30.06.2024
How our tooling solutions make aircraft service safe from FOD
Inhalt
Aircraft maintenance is demanding: on the one hand, work must be carried out quickly and efficiently so that the aircraft are in the air as much as possible. On the other hand, hardly any other area places such high demands on the tools, and safety. There is even a separate term for this: Foreign Object Damage (FOD). In this article, you’ll learn what this means and how STAHLWILLE helps service technicians eliminate FOD risk.
01.
What is Foreign Object Damage or FOD?
The name says it all: Foreign Object Damage describes damage to the aircraft caused by foreign objects. This can be bird impact or a hail storm, for example. Forgotten or lost tools are also included in the FOD category, for example a socket or a small part that has unintentionally come loose from the tool. In and around the aircraft and in particular in the turbine area, FOD must be eliminated as far as is humanly possible.
02.
Increased FOD safety with screwless design
To achieve this goal, STAHLWILLE is using several levers at once, starting with tool design. Because: the fewer parts a tool consists of, the fewer parts can be lost. So the safest small part is the one you don't need at all. That’s why STAHLWILLE doesn't use bolted connections for aviation tools - such as FOD-safe ratchets and torque wrenches - and even the two-component handle for fine-tooth ratchets with stainless steel handles.
03.
QuickRelease makes attached accessories “unlosable”
It is also important to protect attachments against accidental loss. STAHLWILLE invented the QuickRelease system for this purpose. An extension or socket can only be released from a torque wrench or ratchet by pressing the release button. The special thing about the system is that it’s the only one on the market that locks all attachment tools from the ratchet, accessories and socket without making the head and drive of the ratchet and accessories larger. The result: even in tight spaces, it is possible to work with an extension - safe in the knowledge that the socket, extension or universal joint cannot be lost by mistake.
04.
Trust is good - control is better
Last but not least, there are two other factors that provide significantly more safety: organisation and visibility. Tools in Tool Control System (TCS) inlays ensure both. All tools are optimally and clearly arranged in laser cut recesses. And because these recesses are designed in a signal colour, it is noticeable at first glance if a part is missing. Closing the drawer of a tool trolley or putting a tool box back in a trolley without noticing a missing tool is practically ruled out with TCS inlays.
So: Many individual measures can improve FOD safety. But it is only the STAHLWILLE triad of screwless design, loss prevention with QuickRelease and the clear layout of TCS inlays that guarantees the absolute optimum level of safety. Both in the hangar and on the runway.