S-W-A-G

So I was watching TV the other day. There was a show on about snipers. The show detailed all the things that a sniper must go through to figure out how he was going to make his shot. There are mathematical formulas that they go through, they use tools such as scopes and wind finders, laser rangers, etc. A lot of things have to be done, quickly, for a sniper to be successful. The thing that struck me however, was one sniper who said that after all the formulas and tools are used it can come down to something they call SWAG (Scientific Wild A$$ Guess). That got me thinking.

We who work line maintenance rely on BITE tests, tools, and the maintenance manuals to tell us what is wrong with aircraft. On days and swings these things have to be done quickly to avoid delays. The thing about it is that it often does come down to SWAG. We use our tools and computers to point us in the right direction, to eliminate the majority of suspects, but it often is SWAG or and educated guess that fixes most problems.

People often discount the human factor in our job. The maintenance manual can point you in the right direction but a good mechanic can meld all his previous experiences to arrive at the proper fix. The Scientific part of SWAG is really the part that you add your two cents into the situation to arrive at a proper fix. I can't tell you how many times pilots have asked me "How did you know to look there?" The answer is SWAG. I know that this thing works this way or that so I can eliminate systems to come up with the fix.

I notice that guys that worked for Non-Scheds have a lot of common sense. They are also very good at SWAG. Ask those guys how they knew to change a particular part and they will most likely not be able to tell you how they did it. Those guys had to work "out side of the box" when they worked at Non-Scheds. Often times they are on their own and away from support of any kind. The planes they worked on were grounded until they came up with a fix. SWAG is a huge tool in the old line mechanics tool bag and should not be under-estimated!!