When Is It Okay To Use Duct Tape To Repair A Boeing 737-800?

It was one of those travel days.  Things were not going my way.  I reached a fairly high level of frustration when my attempt to purchase a seat, that would ultimately fly empty, failed.

After having to unnecessarily wait three hours for the next flight, I made myself comfortable on a Boeing 737-800 (a plane that went into service in 2015).  I had moved on from my frustration, and fully accepted my fate of getting home at 2 a.m.  I thought to myself that the employees who had made bad decisions, were likely equipped with some inadequate systems.  I was doing what I always do.  I gave the people, and even the leadership, the benefit of the doubt.  I was over it… or so I thought.  

As the flight attendant pulled the curtain between first class and coach, I noticed a repair that had been made, with a piece of duct tape.  See below:

To be clear, it was abundantly obvious that the duct tape had been there for many weeks.  It was not just done to get them through the day before they could get the proper repair completed.  

Perhaps you are thinking something like this, “Really, Blake?  You think that is a big deal?”  My response is simple.  Yes! It is absolutely a big deal.  In fact, I would argue that it is the most telling thing that I had experienced all day with this airline.

All my other frustrations were rooted in an individual behaving badly, and/or perhaps an unlucky series of events leading to my situation.  This duct tape repair job is different.  It is indicative of an entirely dysfunctional organization across many departments.  It is strong evidence that excellence is not embedded in their culture.  In the course of a few weeks, how many flight attendants, maintenance personnel, customer service agents, and even pilots walked by this inadequate repair work?  

I am aware that this quick fix had no bearing on the functional integrity of the aircraft. That said, where is your pride in what you do?  This is a $70 million aircraft that is less than 5 years old, and I would bet hundreds of employees walked by this inept repair and decided that it was alright.  A vast majority likely didn’t notice.  I could argue that is an issue as well, but, to ensure my point of view seems reasonable for all, I will grant that only a relatively small percentage of employees noticed.  

Colin Powell has been credited with saying, “If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters.  Excellence is not an exception; it is a prevailing attitude.”  I do not think I am teaching anything to you as a reader that you do not already know.  My hope is, as a leader in your organization, even if you are not in a leadership position, that you would never allow for something like lingering makeshift repairs to become accepted.  

My purpose is not to rant about this airline.  Hence, I am not even mentioning their name.  The objective here is to provoke some thought for you and/or for your organization.  

Would your company think this is acceptable?  Is the culture so unfocused on excellence, that tens or even hundreds of employees believe the details are not that critical?  Are people in your organization not empowered nor expected to have a voice when it comes to being exceptional?  Worse yet, if you pointed out a similar issue to someone’s attention cross-functionally, would you be told to mind your own business?  If the answer to any of these questions is yes, I would have a difficult time being convinced that the organization is set-up for success.  

Perhaps this is just a long-winded way of saying “the devil is in the details?”  However, I believe a cliché like that could diminish the value in the lesson.   

So when is it okay to repair a 737-800 with a piece of duct tape?  It is okay so long as you are okay being okay.  

Blake A. Watermeier is an experienced field leader and advisor with operational excellence experience since 1995. He has been involved in several change management initiatives with large, medium, and small companies. He holds a Bachelors in Business Administration from Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business, a Masters in Business Administration from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, and a Lean/Six Sigma Yellow Belt from the University of Texas at Dallas.