Category: Direct Maintenance

Mutta Yildirim, Sales and Marketing Support Officer here at Direct Maintenance joined us just a few months ago – but it has already been an interesting ride for him! Get to know him better!

Let’s take-off with a traditional question: what was the path that led you to aviation industry?

Mutta Yildirim: After graduation with my bachelor degree in business administration in 2016, I jumped into this industry – I think was fascinating from the start, but became even more special throughout these years, so I think I’ll stay in this industry for a long time!

Why did you choose to join Direct Maintenance?

MY: Because I am ready for new challenges! One of the main reasons for me joining this team was the plans of the board to grow and expand as a company and that’s a challenge I want to be part of. Also, I like to work in an international environment with people from different countries, and gladly I have this opportunity to work with colleagues from all over the world.

 Also, I want to develop myself, keep growing – and also be of help to the team. And I think I can achieve that being part of Direct Maintenance.

What would you consider to be the main challenges at work – and industry?

MY: Currently, there are a lot of movements going on in the aviation industry, and I think this is a time to be flexible and agile as a company to establish in tomorrow’s world. Yes, the situation itself because of the pandemic and uncertainty it brings is challenging for companies and for the industry – but then there are also plenty of opportunities for us to innovate and look for the best solutions together.

Let‘s move away from work – share your hobbies and other interests, besides aviation!

MY: I enjoy playing and watching football – in my free time I never skip a game of my 2 favourite football clubs Ajax and Besiktas. Also, I love to sail in the canals of Amsterdam and have recently got my first boat!

At the weekends and nights, I spend a lot of time in my small e-commerce business that I own since the beginning of the pandemic. I can proudly say that I don’t see this as work but more like a hobby because I enjoy creating things and spend time developing myself.

Do you have a motto or favorite saying?

MY: Yes, I do! “The first step is to establish that something is possible; then probability will occur.”

Interview with Jacco Klerk, CEO at Direct Maintenance

In your opinion, what are the key elements for the “recovery phase” within the aviation industry to kick? Can you share your predictions on the path of the recovery?

Jacco Klerk: In the recent period, we have seen a low passenger flight demand, airlines changing their used equipment frequently, and we as service providers to provide flexible solutions. This means we need to be flexible to adapt to our customers to bring our aviation industry steadily back on its feet together. And we foresee that this will be the situation for the time being: we need to be agile in supporting our customers in their line maintenance needs and swiftly adapting as an organisation to serve our customers. This said, we still expect that we will experience a modest ramp-up of flight schedules in the rest of 2021 and steady grow back to pre-COVID-19 levels in the coming years as soon as we can travel again. In parallel, we expect the demand for Cargo flights with its current high frequency and dynamics to keep growing for the time to come due to limited belly freight options. From the perspective of leasing companies, a wave of new operators will come. These new operators will need proactive service providers to de-store aircraft and, after induction into operation, to have a flexible supporting line & base maintenance service provider. More likely independent providers, who have more focused customer dedication to provide bespoke tailored and cost-effective solutions. Something we as Direct Maintenance, part of Magnetic MRO, are well-positioned to offer.

With the financial impact of the pandemic as well as consumer trust pressure, all operators will want to avoid delays as soon as they re-start with their operations. And this will shape the customers’ expectations. What main improvements will have to be in place to meet these demands and what homework maintenance service providers have to do in order to be prepared?

Jacco Klerk: We have conducted a company-wide review, engaging all our personnel and consulting our customers. From observation to lessons learned – there is a range of improvements that we are implementing now to be well prepared, be adaptively coming out of this pandemic, and become more agile and deliver on our customer’s expectation. It all starts from how we act closer within our organisation – from stations engineers and management – as one team. We gain significantly from all our initiatives – so will our customers.

How Direct Maintenance have coped with challenges brought by the pandemic and how company is ready to contribute to the recovery of the industry?

Jacco Klerk: Like many aviation companies, we had a challenging time too, which pushed us deep into reviewing our organisation. However, looking back over 2020, all personnel has worked together to take initiatives and actions to pull through this challenging period. In return, this has deepened the family & team feeling and solidarity across our stations in Europe and Africa and our ongoing commitment to supporting our customers.  As an organisation in the wake of the industry’s recovery, we must remain flexible and adaptive to support our customers as our contribution, demonstrating our “can-do” and “we-care” spirit.

What are the key customer support requests you’re getting from passenger airlines and cargo airlines?

Jacco Klerk: Passenger airlines tend to focus more on their core business coming out of this pandemic. Based on our interactions with them, we see a development where airlines are leaning towards independent Line maintenance network service providers: next-generation of service providers, who will be able to provide service beyond the current scope of standard line maintenance services. Cargo airlines already focus more on services beyond the usual scope; besides, they expect us, as service providers, to be flexible with the dynamics in their operation. 

Leasing companies are looking to work more with organisations that can provide a range of service and have reliable partners looking after their assets. From our perspective, providing a full suite of solutions, from storage programmes, ferry flight support, line & base maintenance as Direct Maintenance and Magnetic MRO allows us to accommodate these requests and see a shift in demand.

Are there any longer-term projects that you’ve accelerated due to the pandemic? Is your business pivoting in ways you wouldn’t have predicted a year ago?

Jacco Klerk: We have ignited a lean and agile approach in our business attitude by engaging and empowering our personnel, driving improvements and best practising sharing. In parallel, we are focusing on accelerating digitalisation and optimisation on how effectively running our organisation. Our stations are known to have a strong customer focus DNA, and we will strengthen and enhance this further. We are finalising a strategic review of our long-term projects following the pandemic, which will provide new opportunities within our industry. Also, we are utilising our group capabilities as a Magnetic Group subsidiary to develop adaptive solutions supporting our customers’ outlook for the coming years.

Timothy Kathuma, Lead Mechanic who works at Direct Maintenance station in Nairobi, Kenya, has been part of Direct Maintenance for over 9 years already – and what he likes the most is how fast-paced this work environment is. Get to know Timothy better as he shares a few insights from his experience with us.

Timothy, glad to have you onboard. Tell us how this aviation-career has started – what was your path to aviation industry?

Timothy Kathuma: It started right away when I enrolled for studies: I have studied Aeronautical Engineering and then I went for an Internship at Wilson Airport general aviation. Later on, I had experience in working for KLM under Engineering and Maintenance internship program and then joined Direct Maintenance in October 2011! So this year I will be celebrating 10 years of being part of this family. And I keep on working on to become a Licensed Aircraft Engineer in future!

What would you name as the main challenges in your line of work recently – and how did you cope with these challenges?

TK: I probably won’t say anything surprising – like for most, COVID-19 pandemic has been the biggest challenge yet. And there’re no easy way to cope with it besides doing what’s in your power – that includes taking all required safety measures, like wearing mask, social distancing and taking your part in slowing the spread. Besides that, all we have to do is follow the rules and wait until it’s under control after the vaccinations rolls out globally and we can get back to life we were used to before the pandemic.

From challenges to joys: let’s talk about the achievements you are proud of! What would you name as your main professional achievement of the past year? 

TK: I was appointed to be charge of DMX Africa stations as Tools and Calibration controller, meaning I am responsible for ensuring paperwork, all up to date according to company procedures and tasks alike. It is a great responsibility and I appreciate the trust placed on me for this task.

What do you enjoy the most when working at Direct Maintenance?

TK: I enjoy many tasks here and how dynamic it is, like quick turn-rounds on defects troubleshooting and during AOG situations. I also like my responsibilities in ensuring all our Africa stations Tools been calibrated, and records are up to date.

Also, I like to participate in critical tasks, like engine change – and I like to know my work helps to ensure the airworthiness of the aircraft and its safety during the flight – it all makes my work worthwhile.

And besides work, do you have any hobbies or special interests that helps you to relax after busy day at work?

TK: I have a few things I like to do in my free time – from adventures in the nature and going to the zoo, to watching football match or giving back to my community and taking part in community service – all of them adds to a productive – and still dynamic, like work! – free time.

And which destinations are your favorite to travel to?

TK: I probably would agree any time to jump on the plane which would land in London Heathrow so I could visit Royal Botanic Gardens – or any plane en-route to JFK airport in New York to go to Queens Botanical Gardens. You probably can see the tendency here of where I like to go to the most!

Meet the team! For Rob Kempen, over two years he spent at Direct Maintenance has passed in the speed of light as every day is full of new challenges. And that’s just the start – in Rob’s opinion, there’s always a lot to learn in aviation.

Get to know Rob better and check out some of his insights about his experiences working here at Direct Maintenance.

Can you describe your work?

I would use the word “Dynamic” for sure! As an aircraft mechanic working at a Line Maintenance organisation you never know what to expect: first, the aircraft is coming in and looks perfectly fine and at the other moment there can appear a “status-message” and the pressure is on!

How has the COVID-19 pandamic changed your job? 

The pandemic had a big influence on my daily activities as a lot of customers downgraded their flight schedule. In the first months, we had only a couple of cargo flights. However, this period gave me and my colleagues the opportunity to go on a course to improve our skills, so I and my colleague Eric finished our Part 66 B1.1 course and in the meantime, some other guys finished there A320 type training. I think it was the best approach at that time – and I appreciate that here we get a lot of opportunities for further professional development.

For you personally, which recent work experience has been the most exciting or the most challenging and why? 

In these a little over 2 years that I’m working here, I already did some very nice jobs! As an example, we changed a radome on a B787 Dreamliner and had to use a massive crane and replaced the one that was damaged because of a hailstorm. When you are doing jobs like this you have to be focused and communicate very well with your colleagues to get the job done!

What are the main qualifications needed in your line of work? What are the main tasks / responsibilities in your position? 

Communication is key in this kind of work! Working in and around an aircraft is something you do with a lot of people. On and offloading from cargo, catering and refuelling is happening all at the same time. You must realize that every decision you make can affect their safety or working process. Before you decide to put the flaps down you have to make sure there is no high-loader next to your wing.

What do you like most about working in aviation – and at the Direct Maintenance? 

Working in aviation and especially in aircraft maintenance is something to be proud of. The feeling that you and your co-workers make sure that an aircraft can depart safely back home makes me happy, day in day out! And working here is something I enjoy every day. Our group of technicians is like a real brotherhood. Everybody is helping each other to improve – I’m still learning every day from our experienced engineers!

Meet the team! Sven Schmitz is a ground engineer in Düsseldorf – and he has been part of our global team since summer 2019. During this year working at Direct Maintenance, he already had the experience to fulfil his childhood dream and work on A380, the world’s largest passenger aircraft.

Read the interview with Sven and get to know him better!

How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed your job? What is now different than before the pandemic? 

Our job changed fast and I never expected such a change. At the beginning of the outbreak, I was in Dubai for an A380 level 3 type course. Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish it and have missed the practical part. In the last week, my colleagues and I sat on packed suitcases in order to be able to react to any changes: we rebooked our flights at short notice and I came to Düsseldorf on one of the last flights from Dubai. 

During the peak of the lockdowns, there was also little work as customers at Düsseldorf no longer were flying, with the exception of a few cases (freighters). And then since mid-July, I’ve been back half a day for two to three days. The work has changed since then: masking is mandatory at the airport and on the planes. We also pay more attention to hygiene and cleanliness in our office and on the planes more than normal. I also haven’t seen many of my colleagues yet, but I also stay optimistic and believe we’ll all come out of it stronger than ever!

For you personally, which recent work experience has been the most exciting or the most challenging and why?

There have already been some exciting and challenging work experience. We had an A380 AOG with an engine problem, a B787 with a lightning strike… All of this work is extremely interesting and challenging as these are planes that you don’t see every day and, above all, don’t work on them. 

However, the bird strike on a B787 has been the most exciting for me lately. We only had a turnaround time of about 1:30 hour. Thanks to excellent teamwork, we even managed to push the plane safely out 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time.

What are the main qualifications needed in your line of work? What are the main tasks and responsibilities in your position?

In general, I think that a quick mind, manual skills, and of course a good understanding of the maths! In addition, teamwork, flexibility and the ability to make decisions are much needed in our line of work!

As I am currently working as a ground engineer in Düsseldorf, my main job is the maintenance and repair of aircraft. As B1.1, aviation security is in my hands as I am the person authorized to release the aircraft. It is a very interesting job and I am lucky to be doing it!

What do you like most about working in aviation / for Direct Maintenance? 

Working in aviation is no ordinary job, it’s something special for me. Every day is different and it never gets boring. The challenge is to make the best every day by always continuing education and not standing on the spot – and I am up for this challenge! 

The special thing about Direct Maintenance for me is the team and solidarity. You are not a number, you know each other; you have insights into departments and jobs that you don’t have in every company.

How do you evaluate your experience working at Direct Maintenance? What are your best memories from your time working here?

I felt very comfortable from the start. I was accepted directly into the team and was able to get involved. I learned a lot and also got the opportunity to continue my education. The best memory was when we took over a customer with an A380. For me, it was a childhood dream to work on the world’s largest passenger aircraft and this dream has now come true!

Last week Direct Maintenance welcomed a Finnair A350 aircraft at our Dublin station. This special flight brought medical supplies from China, through Helsinki. We are committed to contributing to the community in relation to the COVID-19 situation. Our staff in Dublin airport supported this special flight and made sure the aircraft could safely return home.

Thank you Team Dublin for your dedication!

In times where we are more apart and there are only a few aircraft flying every day, we are more than happy to share another good news.

Last Wednesday Direct Maintenance supported a Pakistan International Airlines flight bringing Dutch citizens back from Pakistan. We have been working together with PIA since 2010 when they had regular flights to and from Amsterdam. We were happy to assist their beautiful Boeing 777 aircraft on their short stop to Amsterdam, give them a warm welcome and wave them off to a safe return home flight.

Last Monday, Direct Maintenances welcomed back an old airline friend. Back in 2006, Malaysia Airlines was the first customer of Direct Maintenance in Amsterdam. Over the years we enjoyed supporting their fleet and greeting their crew in Amsterdam. It was a great pleasure to welcome the first flight since 2015 and experience the bond we continue to have with each other. Especially in these times, seeing back an old friend is a warm and positive experience. We look forward to continuing our cooperation with Malaysia Airlines for many years to come!

Last weekend Direct Maintenance had an opportunity to assist Kuwait Airways in Dublin Airport station. Two Airbus A330 flights came to Ireland to retrieve students. Direct Maintenance was approached for ad hoc support and our engineers were happy to be able to support the A330s. In these strange times, we are here and ready to support where we can. Both aircraft and the students headed safely back to their home country!

Last week both Direct Maintenance and Magnetic MRO have received the generous donation of face masks from Hangxin. However, since most of the Direct Maintenance staff due to the outbreak are non-active, the team had the liberty to pass masks on to the ambulance services, called the Dutch Medical group.

Happy to share a THANK YOU letter they have received:

“Dear Direct Maintenance team, 

We would like to warmly thank you for the amazing, generous gesture that we have received from you in the form of a large amount of facemasks.

It is amazing to receive this in this way and it is for us a healthcare organisation of great importance that this kind of donations happens. Our organisation, just like many other organisations and companies, go through anxious times. For us, the worry about the health of our caregivers comes on top of that. No matter how many extra measures we take, our people are day and night working with patients and our healthcare professionals are exposed to higher risk if they do not have access to protective gear. Facemasks are very important. The shortage is, therefore, all the more painful.

Our gratitude is large and I would like to extend our great thanks to the management and all colleagues in Direct Maintenance who made this possible!”
Edzard Enschedé
Director, Dutch Medical group

In mid-January, Direct Maintenance finalised the set up of the Cribmaster tool control system at the companies Berlin-TXL station. The set-up was performed with the assistance of Magnetic MRO Facility and Tooling Manager Maksim Kolesnik, as Cribmaster system is already used in the Tallinn hangars. Setting up a unified RFID based system will give the employees an easy way to manage all the tools. This is a step closer to companies digitalization & real-time RFID inventory tracking.

Karsten Kühnell, Stores Supervisor TXL, states: “The guys and I are really enthusiastic and motivated to start working using the Cribmaster system. It will make tool control less time consuming and more convenient.” 

“I am pleased to announce that the next RFID inventory and consumables tracking system is successfully set up. There are already over 40 active employees and more than 600 tools registered to the new system,” said Maksim Kolesnik. 

Direct Maintenance is currently using the latest release of Cribmaster software, which has been developed for maintenance station needs and covers all the following:

• Total inventory control in real-time
• Overal daily transaction report
• Consumables management
• Calibration expiry monitoring

In just two days Karsten and Maksim, with the help of Anouk Daams, project coordinator, and Patrick Broster from Cribmaster, managed to get acquainted with Cribmaster and assign items tags for tools and equipment. 

Maksim Kolesnik: “The system setup was very well welcomed – big thanks to Anouk and Karsten for the support and hopefully, they gained a lot of knowledge in these two days. Certainly, in future, we will make some follow up actions and come up with new developments which help improve everyday tools and consumables management.”

Direct Maintenance is delighted to extend the positive and longstanding cooperation with one of their most loyal customers in Dublin. It is with the continued mutual trust that we build on this partnership.

Frank Daams, Managing Director, comments: “When a current customer decides to extend to another one of our stations, we are always incredibly honoured. We strive every day to deliver the high-quality line maintenance that our customers have come to respect and to keep building on the relationships we have nurtured over the years.”

As of this week, Direct Maintenance has a new partnership with a large cargo airline. We are happy to support their Boeing 737’s during the night stops at our Schönefeld-Berlin Station.

Erik Verwijmeren, Director of Operations, adds: “We are happy to see that our operation at SXF is steadily growing. It promises a bright future!”

As of this week, Direct Maintenance has started with a new customer in Entebbe line station – providing what we do best, line maintenance, on the Boeing 777 Freighters.

Mandeep Rana, Head of Sales expresses: “It is great to see that many of our customers are extending their contracts with Direct Maintenance to other stations. This shows the trust we have gained by our performance. We continue to work towards a bright future!”

Direct Maintenance welcomes all line maintenance service support enquiries. Contact us today: sales@directmaintenance.aero.