"What Else Can I Do?"

We work line maintenance. We do a great job of working line maintenance. Southwest Airlines is by far the best maintenance outfit I have worked for. Over the years I have learned a lot and had a lot of fun. One of the great things about this job is that I am constantly learning new things. One of the things that I have learned is that no matter how successful an organization is it can be eaten away from within by complacency.

There are a core group of guys at the job that work and work hard. The problem is that there is another group that does all they can do to actually do as little as they can. I know that I can't control the actions of others but it one of the things that really bugs me.

This post is not really about other mechanics doing the minimum to make their job easier. It is actually about me finding a way to behave at work that ensures I never fall into that trap. One of the good guys at work (lets call him The Dr.) came up to me a few weeks ago and said that on every gate call he does he tries to do something extra, something that the crew did not call for. This can be as easy as washing the windows when the crew calls for oils, checking the tires when you are called for hydro, etc. How easy is that?

Since beginning The Dr.'s method I have an increased sense of job satisfaction and it's really good to feel like you are going above and beyond in your job. Any of you who read this blog and are going to school for your A&P take my advise: When you are done with any task on an airplane (or anywhere for that matter) always ask yourself "What else can I do?" You will learn more, be more appreciated by co workers, become a better employee, and ultimately help your company's bottom line.

Let's not become a group of employees that always look for the easy way out, or always do the minimum amount of work. Let's keep our planes in top shape and the only way to do that is for all of us to take the extra step. When I got hired here at SWA we were able to say we had the best maintenance in the industry and I want to be able to say that when I retire as well. I will thank The Dr. for ya.