Other Mobile Plant Operators
This unit group covers Mobile Plant Operators not elsewhere classified. It includes Aircraft Baggage Handlers and Ground Crew, Aircraft Refuellers, Linemarkers, Railway Shunters, Railway Track Plant Operators, Road Roller Operators, Stevedores and Streetsweeper Operators.
A thirty-five minute turnaround
You are a member of the ground crew at a regional airport, working a jet that has landed and must be ready for its next flight. It is just after 10am. The plane has thirty-five minutes on the ground. Passengers are getting off, bags are coming out, fuel must go in, and everyone is watching the clock. You are in the middle of it all, and a few things are about to go wrong.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
We are on time so far and I would like to keep it that way. Make sure the hold is loaded and closed as soon as the last bag is in. Do you have any problems on your side?
Say a bag has a wet side and a strong smell, and you are holding it back until it is checked
The captain thanks you and asks the supervisor to look. The bag is set aside for a proper check, and the flight leaves a few minutes behind. A bag with an unknown liquid is not worth a risk to the whole aircraft.
Wipe the bag with a cloth and load it with the rest, since it is only a bit damp and the plane is on time
The smell gets worse in the hold, and the crew is told about it only after takeoff. The flight is diverted to be checked, and everyone on board is delayed by hours. Hiding a problem to keep to time costs far more.
Load every other bag and leave the wet one to last, to see whether it dries out before you decide
The bag does not dry, and you have lost fifteen minutes. You were right to be unsure, but waiting did not tell you anything new, and the captain heard about it late.
I am bringing the bag trailer around the back of the wing now. It's tight, but I think I can fit through. I haven't got anyone to guide me and we're short on time. I'll go slowly. Is that okay?
Tell him to go slowly and keep an eye on the wing as he passes, since you are busy with the hold
He goes slowly, but he cannot see the wingtip from the driver's seat. He passes with a few centimetres to spare, which is a few centimetres too few.
Tell him to wait, walk over to guide him and stay where he can see you until he is through
With you guiding him, the trailer clears the wing easily. A small ding on a wing can ground an aircraft for days, and a second pair of eyes prevents it.
Tell him to go for it, because you trust him and the plane cannot wait
The trailer clips the wing flap. No one is hurt, but the plane is grounded for inspection, passengers are rebooked, and the whole afternoon schedule is thrown off.
There is lightning reported within the airport warning area. The rule says we stand down, but this plane is the last of the morning and the passengers are boarding. Can you finish loading the last two bags quickly?
Finish the last two bags quickly, since it only takes a minute and the rain has not started
A flash hits close to the terminal. You are on the open apron, holding a metal trolley, and nothing is between you and the sky. No one is injured, but it is far too close.
Tell Kim you will follow the lightning rule, move to shelter and let the pilot know the delay
You are safe, but Kim wanted a plan for the bags. A short note about when you could return would have made the decision easier for the passengers.
Follow the lightning rule, shelter, and plan with Kim to finish once the warning lifts
The warning lifts after twenty minutes. The bags are loaded and the plane leaves. Weather rules exist because someone in the past did not get home.
How it went
The plane left a few minutes late with everything on board that should be and nothing that should not. Mobile plant work on aircraft aprons, wharves and roads is about big machines, tight timing and teamwork. Would you enjoy being part of a crew that keeps things moving safely?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The lashing that looked fine
A fictional case set in a regional airport apron where small jets are turned around, and a container wharf in the nearest port.
The situation
Bronwyn was a stevedore on the night shift at Port Tamsin, helping to load containers onto a ship that was due to leave on the morning tide. She was walking the deck when she noticed a lashing rod on a stack of containers that was bent slightly at one end. It was holding, and the ship's crew had already signed off the stack. The tide was running, a queue of trucks waited on the wharf, and no one else had mentioned it.
What they did
Bronwyn took a photograph and told her gang leader what she had seen, then walked with him to the stack. The gang leader called the ship's mate, who looked at the rod and agreed that it should not be used. A replacement was found from the spare locker and fitted, and the stack was checked again by two people. The ship sailed with a short delay.
How it turned out
The ship left about thirty minutes late. The mate thanked her and noted the replacement in the ship's log. A few days later, the terminal added a quick lashing inspection to its night shift checklist, and Bronwyn's gang leader mentioned that it had started with her photograph.
What would you do?
- How would you decide whether something you noticed was worth stopping a ship for?
- Why might it be important for the ship's crew and the wharf crew to check each other's work?
- What does a photograph add when you tell someone about a problem?