BRAMPTON, Ont. — Trailcon Leasing is looking to adopt the airline industry’s ‘fix it before it fails’ approach to equipment maintenance and uptime, and recently visited Boeing to see how it’s done.

Key executives visited Boeing for a plant tour and educational sessions with the aim of streamlining Trailcon’s own fleet maintenance operations and redesigning its parts and inventory processes.

“Knowing we wanted to develop processes that were state-of-the-art and enduring, we focused on the ‘fix it before it fails’ aviation approach and searched for companies that had an exceptional focus on parts excellence,” said Trailcon Leasing president Al Boughton.

The Trailcon team of Paul Lahie, Don Andrews, Giovanie Cani and Bryan Burningham made the trek to Boeing Aerospace in Seattle, Wash., to learn about the aviation company’s best practices and to get a hands-on look at its processes.

They say they gained a better understanding of key procedures for enhancing accuracy and repetition in the day-to-day parts practices. A highlight for the crew was learning how Boeing improved its passenger seat installation process, reducing the time it took to equip a plane down from three shifts and more than 24 hours, to just two hours, increasing aircraft production from 22 planes a month to 42.

Bryan Burningham, Trailcon’s vice-president, service and operations, says Trailcon, inspired by Boeing, will continue on its own journey to remove waste and bottlenecks, and streamline its parts business.