March 2010 Newsletter

Kudos To Pilots Aiding Haitian Relief Efforts

The enormous tragedy that has swept over the tragic island of Haiti is almost too much for the human mind to comprehend. In a matter of seconds, what was previously a barely functioning nation became a totally chaotic island with no economy, no government, no functioning security forces and millions of people with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. International aid was swift with hundreds of millions then billions of dollars being allocated for the stricken people of Haiti both by governments and private organizations. But how to move the thousands of tons of relief supplies from donor nations to Haiti? How to get the food, medicines, clothing and rebuilding equipment to where they were most needed? Airports were virtually out of action and the principal seaport was in a state of almost complete disrepair.

"Flying into and out of Haiti
became a test of pilots’ skill,
experience and nerve never
experienced flying under
normal, rigid flight rules.
Pilots and ground crews
improvised to ensure
precious supplies arrived with
no damage to the cargo."

Governments and private aid organizations appealed to pilots around the world to fly aircraft to the few Haitian airports that were even partially open to traffic. Thousands of cockpit crews volunteered to fly to airports, ranging from the barely functioning principal airport in Haiti’s capital, Port Au Prince, to dirt strips scattered about the mountainous country. Flying into and out of Haiti became a test of pilots’ skill, experience and nerve never experienced flying under normal, rigid flight rules. Pilots and ground crews improvised to ensure precious supplies arrived with no damage to the cargo. Improvisation was the order of the day as conventional rules and regulations were thrown out the window. The regular control tower at Port Au Prince Airport had collapsed and was completely unusable. Instead, a card table was set up and placed adjacent to the only useable runway. Ground controllers stood by the card table guiding traffic by hand held radios.

Many of the pilots participating in the Haitian relief efforts were captains and first officers of cargo airlines who were familiar with older aircraft being used in the Haitian airlift. Aside from military airplanes which were among the newest in the U.S. Air Force, it was the older DC-10s, DC-8s and even more ancient aircraft pulled from their parking spots in deserts, that dominated the skies over Haiti. You can’t land a 747 on a dirt strip with car headlights as your only means of illumination. All of the pilots deserve kudos, but the cargo men and women proved their worth many times over with hundreds of flights under the most primitive conditions—with no room for failure.

Back to Top

J-I-T Manufacturing Backfired Catastrophically at Toyota

Toyota has gotten the biggest black eye in the auto industry since General Motors’ President Charlie Wilson declared some fifty years ago, “what is good for GM is good for the country.”

Since the news first broke that Toyota was suffering from serious manufacturing defects for almost all of its car lines including its crown jewel Prius, the media has wasted no time in excoriating the Japanese auto maker for its initial “coverup” and then its milquetoast response to the enormous problems facing it. The head of Toyota, who reluctantly came to Washington to testify, literally bowed to his customers and the public at a press conference to apologize for the company’s “many mistakes.” That’s not enough. What is needed is a fresh look at Toyota’s production systems. What has been lost in the furor over the auto recalls is exactly why this breakdown in quality control occurred. One of the principal reasons, in my opinion, is the company’s obsession with the Just-In-Time or J-I-T system of manufacturing. Ironically, the concept was born at Toyota in the 1980s to supposedly reduce waste and create new efficiencies in production.

"The company was so
determined to increase
production with the title,
“biggest car maker of them
all” as the glittering prize,
parts were rushed to the
assembly line without
adquate inspection and
testing."

Toyota overplayed its hand. The company was so determined to increase production with the title, “biggest car maker of them all” as the glittering prize, parts were rushed to the assembly line without adquate inspection and testing. A key element in this approach was to reduce the number of suppliers so that parts could be supplied on a greater scale. When quality issues arose, the lack of secondary and even tertiary suppliers became critical. The risks of J-I-T are magnified when companies like Toyota expand globally and sell their products all over the world. A recall of a few thousand units can be easily handled by the manufacturer. A recall of 8 to 10 million units is a catastrophe. It will be interesting to see if Toyota modifies its manufacturing systems, relying less on just in time delivery of parts, to a more balanced approach where sufficient inventory is on hand in case of production problems. The Japanese are a stubborn race. But a huge loss in market share may change Toyota’s thinking as well as other manufacturers who rely excessively on Just-In-Time.

Back to Top

Julian Keeling