Airlines are a $700 billion industry and if you pay attention at an airport, you’ll see that a large portion of their budget is dedicated to specialized equipment. There are luggage trains, jetways, cargo belt loaders, stair trucks, tugs, and tow tractors just to name a few. It seems that everything function has its own piece of equipment to handle the job.
So, imagine my surprise when I saw a worker stick his head out of the cockpit window and wash the jet windshield with a rag he pushed with a mop. It doesn’t get much more low-tech than this. It reminded me of an inner-city street corner where a guy jumps out and washes your windows by hand!
I’m sure, for the right cost, Boeing could have designed wipers that are able to withstand the 500 mph wind but someone decided that what is standard on all cars was an unnecessary expense for planes.
Maybe there is a lesson for your organization from this situation. Sometimes manual functions are better than technology. Not everything has to be automated or sophisticated. Clarity can also be found with a good old-fashioned rag.
