COMPANY BIOGRAPHY
Airbase GSE has been operational some 30 years, starting out under the handle of ULD Services in 1989 before being bought by Airbase Services Inc in 2000. In 2006, the UK arm went
into voluntary liquidation, and was bought back by now-CEO Nick Payne, who was with the company at its inception. In January 2016, a Brussels site was opened to accommodate a
large customer, with the third site opening in Heathrow, not far from the original in Chertsey, in March last year. Each site serves its own customers, of whom there are ten, comprising
airlines and ULD leasing companies. Customers include the IAG Group, United Airlines, Virgin, Qantas, Jettainer and CSafe, among others – with a new customer pending.
Services provided include ULD, net and strap repairs; galley cart repairs; ULD assembly, storage and logistics.
owner, manufacturer and
expiry date of each net.
“Generally, they have a threeyear
life. Based on that, 30% of
an airline’s nets will be thrown
away each year,” explains
Collins. “The airlines will try
to circulate the net as much as
possible during the three-year
life before expiry.” Employees
sort through and unjumble the
nets and check dates, repairing
frayed areas by splicing in new
polyester. Pallets, meanwhile,
are repaired with a pallet
straightening machine.
Oversight of all the
operations in the workshop
is provided by the online
operating system, MATTE
(Managing, Analysing,
Tracking, Time-bound to
deliver Excellence), along with
tablets issued to technicians
to capture real time activity.
Developed in house, the
system was designed and
managed by Business and
Operations Manager Holly
Baker – and launched in 2017.
Regular repairs
Naturally there are a few
frequent finds when it comes
to ULD damage and repairs.
When ULDs first came about,
many had aluminium doors,
but this added weight and
was all but done away with
in preference to the plastic
curtains of today, relates
Collins. These are easily –
and quite frequently – torn,
however. “Simple things, like
if the bottom straps aren’t
done up on containers they
Workers sort through cargo
nets (left); and a technician
repairs a panel (above)
drag along the ground. If the wheel or something catches or it
gets caught on debris, it rips the bottom half of the curtain off.
So we do a lot of curtain repairs,” he remarks. Anywhere between
25 and 50% of the containers that come can require some sort
of curtain repair, Collins adds. “And the buckles go. The buckles
can get run over.” Some ULD curtains are held in place by Velcro
rather than buckles and this too is subject to natural degradation,
losing its adhesive strength over time, adds CEO Nick Payne.
Causal factors
When it comes to damage, perhaps more important than the
question of what is the question of why. Payne says that efforts
over the years to minimise damage have been of limited success
for one simple reason: “It’s culture. You’re dealing with lots of
different people handling ULDs around the world.” Pressure
to get an aircraft off the ground on time is also a factor, adds
Collins. “Whilst a lot of publicity is given to repairs and treating
ULDs properly, it comes down to the core people on the ground
whose main interest, because they’ve been pushed, is to get that
aircraft loaded. And as a result of that, shortcuts will happen.”
Payne is encouraged that this is slowly changing, however.
“Now, there are many user guides as to how you handle a ULD
and how it should be treated and checks it should have before it
goes on an aircraft; so I believe that everybody’s trying to do their
best to minimise ULD damage.” Collins concurs, highlighting
that there is significant motive to do so; namely, the causal
relationship between ULD damage and aircraft damage. “That is
where airlines very much sit up and take notice. That’s why the
job we do is critical; to make sure everything that goes out of here
won’t damage aircraft.”
Payne gives an example of ULD damage that can impact
aircraft: “Sidewall damage. Within the aircraft hold there are
panels. They’re very strong but they’re lightweight, so they tear
very easily. If a ULD panel is protruding, as it goes along the
aircraft hold it’s going to tear the sidewall. Sidewall panels are
anything between US$5,000 and US$8,000 apiece.” This type
of damage would be likely to put the aircraft out of service;
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