Purchasing

Richard G. Weissman

Just Blame the Vendors
April 11, 2008

I am a wire and cable guy. In most of my manufacturing jobs I've had responsibility for cable assemblies and harnesses; from buying raw material to overseeing the outsourcing of cable and harness operations, I've seen a lot of hook-up wire, cable ties, and connectors. I even worked for a cable assembly company for a couple of years. Maybe not a glamorous commodity, but for many years it was my bread and butter.

So, it is with great interested that I watch, listen, and read about the problems with American Airlines, and the others airlines, about potential wire harness issues. And I'm wondering if this is just the tip of the iceberg. If planes are turning around in 20 minutes at the terminal, how fast are they going through maintenance? And what else needs to be looked at? If they are having trouble ringing out cable assemblies I can hardly wait until they need to test printed circuit boards.

Back in my manufacturing days, if there was a wiring problem they just blamed the vendors. Who do we blame now? Deferred maintenance? Labor issues? Economic pressures? Lack of training? Cost savings? Outsourcing? The weather? Or, perhaps it is just a disregard for the customer, and flight crew, fueled by greed. 

I need to fly at the end of the month…and on American. When they inspect my shoes and shampoo, I'll offer to do a pull test on some ring-lug terminals. Sounds like an even exchange of value to me.

Posted by Richard G. Weissman on April 11, 2008 | Comments (0)