E&M and our people
Tagging along with a Duty Maintenance Manager (DMM)
What does a DMM’s day look like and what does he/she do? E&M Communications headed out and spent half a day tagging along with DMM Ron van Kreuningen in search of answers.
Operational Control Centre (OCC) Operations Control Centre (OCC) – The day started at the OCC (Schiphol-East). The main purpose of the OCC is to ensure that the daily schedule is as complete and punctual as possible for our customers (passengers, cargo), so that flights depart on time and arrive safely. The OCC ensures that delays are prevented or minimised. From the OCC, various disciplines monitor all KLM flights. Examples here include Planning, Technical Specialists, Dispatch, Load Control, Crew Control, Operations Control (OC), as well as Commercial Fleet and Cargo. Ron explains that he’s working as the back-office DMM today, which gives him time to explain all the ins & outs. As the DMM, he falls under the Planning, Scheduling & Fleet Control department.
During the Maintenance Performance Management (MPM) meeting, the 360 Fleet Status (an overview of all aircraft under maintenance, also known as the Fleet Monitor) is discussed and the previous day reviewed.
Maintenance Performance Management (MPM)-meeting
After a brief pit stop at a coffee machine, we continue our route with a cup of coffee to the first and most important TEAMS meeting of the day, the MPM meeting. Fellow DDM Theo Hin heads up the TEAMS meeting. During the MPM meeting, the 360 Fleet Status (an overview of all aircraft under maintenance, also known as the Fleet Monitor) is discussed and the previous day reviewed. Colleagues from various departments are present at meetings like this, including several from Airframe, Fleet Services, Cabin Engineering, Engine Services, Material, Equipment & Facilities and Planning. Terms like “Victor”, “November” and “Quebec”, “Bravo”, the phonetic alphabet for aircraft echo around the room. Together, the status of aircraft in maintenance is assessed and the associated issues, problems and bottlenecks are discussed. The DMM’s job largely entails prioritising. The DMM receives the (preferably feasible) maintenance plan before the day of operation. If anything unexpected happens during the day of operation, the plan has to be adjusted. This not only affects the work on the day of operation, but Planning then has to get everything back on track for the next day, which is always tricky.
Prioritising
“If planning goes off smoothly, if all the resources are available (i.e. the Hangar is available, the materials are available and everything is where it should be) and the lead time has been properly planned, the DMM should in principle not need to prioritise anything and everything should run smoothly. Unfortunately, most things pan out differently in practice,” Ron explains. “We’re confronted with disruptions at the very last moment; that one part is nowhere to be found, for example. We then have to intervene or make adjustments, and we do so in cooperation with the Planners and executive staff from the Preventive Unit (PU), Corrective Unit (CU), Line Maintenance Schiphol (LMS) and the outstations (TT). The basic premise is twofold: perform maintenance on the one hand and, on the other, ensure that there are sufficient aircraft in the network. It’s the kind of puzzle that keeps us busy all day, while changing constantly.”
Ron van Kreuningen: “Unfortunately, most things pan out differently in practice.”
80-90% in the air
In SIROCCO, both the OC and DMM (as the sole representative of E&M) can see the live situation of the KLM network in operation. Ron points out that the overview is categorised according to aircraft type and days. The red line on the screen indicates the current situation, everything on the left has already taken place and everything on the right is still going to take place. Different colour codes show an aircraft’s current position in the world, when an aircraft is scheduled for maintenance, ground times and which aircraft are in reserve. KLM operates a total of 107 aircraft (excluding KLC and Transavia) in its fleet, some of which are under maintenance and some are on the ground (AOG scenarios). At most times around 80-90% of the aircraft are in the air. The overview is important for the DMM to be able to determine where maintenance priorities should lie, in order to execute the maintenance schedule as far as possible and in order to minimise any disruption to the KLM network.
R check logbook
Our journey takes us to the next meeting. Planner Fleet Availability (PFA), Niels Steur has been scrutinising the R checks of various aircraft in relation to time slots over the past period and presents his findings to the team. It’s handy that Ron is present in his capacity as the DMM, so he can share his experiences and observations. Niels also discusses the work planned for the upcoming R checks. The idea behind the R checks is to carry out as much registered work as possible on time. This maintains a high level of fleet health (technical health of the aircraft) and therefore, operational reliability.
TEAMS call no. 2
After the R check update, we return to the meeting room where we started the day. Ron joins DMM Theo Hin to discuss with Jeroen Kok (Director Operations & Safety Standards) how the MPM meeting is conducted at present and whether they still want to continue doing so in this manner. The format has changed considerably over the years. It’s become more of an operational meeting rather than a maintenance performance meeting, where you assess why you haven’t achieved the required performance level and what would be needed to achieve it. So it’s high time to evaluate whether they want to continue in this manner.
Closing on the first floor
Our morning ends at the top of the first floor, where Ron proudly shows off the beautiful view of the OCC and poses enthusiastically for a photo. With a head full of information and impressions, the day draws to a close. It’s was certainly interesting to tag along with the DMM for the morning.