Planes are complicated and intricately designed to ensure they have all the major features available that most modern passengers may be expecting. This careful engineering and intricate design means it’s only natural that the repair process for planes would be difficult, too, as it heavily relies on extensive equipment and needs to be serviced by GSE equipment to remain flight-ready. This essential equipment can break down, too, so if you want your operations to remain effective for as long as possible, you must know how to maintain your equipment.
- Inspect your equipment regularly
When it comes to GSE maintenance, the best tip to follow is that you should prevent the need for maintenance as much as possible, and you can only do that if you regularly inspect the ground service equipment you’re working with. Ground service equipment is built to last, and if you have experienced operators and technicians, you’ll be able to squeeze hours upon hours of use out of them before they ever have to be serviced, increasing the efficiency of your operations massively.
In between then, all you’ll have to do is inspect the equipment you’re working with, either before using it or right after, or once a week, to ensure no tool ever breaks while it’s being used on a plane and that you’re never left without an essential piece of equipment, because you’re able to catch a problem before it grows.
- Have backup tools
If you’re reliant on the ground service equipment you have at your disposal, you should be concerned both about their regular maintenance and how you’ll be able to keep your planes running without delay in the face of any unforeseen issues.
The easiest insurance policy you can have is to have multiple copies of the same type of equipment, especially if it’s one you use often, like a hydraulic power unit. This way, if you’re faced with more rush than usual, all your equipment will be able to service several planes at once, and, more importantly, while one machine is being maintained or repaired, you’ll have another ready to take its place.
- Use highly trained operators
The operators you trust with the ground service equipment you’re using will have the biggest role to play in its effective usage and maintenance. Skilled operators will be able to use this equipment effectively enough to ensure they never break down or need to be repaired, and if they ever do, they’ll have the skill set to take care of it as soon as possible. In some cases, a minor fault can be fixed on the job if the right tools are available, which will allow your flights to proceed uninterrupted.
- Schedule regular maintenance
Scheduling maintenance regularly may be the tip that ends up saving you the most time since, when done right, these maintenance periods are few and far between, allowing you to get a lot more usage out of every piece of equipment.
If you have the best operators and tools, your equipment will rarely break down, and if you schedule a maintenance operation regularly, such as once every two months, you’ll be able to keep them in top shape all the time.
- Follow the manufacturer’s instructions
The manufacturers that produce each piece of ground service equipment you’re using will have recommendations for use that are based on their scientific testing, which means that, if you use these recommendations, you’ll get the most mileage out of all your tools.
These recommendations range from what tools and parts you should use with your equipment to how it should be stored and what the proper method of maintaining it is. If you’re able to follow all of this advice, not only will each maintenance session be easier and faster, but you’ll have little need for that maintenance as time goes on.
Conclusion
There are countless uses GSE equipment has when it comes to preparing a plane before or after a flight, ranging from removing the waste materials from storage, filling the water supply, providing electricity, and more. This equipment is vital for each flight; without it, most planes would be unable to take off, which is why maintaining this equipment is vital to keeping your flights operational and on time.