RAMP SAFETY BRIEFING
BEYOND
CONVENTION
This issue Dimitry Peters, Manager Processes &
Procedures Ground Operations at Eurowings Aviation,
shares some thinking outside of the box.
Having been working in
Ground Operations
Management for several
years now, I have come
up with some unconventional
ideas which I would like to
share with the world.
E ciency is key, right? If
the ight is late, full speed is
granted, which means burning
more fuel and creating a
generally more stressful
experience for everyone. No
need to mention the safety
implications here. Having
conducted a generic analysis
of our delays and research
of this journal’s topics, I
found a major discrepancy.
My analysis showed a huge
elephant in the room that
nobody is talking about.
Loader motivation
is year, we broke summer
heat levels, I believe, for the
tenth time in a row. Welcome,
climate change! Outside air
temperature on vacation is a
di erent thing compared with
the actual temperature on
the ramp if you have to load
baggage weighing up to 30
kilogrammes a time.
All day.
Every day.
In my analysis I basically
realised that ground
operations-wise it is all about
the loader. at one loader,
whether he or she is hot, is
not motivated. If it is cold,
he or she is not motivated.
Psychology trumps everything.
e future of ground handling
From Relations to the ramp
Peters’ background is one of International
Relations but he became a ramp agent after
his studies because the work had attracted
him for years. After two years on the
ramp he caught the attention of an airline
which hired him in the role of a Process
Manager. Today, over three years later, he
is responsible for ground operations, load
control procedures and leasing processes.
Peters has also written several manuals.
“But what do we do to
improve the loader’s
journey?”
improvements must include an
understanding of that. And by
that I mean the human factor.
Culture change
I am talking here about a
general culture change. We
do everything to improve the
customer journey, putting
technology on the ramp. We
invent more procedures every
day. But what do we do to
improve the loader’s journey?
What do we do in terms of
the human aspect? How many
cabin sta really think about
“those down below” and o er
them a cold drink or a smile or
even an “hello”?
Motivation: think hot. ink
50°C on the ramp and two
more aircra to go. A break
is everything. Put yourself in
the loader’s shoes. Bad, isn´t
it? Do you want to go for the
break right now or will you do
this one more aircra ?
Now imagine that one
airline, which all through the
heatwave gave out free cold
energy drinks, played hip
summer tunes in the cargo
holds, and where possible
cooled down the holds to 20°C
just for the loaders. Imagine,
this purser or PIC going
down with a tray of cooled
drinks to the loading crew. A
matter of maybe two minutes.
Sounds long? Check out the
average delay through a lack of
motivation in hot temperature
conditions.
Or ask me.
56 February 2020 Ground Handling International