Avionics News December 2014 - 46

DUNCAN AVIATION

Continued from page 45

in response to those bumps, scheduled
out-dates don't necessarily have to
move when those things happen. So
making sure that our project managers are in great communication with
the customer and our production
shops and schedulers is one of the
most important success factors. It is
something we have been continually
improving upon for years, especially
with the ongoing development of
our myDuncan project management
system, which is our online customer
portal that allows for real-time communication, including item approvals
and photos."
A successful practice working for

Duncan is a culture of continuous
improvement. As part of its strategic
planning process, Duncan asked each
team member to provide at least two
improvement ideas for their work
area relating either to efficiency or to
an improved customer experience.
"They don't just identify issues;
they need to evaluate them and have
solutions that can be implemented to
make a difference," Slieter said.
Another successful practice working for Duncan is its commitment
to communication. The ability to facilitate real-time communication via
the myDuncan project management
system makes the customer a trusted
partner, and it is an important key to
the success of this program. Duncan
uses a system to track improvements

to its practices, then shares them
across the company.
Duncan's commitment to continuous improvement and a commitment
to communication has always been
the way it has done business; however, the On-Target Turntime program is
the first time the company has worked
suggestions directly into an expectation for team members.
"Customers have been asking
for increasingly shorter and shorter
turntimes for their projects for the last
several years," Slieter said.
Customers need their aircraft working for them. They find it difficult to
take the aircraft out of service for an
extended period of time for avionics
work or large inspections, such as C
or D checks. Duncan's customers said
they see a growing issue in the industry. Too many times, companies give
expected completion dates that are
missed. Slieter called that "frustrating." Furthermore, it causes customers
to lose trust in the industry as a whole.
Duncan heard that viewpoint, and the
company agrees that out-dates should
be realistic and attainable.
"That caused us to really dissect
certain project procedures to explore
how we can provide shorter turntimes
with the confidence we can meet the
promised out-dates," Slieter said.
Slieter thinks this approach to
project management can be applied to
avionics installations.
"We have looked at some of the
most popular installations being
requested now and analyzed how we
can best weave them around aircraft
inspection requirements to help operators accomplish as much as possible
during an aircraft's required downtime," he said. q
So what's working for you and your
company? Send an email to geoffh@
aea.net if you're interested in sharing
your story through Avionics News.

46

avionics news

*

december

2014
http://www.kgselectronics.com
Avionics News December 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News December 2014
