I have been listening to some of nostr:npub15879mltlln6k8jy32k6xvagmtqx3zhsndchcey8gjyectwldk88sq5kv0n podcasts this past week. He brought up some points about the decay of our infrastructure, housing, and other items and the upcoming crisis we will endure fixing it. This is something that I have noticed in my career.

I am a mechanical engineer in the military aviation world dealing with manufacturing, repair and overhaul (MRO) of aircraft. In this area there has been a dramatic decline in the capabilities of the companies and government along with skilled workers that are involved in MRO. This decline takes many different forms, two of which are manufacturing ability and the lack of skilled workers.

Manufacturing ability is affected in one area by the lack of metal foundries to cast parts, especially when older aircraft need just one or two of a certain part. Foundries in the United States either will not take on the work due to low amount of parts needed or there is an overall lack of foundries because they are leaving to go overseas due to cheaper labor. The result is a supply chain constraint that may last 2-3 years for a certain part. This causes spare part supplies to be reduced to critical levels or the reuse of used parts that are beyond usable life. Both damage the readiness and safety of vital aircraft.

There is also a lack of a knowledgable and skilled workforce. This results in fully equipped machine or mechanic shops not being able to provide even basic parts or repairs and as a consequence they sit idle. I have seen this firsthand.

This is a problem that will not get better and is not exclusive to aviation, it is industry wide. We as a whole have devalued the making of things and teaching the vital skills to do such and consequently put too much value into pursuits that do not build our society or make it better. I am not sure how this gets any better and it will only get worse.

#grownostr #plebchain #nostr