extra spares requirements. If the customer, whether internal or external, has to pay these costs, he is going to seek alternative MRO support elsewhere. |
| Show Secondary and Basic Areas of Expertise |
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Degree |
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Subject |
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Institution |
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1972
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B.Sc.
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Mechanical Engineering
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Concordia University
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| Years |
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Employer |
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Department |
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Title |
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Responsibilities |
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1997 to
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(Undisclosed Consulting Company)
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President
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Expert provides consulting services on aircraft power plant maintenance and maintenance shop (MRO) management, and technical expertise in legal cases.
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1988 to 1996
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Canadian Airlines International
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Maintenance and Engineering
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Director, Engine and Component Maintenance
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He was responsible for overall management of engine and component maintenance shops for the airline. This included budgeting, manpower, production, planning, quality assurance, engineering, material supply and inventory control, and marketing of MRO services to third parties. His department consisted of 10 shops employing 500 personnel with an annual budget of $100m.
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1979 to 1988
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Canadian Pacific Airlines
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Engineering and Maintenance
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Power Plant Engineer
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Expert was responsible for the maintenance programs of the power plants for the DC8, 737, and DC10 fleets consecutively.
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1965 to 1979
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Rolls-Royce Canada, Ltd.
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Service Department
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Service Representative
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He was responsible for after market technical support to customers, service experience feedback to the manufacturer, warranty administration, and liaison between customers and the manufacturer.
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1957 to 1962
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Bristol Siddeley Engines Ltd.
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Coventry
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Apprentice
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5 year British apprenticeship in mechanical engineering, giving first hand experience in machining, plating, inspection, product development, mechanical research, aircraft engine disassembly, assembly and testing.
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| Publications: |
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Selected Publications and Publishers
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- Aircraft Technology's 2004 Engine Yearbook
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| Selected Consulting Examples: |
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Expert was called in by MTU Maintenance Canada, who were concerned that they could not obtain Approved Maintenance Organization (AMO) approval before their opening date in November 1998. He was able to completely rewrite their Maintenance Policy Manual to Transport Canada's satisfaction and obtain AMO approval in two months, beating the deadline.
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Teltech approached him when they needed advice in handling a Fortune 500 client's request for a market opportunity study in the field of aircraft engine high tech repairs. He was able to provide a technical review that completely satisfied both Teltech and the client.
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Expert was asked by a client to review the condition of engines on various 747 aircraft the client was considering purchasing. Inspections of various aircraft and review of records were completed at various locations around the world, and reports were submitted to the complete satisfaction of the client.
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A lawyer approached him to review a report submitted by a technical expert in a lawsuit over an engine failure. He was able to demolish the expert's report and provide evidence of a more likely mechanism of failure. The lawsuit was dropped.
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A client approached Expert for help in obtaining Transport Canada (TC) AMO approval for a startup component overhaul business. He wrote a Maintenance Policy Manual to meet TC requirements and advised the client how to meet TC requirements for QA, Records, Production Control, and Material Control. The client obtained his AMO certificate on first application.
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Recent Client Requests:
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Jet engine repair expert for consulting on aircraft engine maintenance facility assessment.
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Jet engine expert for consulting on Information concerning manufacturing of turbine blades.
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Expert in aerospace engineering for consulting on JT8D-7B engines.
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As a member of the Intota consultant network,
Expert is a specialist who provides technical consulting to corporate, legal and government clients. Expert provides professional consulting as an Airline/Aviation/Aircraft Maintenance/Repair/Overhaul (MRO) Management Consultant and Power Plant Engineering Consultant. Expert may consult as an independent consultant or as a member of a consultancy, consulting company,
or consulting firm. Consultants service will be covered by a consulting contract.
Ask an expert initial screening questions and ask the experts services particulars, by simply submitting
an expert request.
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Expert Witness Experience Summary:
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Expert was a primary expert witness in a lawsuit in which Pacific Western Airlines was suing a supplier over a component failure. Shortly after spending ten days on the witness stand undergoing cross-examination, the court was adjourned, and the defendant settled out of court. He has also provided expert witness reports to two other lawsuits involving engine failures/damage, and was credited by the lawyers with having played a major role in settling the cases..
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Recent Litigation Client Requests:
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Expert in aviation engineering for consulting on Pratt & Whitney Canada Turbofan series engines PW535/PW545.
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Helicopter engine expert for consulting on Rolls Royce 250-C20B Engines.
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Expert in Galaxy airplane engines for consulting on market value before and after an upgrade.
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Expert in aircraft engine disassembly and analysis.
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Aircraft maintenance expert for consulting on application of FARs to private aircraft.
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Intota experts can serve as expert witnesses or litigation consultants offering expert testimony, expert advice, litigation support,
forensic services, and related expert witness services. Expert can serve as an expert witness or litigation consultant in intellectual property (patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright),
product liability, and insurance matters. Expert may provide forensic expert witness testimony, litigation consulting services, forensic investigation,
and forensic testing if appropriate in litigation areas as an Airline/Aviation/Aircraft Maintenance/Repair/Overhaul (MRO) Management Expert Witness and Power Plant Engineering Expert Witness.
Intota provides attorneys and legal professionals the opportunity to ask an expert initial screening questions and
ask the experts services particulars by submitting an expert request.
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| International Experience: |
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Summary |
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1992 to 1992
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Far East
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Expert took part in a Canadian International Aerospace Trade mission to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
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He participated in or led teams selling engine maintenance/repair/overhaul (MRO) services to other operators. Clients included Alaska Airlines, MarkAir, Dan Air, USAF Command Post fleet, Hawaiian Airlines, Kelowna Flightcraft, Esso, and Dome Petroleum Corporate fleets.
Expert serves as a resource to
Intota Market Research Services
for customized marketing research in industries or areas related to
Airline/Aviation/Aircraft Maintenance/Repair/Overhaul (MRO) Management and Power Plant Engineering.
Experts are an invaluable source of overall industry insight as well as insight into specific companies and firms for
custom business to business (b2b) and industrial market research. Intota uses analyst and
consultant resources from Guideline whose Research Directors manage the research and analysis of the qualitative
and quantitative data as well as report writing for the custom studies. The methods and tools
used by Intota market research combine the insights of technical experts and industry insiders with secondary
research to provide the custom b2b and industrial market research you need.
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| Additional Skills and Services: |
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Training/Seminars
He has delivered training seminars on Leadership under the Quest program, Towards Excellence program, and in-house seminars. He developed and delivered a quality assurance training program for MTU Maintenance Canada at start up.
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Supplier and Vendor Location and Selection As Director of Engine Maintenance, Expert selected vendors for engine overhauls that could not be handled in-house for capacity or capability reasons.
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Other Skills and Services
As Director of Engine Maintenance in Canadian Airlines, Expert attracted MTU Maintenance into a joint venture that eventually took over the Canadian Airlines engine shop as MTU Maintenance Canada.
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Expertise
