Redefining the status quo on sustainability

StandardAero has a proud history of environmental commitment and performance that dates back over 20 years. Brian Dempsey, StandardAero’s Director of Health, Safety and environmental, shares how sustainability continues to go hand in hand with the MRO company’s business model.

All companies, including MROs, must focus on sustainability to remain competitive. a good management system (whether quality, safety or environmental) is simply good business. Reducing waste in all its forms improves profitability.

At StandardAero, we repair rather than replace. We use a rigorous standardised inspection method to ensure replacement parts are not purchased unnecessarily and unneeded repairs are not carried out on serviceable parts. The repair engineers in our components business are constantly looking for new ways to repair worn parts. That helps our customers with their sustainability.

Sustainability starts at the top and our CEO, Russell Ford, reminds the staff of his mantra: ‘perfect execution’. Part of that perfect execution includes monitoring key business metrics. Sustainability takes its place with other key performance indicators, such as customer satisfaction, quality, safety and financial performance. Influenced by that mantra, an environmental specialist at each company location provides sustainability guidance to their respective sites.

Responsible action

At our Fleetlands site in southern England, we are entrusted with the environmental protection of many rare plants, such as a wild orchid and strawberry clover on 60 hectares of green space. Almost two kilometres of the site perimeter borders the Portsmouth harbour Ramsar special protection area, a salt wetland of international significance. The adjacent wetlands, mudflats and waterways include the winter feeding grounds for dark-bellied brent geese. We manage all our operations with great care to avoid any pollution. The Fleetlands site ensures that its recycling programme is maximised and that no waste is sent to landfill.  

StandardAero’s San Antonio, Texas facility in the US has long been a zero-discharge water facility. over the last 15 years, the site has reused millions of litres of water in the plating process using reverse osmosis technology. When the opportunity arose to expand into the other half of the facility, we installed a new cleaning line using that same zero-discharge philosophy.

Equally, in our chemical production areas, high-level liquid sensors and berm alarms are used to alert staff and turn off the flow of water to avoid a secondary containment breach.

High standards  

StandardAero is not afraid of being on the leading edge of technology. For the lighting upgrade at a new building on the Winnipeg, Canada campus, we installed the latest version of the Delta controls lighting system. Delta worked with us to upgrade their software several times during the installation. The new lighting system allows us to individually address each fixture and includes occupancy sensors to minimise energy waste. We have the flexibility to regroup light fixtures (without rewiring) as floor layout designs change due to increased volume or turn time reduction projects.

In our new building in Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, we installed high-efficiency tankless hot water heaters. Thermostatic mixing valves and automatic sensors ensure that faucets deliver a minimum amount of water at a safe temperature. Additionally, we are constantly evaluating our compressed air system and are in the process of connecting three buildings on the Winnipeg campus to a primary variable speed drive air compressor.

Sustainable success

With the purchase of Vector Aerospace, we embarked on a project to consolidate work at centres of excellence. Reductions in resource use and energy savings have resulted from this consolidation in the Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Singapore. This allows us to produce the same amount of product with a smaller footprint, thereby reducing our use of natural gas, electricity and raw materials. We are especially proud of our stewardship of a large piece of industrial property in the Netherlands. The site operated for decades with processes including engine testing, electroplating, wastewater treatment and chemical cleaning. When we sold the property, the only remediation that was required was a patch of soil with elevated zinc from rainwater adjacent to a galvanised shed roof. And that’s just status quo; business as usual. Our ISO 14001 environmental management system forces us to look for new and inventive ways to produce safe-for-fight products with sustainable methods. and we’ll keep doing it as we strive for perfect execution.