SPECIALISTS SET THE STANDARD FOR EXCELLENCE AMONG AVIATION CONTRACTORS RELIANCE AEROTECH SURVEY FINDS

Nashville, TN – Specialists are setting the standard for excellence among aviation contractors, exceeding even maintenance managers in placing emphasis on the key success factors of dependability, attention to detail, punctuality and personal values/attitude, according to a survey released today by Reliance Aerotech Services Inc.

The survey follows Reliance Aerotech's 2003 survey of maintenance managers that established benchmarks to better understand customer perspectives on the growing contract maintenance industry. The 2004 survey, based on a sample of over 100 contract maintenance professionals, sought to provide a comparative analysis of how contractors and maintenance managers view the industry, as well as provide benchmark data on the contractor profile, their motivations, values and satisfaction.

"Our desire is to have the annual industry surveys contribute to the overall dialogue on how we can collectively continue to enhance the professionalism and safety of our industry as well as provide valuable information on how to better screen contractors before they arrive on the job site," said Reliance Aerotech General Manager, Ron Jordan. "We believe effective screening programs are essential to safety, performance and cost effectiveness in our customer's facilities."

With general A&P respondents diverging significantly from maintenance managers on critical success factors in the survey, specialists appear to be the contractor of choice for repair stations seeking high value contract personnel. "We uncovered a "fulfillment gap" between customer expectations and performance in last year's survey of maintenance managers," stated Jordan. "Clearly, specialists are the quickest way to close that gap."

While specialists set the standard for excellence, a core group of quality A&Ps emerged in the survey. Over 70% of A&P respondents indicated they shared the same emphasis on success factors as maintenance managers. However, the survey data demonstrated that many of the conventional criteria to screen these personnel – licensing, worksites, age and experience – were not effective in determining who would be the best performers in a repair facility. The only exception were "hardcore" contractors, whose shared values dropped significantly from the overall A&P population.

"The survey demonstrated that the use of non-conventional criteria to screen personnel are essential to finding the best people," said Jordan in explaining the data. "By evolving the screening process, we can make repair stations more competitive by providing high value personnel."

A survey report can be obtained online at http://www.relianceaerotech.com/services

Survey Methodology
In undertaking the survey, Reliance Aerotech sampled the opinions of 535 aviation maintenance contractors online, with 116 contractors participating, a response rate of 22%.

About Reliance Aerotech Services
Founded in 1998, Reliance Aerotech Services is an innovator in the provision of outsourced maintenance personnel and integration solutions for the aviation industry. RAS leverages technology and processes to provide the highest quality personnel through innovations such as its industry leading employment center, Total Value Assessment Program and annual industry surveys.
 

Contact

Douglas Anweiler, Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Communications
416.203.8493 x223; e-mail: danweiler@relianceaerotech.com