First, the big quiz. What does the
acronym, FOD, mean? Foreign Object Damage. The term has also come to be
colloquially used as a noun (foreign-object-debris), and therefore refers
to all the loose pieces of concrete on ramps and taxiways, ice and snow
chunks, baggage wheelies and locks, nuts and bolts, plastic bags, rocks
and stones, and other debris on our ramps and airport environs. While each
small piece may seem inconsequential, collectively they represent a huge
problem.
Each TWA gate should have a FOD bucket on
the ramp, somewhere near the jetway stairs leading to the aircraft. If you
see debris on the ramp, please pick it up. Why? Each piece, no matter how
small, has the potential to ruin an engine or cut a tire. Damaging a
single fan blade on a B-757 engine costs about $26,000. How much do you
think we have spent already this year on FOD damage? Incredibly, those
miniscule items we all have seen have cost us $12,000,000 in the first
five months alone! If twelve million doesn't bother you, consider that one
B-757 in San Juan had both engines damaged by loose concrete. Is this an
airplane you'd like to put your family on?
Beyond the FOD buckets, you
may have noticed two additional ways we are dealing with the problem.
Flight crews on the MD-80 check their aircraft's wings for ice before
every departure. (Because of cold-soaked wings from high altitude flight,
this airplane has the unique ability to make ice from humid surface air,
even in the summer. Right behind the wing are - the engines.) New in the
last few months at JFK and STL is the ultimate FOD gadget, the FOD Boss.
This is a large square membrane material that is pulled around by a
special tug. At first glance, it doesn't look like much, but it sure is
doing the job. We have just set a corporate record by going a full month
without a single FOD damage. Please don't rest on our laurels, because
there truly is only one FOD Boss - - YOU.
Captain Hugh Schoelzel
Vice President - Corporate Safety
First, the big quiz. What does the
acronym, FOD, mean? Foreign Object Damage. The term has also come to be
colloquially used as a noun (foreign-object-debris), and therefore refers
to all the loose pieces of concrete on ramps and taxiways, ice and snow
chunks, baggage wheelies and locks, nuts and bolts, plastic bags, rocks
and stones, and other debris on our ramps and airport environs. While each
small piece may seem inconsequential, collectively they represent a huge
problem.
(Because of cold-soaked wings from high altitude flight,
this airplane has the unique ability to make ice from humid surface air,
even in the summer. Right behind the wing are - the engines.) New in the
last few months at JFK and STL is the ultimate FOD gadget, the FOD Boss.
This is a large square membrane material that is pulled around by a
special tug. At first glance, it doesn't look like much, but it sure is
doing the job. We have just set a corporate record by going a full month
without a single FOD damage. Please don't rest on our laurels, because
there truly is only one FOD Boss - - YOU.
