In 2019, Menzies ITP Fuelling at San Francisco lost a large portion of the United Airlines fuelling business. This was a real blow to the team but prompted a period of reflection and change…and now the business is back!

Working together and making the most of Regional Director Mike Demeritt’s experience, the team reset their vision and purpose and focused on improving safety, onboarding and training.

Mike explains the process; “We worked with employees on a one-to-one basis to set out exactly what’s expected of them in terms of safety standards and processes. We also talked about being accountable – it always pays to challenge poor practice and it’s always OK to question why something is being done a particular way.”

Marcel Martins, ITP General Manager, reflects; “Where we didn’t always take responsibility before and maybe cut corners, we’re no longer letting any detail pass without coaching the employees, so they realise the impact of an unsafe procedure. Regular refresher training helps create good behaviours and sends the right message that we care about Menzies people as well as about the safety of the operation. We’re able to show everyone that, when we work safely, the operational results come automatically – there is no good performance without good safety.”

A MORSE mindset…
This intense training and support has created a MORSE mindset at San Francisco, with safety now the station’s undoubted number one priority.

The Menzies safety philosophy (MORSE) centres on operating responsibly, safely and effectively and examples of this can now be found on a regular basis at San Francisco. Mike tells the story; “We had a situation recently where fuel gauges weren’t working properly, and our fuelling team member took the time to pause the operation and alert engineering. This caused a small delay to the flight but averted a major fuel spill which would have had far bigger repercussions. We’ve seen a real difference in the way our people are dealing with safety and our airline partners are delighted with the change.”

…and an excellent outcome
The change has been so clear to United Airlines, in fact, that they’ve reinstated Menzies as the sole provider of fuel for their aircraft at San Francisco.