Written by Alex Davison, Business Director at Affinity Flying Services Limited
Running a small aviation business comes with its challenges. You’re juggling strict regulations, high operational costs, and pressure to stay competitive. What if there was a simple, manageable way to improve your business, bit by bit, without feeling overwhelmed? That’s where Becoming Our Best (BOB) comes in. Based on the continuous improvement principles of Kaizen, BOB focuses on making small, consistent changes that add up to big improvements over time.
What is BOB?
Becoming Our Best (BOB) is a practical, tailored approach to continuous improvement for our small aviation business. Instead of overwhelming our team with major overhauls, BOB focuses on small, manageable changes that anyone in the company can suggest or implement. These steady improvements lead to increased efficiency, safety, and customer satisfaction.
The core philosophy of BOB includes five key principles:
- Continuous Improvement: Regular, incremental improvements instead of waiting for big changes.
- Involve Everyone: From engineers to office staff, everyone can contribute ideas.
- Process Focus: Improve processes to prevent problems from happening in the first place.
- Standardise Success: When something works, make sure everyone does it the same way.
- Customer First: Every improvement should ultimately benefit our customers.
Why Continuous Improvement Matters in Aviation
In aviation, where safety, efficiency, and customer satisfaction are critical, continuous improvement isn’t optional, it’s essential. Implementing BOB can make a significant difference across various areas of the business.
Boosting Safety and Staying Compliant
At Affinity Flying Services Limited, safety is our top priority. Regularly reviewing and refining our processes allows us to identify potential safety risks before they escalate. The BOB approach helps us cultivate a culture where safety remains at the forefront of everything we do. Staying on top of regulatory compliance becomes easier when our operations are constantly being fine-tuned.
Increasing Efficiency
Efficiency is vital in aviation, and BOB enables small adjustments that can significantly impact performance. Whether streamlining maintenance schedules, improving supply chain management, or optimising flight operations, these small changes reduce downtime and lower costs, leading to a more productive business.
Improving Customer Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is central to Affinity Flying Services’ mission to support UK military air capability. A continuous improvement programme like BOB allows us to make ongoing adjustments to enhance the experience for our key partners, such as the Ministry of Defence. By improving communication and providing timely updates on aircraft availability, we ensure smoother operations and better training outcomes. This helps us deliver a more modern and efficient training pipeline.
Fostering Innovation and Engagement
BOB encourages a workplace culture where everyone is invited to share ideas on improving the business. This not only drives innovation but also boosts employee engagement. When employees feel their input is valued, they’re more motivated to contribute to the company’s success.
Starting a BOB-style programme is easier than you might think. Here’s how Affinity got BOB rolling:
1. Build a BOB Team
We started by forming a small team from different parts of the business, such as maintenance, operations, and business services. Their role was to organise improvement efforts and ensure ideas turned into actionable changes. It doesn’t take a big committee, just a few people who are committed to driving improvement.
2. Identify Opportunities for Improvement
Finding areas for improvement doesn’t require waiting for problems to arise. We reviewed clunky or time-consuming processes and asked the teams for their suggestions. Process mapping and root cause analysis, or even casual discussions, helped us uncover opportunities for change.
3. Run BOB Events
BOB events, also known as “Just Do It” activities, are focused efforts to solve specific problems over a few days. For example, we brought together cross-functional teams to address particular challenges. These quick wins not only solved immediate issues but also showed the power of continuous improvement to the rest of the team.
4. Track Success
We established key performance indicators (KPIs) related to people, safety, quality, delivery, and cost. Regularly reviewing these metrics helps us measure the impact of the improvements and identify areas that still need work.
5. Standardise and Sustain
When an improvement works, we make it the standard practice across the company. Documenting the process ensures everyone follows the same steps. Keeping momentum is essential, so regular reviews and celebrating small wins help maintain a culture of continuous improvement.
Handling Common Challenges
Like any initiative, implementing BOB came with a few challenges, but we found ways to overcome them:
Resistance to Change
Change can make people uncomfortable, especially if they fear it might impact their roles. Clear communication is key. We reassured our team that BOB was about making the business better for everyone, not cutting jobs. Celebrating early wins helped build confidence and buy-in.
Limited Resources
Small businesses often have limited time and resources to devote to improvement efforts. The beauty of BOB is that it’s all about small, manageable changes. We focused on high-impact areas first and didn’t try to fix everything at once.
Keeping Momentum
Maintaining momentum can be tricky after the initial excitement wears off. We keep BOB at the forefront by scheduling regular review meetings and celebrating improvements, no matter how small. When continuous improvement becomes part of your business culture, sustaining progress becomes much easier.
In aviation, where safety, efficiency, and customer satisfaction are critical, a continuous improvement programme like BOB can make a significant difference. By focusing on small, consistent improvements and involving everyone in the business, BOB helps tackle challenges in a way that feels manageable. Whether it’s reducing costs, improving safety, or boosting customer satisfaction, BOB enables our business to thrive through continuous improvement.