Effective MEL Management: Key to Improving Aircraft Reliability and Availability During Summer Flight Schedule
The use of the Minimum Equipment List (MELs) is a bit of a double-edged sword. The upside is that MELs allow operators to dispatch aircraft with discrepant item(s) for a given grace period before a permanent fix must be accomplished. However, there’s also a downside when MELs rates climb, as there are additional constraints and complexities are put on the system, resulting in resource inefficiencies and poor aircraft reliability performance.
The use of the Minimum Equipment List (MELs) is a bit of a double-edged sword. The upside is that MELs allow operators to dispatch aircraft with discrepant item(s) for a given grace period before a permanent fix must be accomplished. However, there’s also a downside when MELs rates climb, as there are additional constraints and complexities are put on the system, resulting in resource inefficiencies and poor aircraft reliability performance.
If you’ve worked in airline maintenance for any length of time, you’re well familiar with the MEL fire drills that surface during peak flight travel times. MELs are sneaky and dynamic. They come with different durations, flight restrictions, an application rate that is ever-changing, and the effort to rectify varies greatly. What’s less understood is how to resolve this issue and stay out in front of MEL challenges.
Effective MEL management is critical to improving reliability performance and aircraft availability, especially during peak travel seasons when increased aircraft scheduling, utilization, and fewer quality maintenance touch times pose real challenges.
In my 25 years of experience in the airline industry, I have found that there are 4 Key Principles to effectively managing MEL performance: planning, reporting, measuring, and setting clear expectations.
1. Planning. Ready the operation for the peak schedule well in advance.
In your long-range plan, you will have adjusted airframe checks, major component changes, and modification programs, pre-and-post peak season, to free up aircraft availability.
Ensure formal flight schedule reviews between Network Planning and Maintenance are established, with approvals for each schedule.
Look to create a schedule that considers maintenance, beyond established Minimum Maintenance Requirements (MMR) that is indifferent to revenue.
Ensure there are strategically placed aircraft swap opportunities in schedule to get aircraft into capable maintenance stations when needed; this is critical in schedule development.
Plan for Spring and Fall fleet clean up campaigns and set blackout periods for certain task scheduling, training, vacation, etc. Use an “all-hands-on deck” approach so you can optimally balance capacity with summer demand.
2. Reporting. To make informed decisions, it is important to report the total picture. Develop dashboards that break down your MELs in a meaningful fashion.
Establish MEL targets and report on actual MELs vs. target, by total system and fleet type.
Breakout MEL subsets (i.e., Category A, B, C, D, restrictive/high pilot refusal, etc.).
Look at historical trend lines showing the number of MEL applied vs. cleared.
Chart the number of MELs by days remaining and MELs waiting on parts.
Eliminate surprises by creating detailed action plans to clear low-time and restrictive MELs.
3. Measuring. Instill accountability and meaning behind MEL performance by establishing KPIs throughout Technical Operations – everyone has a number. Here are some areas where you’ll want to set goals and measurements:
Maintenance Control/Deferral Planners: responsible for initial MEL setup in maintenance system and planning and scheduling task for clearance.
KPI: average time MELs are open.
Maintenance: responsible for terminating MELs, and for deferrals, providing critical information to clear in the future. Recognize Technician for effective trouble shooting deferrals.
KPIs: station MEL completion rate and thru-flight MEL clearance (Quick MELs)
Supply Chain: responsible for optimally allocating parts throughout the system and efficiently procuring parts when needed.
KPIs: fill rate (higher weighting for no-go parts) and time waiting on NIS parts.
Fleet Services: responsible for the health of the fleet and continuously looking for reliability actions to reduce write-ups.
KPIs: rate of MELs applied and repeat MEL applied.
4. Setting Clear Expectations. At every opportunity, make it clear that MEL management is an important, pro-active, and collaborative endeavor.
Establish discipline where MEL extensions are not allowed.
Be aggressive in clearing and troubleshooting MELs. Schedule MELs at every maintenance opportunity, making exceptions rare. It doesn’t matter if the part identified with MEL is NIS. Too many times, the initial part identified, or solution to rectify MEL, is not correct. Good deferrals are part of the process.
As you read through this list, I’d bet you’ve identified areas where your operation has gaps. And you’re not alone. I’ve worked with many airlines and MELs are an area of opportunity within every single one. It can seem obvious when you step back and take a clear look at things, but there are a few barriers that make it more difficult than it appears.
First, the nature of a MEL is dynamic and complicated. Second, ownership doesn’t fall within one department. And third, few people have the cross departmental experience and perspective to see and implement these principles.
While implementing these 4 Key Principles takes time and discipline, what I can tell you is that the results you’ll experience make it worth addressing.
When you have implemented these MEL management principles, you will:
See a reduction in MEL rate, variability, and the duration open.
Minimize the costly fire drills that stress resources and the operation.
Find that you are running a far more reliable operation.
If you’d like to see your MEL management become a natural part of your workflow and experience fewer headaches, let’s talk.
Best,
Mike