See examples of my aviation industry work.

I once overheard an aviation professional proclaim that she had never forgotten the first time she smelled jet fuel. Later, other aviation professionals gushed how aviation gets in your blood. Though at the time I didn’t understand either of these sentiments, after a decade of covering the aviation industry, I do. The topic is in my blood too. I cover all things aviation for a host of aviation companies, where I write custom pieces, web copy and promotional material. I also edit and write articles for a growing list of aviation publications, including Airport Improvement, Aircraft Maintenance Technology, Airport Business, DOM Magazine and Ground Support Worldwide.

As aviation seeped into my blood, I learned many things. And, in an industry where the acronym reigns as king, I am confident I will never stop learning. My biggest takeaway, after a decade in this industry, has been learning to transform tech speak to clear messages others can easily understand. The range of topics I cover is vast, and includes the following: aircraft repair, fueling, hangar safety, ground support, technology advances, biometrics and security, software and the IOT, commercial/general aviation and airport design.

Excerpt 1

Lock Out Tag Out (LOTO) is essentially a safety procedure that ensures dangerous machines are properly shut off and unable to be started up again until the completion of maintenance or servicing work. The procedure requires that hazardous energy sources be “isolated and rendered inoperative” before work begins on the equipment in question. A worker locks the isolated power sources and puts a tag on the lock identifying himself as the person who placed the lock on it. Only the worker in question has the key for the lock, meaning that only he or she can restart the machine. This prevents the accidental startup of machinery while it is in a hazardous state.

LOTO procedures are so important to workplace safety that the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) recently released revised processes in its nearly 35-year-old LOTO regulation. The revision of ANSI Z244.1, titled “The Control of Hazardous Energy-Lockout, Tagout and Alternative Methods,” outlines state-of-the-art methodology to enhance lockout safety practices to better protect people performing potentially hazardous work on machinery, equipment, and yes, even corporate jets.

(From article on new ANSI Z244.1 regulation for DOM Magazine.)

Excerpt 2

A bag’s travels typically go something like this:  A passenger checks in and a bag source message (BSM) is generated. The BSM contains a wealth of data, including the date, flight number, destination, registration number and a unique barcode. This barcode, or IATA license plate, is checked against a computer database of departing flights and set for delivery to the correct terminal and gate. After a security check, a bag moves through an airport’s baggage systems to the correct loading bay. Here, ground handlers scan the BSM before loading the bag onto the plane. The bag then either travels to its destination directly or makes a few stops at other airports along the way, where it must be transferred to a different plane.

(From article on IATA Resolution 753 for Ground Support Worldwide magazine.)