Important Maintenance Safety Tips For Ground Support Equipment

Planes are an extremely common form of transportation in this day and age as people travel further than they ever have before. These particular vehicles have the ability to fly twenty-two-hour flights and do so in a manner that is tolerable for those who take it. Although these planes have the ability to fly in the air for so long and take its passengers to distant places, there is still a lot of measures that are taken to ensure that they are able to complete their flight for however long the journey will take. One of the biggest factors that go into ensuring that they are able to complete the journey is by following all of the required safety procedures that are in place to make sure that nothing will go wrong during the flight. As with most vehicles, a plane can malfunction if even only one procedure is not followed and this can risk the lives of every person on board. It is for these reasons that all of the ground support equipment (GSE) that interact with the aircraft are well-maintained. The importance of inspecting this equipment to guarantee nothing will go wrong is, as previously stated, is simply the most vital part of the entire preparation process. Here are a few of the important maintenance safety tips for ground support equipment.

What Is GSE And Why Should It Be Maintained?

The overall definition of equipment that is used for ground support is the service and maintenance equipment that is used at an airport so that all of the people and checked bags are able to go where they need to go. Examples of such pieces of equipment are, but not limited to, baggage tugs, belt loaders, and lavatory trucks. Each and every GSE plays an important role in making the process of flying on an airplane that much easier, however, not operating the equipment safely can affect things other than the actual aircraft. One big consequence that not keeping up with the maintenance of the equipment is that it can seriously injure any employees who are working with it. While many people do not actually hear about the accidents that occur with GSE, there are incidents of employees losing body parts and even dying due to carelessness. A lot of the equipment is large and heavy so it does not require a lot for someone to get into an accident. Secondly, GSE is incredibly expensive, no matter if it is purchased new or used. As a result, the parts are also expensive and this means that when a replacement part is needed, the specialized piece will need to be purchased from the manufacturer that made the whole piece of equipment. In addition, you will need to pay for the labor costs for a technician to input this replacement part which can also cost quite a bit of money due to the fact that there is a shortage of trained technicians who are able to complete the job. Lastly, if an ill-maintained GSE is found to not be maintained well, then it will not be usable and will most likely make everyone’s day more stressful since they will be missing an important piece of equipment. Overall, it is extremely essential to have any GSE running accordingly.

1. Thoroughly Inspect The Equipment

As obvious as it may seem, it is important to properly and thoroughly inspect every piece of equipment before it is sent off to an aircraft for usage. This can be done by looking over the mechanics of it to observe if anything is missing, broken, and/or has fulfilled its longevity. By doing so you are ensuring with your own eyes that nothing seems to be out of place, however, this is not the only thing that you should do to inspect the piece of equipment. Every piece of ground support equipment has its own protocol for inspections so it is important to follow the exact methods and procedures that are detailed in the safety protocol outline. For example, a tail stand, also known as a jack stabilizing stand, is something that must be inspected routinely. The neck of the stand should be able to slide up/down with traction so if the tail stand seems to encounter any sort of resistance, it must be replaced. In addition, the stabilizing pin on the tail stand must be looked over for any unusual signs of wear, bending, and/or rust. If anything abnormal is discovered, then the pin should be replaced. This is only one example of many, though, and it is up to the employees to ensure that they follow the exact measures necessary.

2. Only Use Equipment As Directed

While it may seem as if using a piece of equipment besides how you are supposed to use it will not have any dire consequences, it can put a person at risk for injury. Failure to obey the tips and instructions of it can lead to an employee accidentally doing something either to or near the equipment. GSE, like other types of equipment, are not meant to be used besides how it is directed. Even doing something as simple as exceeding the weight limit of which it is able to support can cause it to malfunction. It is also possible to cause excessive wear or damage to the object that can then result in it needing more resources in order to fix it. What is meant by this is that even if, originally, only a small amount of damage was done to the material, by leaving the damage unresolved or by continuously doing the same thing that damaged it the first place can result in more replacements needing to be made to the equipment.

Overall, it is crucial to keep ground support equipment well-maintained but if a replacement part is needed to ensure that the damage is fixed, then it is best to purchase it from Servicore G.S. Servicore G.S. is a company dedicated to supporting the ground support equipment industry by creating specialized products that can be used for repairs. Contact them today to see the parts they have available and to learn more about what their company is about!