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www.AviationPros.com 23 you could go [for maintenance, repair and overhaul] would be the OEM. In the past, they were the only option you could go to." That was some 28 years ago, an era in which the options for MRO were — compared to today — limited. JSSI "ini- tially started by overseeing the upkeep of Garrett 731s, a popular powerplant for corporate jets. "We then went into other jets: turbofans, propjets." HELICOPTERS Recent years have seen JSSI expand into the world of rotary wing maintenance oversight. In the world of wings that go round-n'- round maintenance intervals have often been shorter, and tolerances for parts and components lower compared to their fixed- wing brethren. Weiser says this is espe- cially true for "newer model helicopters that may have come out in the last three years. Their tolerances are tighter." The JSSI rotary wing specialist says a couple of reasons underlie this trend. "Clients want to look at their product as soon as possible to see how it's holding up" under the often unrelenting rigors of helicopter operations. Then there's this: "Helicopters tend to be more labor-intensive, far more labor intensive, than fixed-wing aircraft. They are inherently so." Precisely because of the sometimes- higher costs attached to rotary-wing MRO this is an arena in which JSSI tends to shine. Take the case of an overseas helicopter operator who asked that AMT not use their name. Weiser says, "The OEM want- ed to give the client an exchange module, part of the engine really. Essentially, the client had a cracked flame tube … The answer to that was, 'Well, let's have an exchange for US$170,000. We'll take your module in exchange and we'll give you one for $170,000, plus potential bill backs. "[JSSI] looked at that work scope [and discovered] it was a simple repair that gets done in a specialized [Level 3] facil- ity. That repair runs about $US40,000 to $45,000. Weiser ended up dealing directly with the client. "We talked about it. He said, 'If you can repair my engine for $45,000 vs. $170,000 you've got my business. So we managed the event for the client. We sent it to a Level 3 facility. The repair was done as we said [it would be]. He had it back in his hands within a couple of weeks." This deal paved the way for a substan- tial future contract for a specified number of aircraft. "This is where we shine," says Weiser. Indeed, "there's nothing more critical than when your engine goes into the shop," he says. Overhauls can run a half- million U.S. dollars at a crack. AN IMPORTANT TOOL Again, JSSI is neither an MRO, a parts supermarket nor a middleman. Its services are best described as "tool[s] to help con- tain costs … The more we can drive our client's costs down, the greater the trust." Here's the kicker. Weiser says, "When we save a client money, the money goes back to the client. We're very transparent in how we do things." JSSI derives those discounts because of the volume of work it oversees. Transparency and trust are commodities in short supply these days. The concepts are touchstones at the company. Consider, Weiser contends JSSI "is the only one in the industry to utilize a trust to safeguard the client's money." The protection clicks in in case something happens to the company. Competitive cost, quality work, knowl- edgeable oversight transparenc,y and trust: Essential ingredients in an uncer- tain age. JEROME GREER CHANDLER is a two-time winner in the Aerospace Journalist of the Year competition's Best Maintenance Submission category; he won in 2000 and 2008. His best-seller 'Fire and Rain' chronicles the wind shear crash of Delta Flight 191 at DFW. Chandler's passion for aviation safety is more than professional. It's personal. Two of his relatives have perished on commercial airliners, one of them in the infamous Braniff Electra crash of 1959. COMFORT Maximize Cabin Take total control of the environment in your aircraft cabin with Hartzell Engine Technologies I-Series aircraft cabin heaters. Proven for extreme temperatures No AD Restrictions Reliably ignites at temperatures down to -65˚ New or Factory Rebuilt FAA-TSO Approved 36 month, 1000 hr. full warranty (not pro-rated) on typical systems components 1.316.733.9240 rfq@globalparts.aero www.globalparts.aero AviationPros.com/company/10451249