Engineering

Value added. Confidence maximized.

As any GSE operator knows, the ramp can be a most inhospitable environment. Frequent changes in weather conditions, extreme fluctuations in temperature, high moisture, cold and heavy snow, and dry and dusty environments, plus the need to run ground support equipment continuously, 24/7, and the huge workload with never-ending schedules, constantly wreak havoc on the equipment.

Sage Parts, the world leader in replacement parts for ground support equipment, is much more than a source for the industry’s finest parts. Our market leadership enables us to provide a comprehensive range of value-added engineering expertise that can enhance the performance of GSE parts, make them easier to service, improve dependability, add longer life, and make parts available at lower prices. For GSE operators, that means greater confidence in knowing their ground support equipment can stand up to the most severe ramp conditions – and total cost of GSE ownership can be dramatically reduced.

 

Unique engineering knowledge. And the experience to make the most of it.

The Sage Parts Engineering Group is composed of highly trained and experienced engineering professionals, with a focus on product design and R&D. More than any other parts supplier, we know GSE parts inside and out. Most importantly, our unequalled parts engineering experience means we understand precisely how GSE parts work in the real world under actual ramp conditions. Our team uses state-of-the-art software, hardware, and test equipment to produce innovative solutions.

A large portion of all that knowledge and understanding comes from our commitment and collaboration with our customers. Sage engineers are continuously exchanging ideas and getting feedback from GSE operators to introduce durability and robustness to our product design efforts. The results are a high degree of understanding of how parts perform in specific applications, what the maintenance and replacement history is for parts, and where certain failures may occur. These elements enhance Sage’s ability to engineer and re-engineer parts that can improve the return on GSE investment and save money for ground support operations, both immediately and over the long term.

 

Extending parts life, and the possibilities. 

The diverse engineering capabilities of Sage Parts enable us to offer our customers replacement parts that can last longer and expand the ways ground support equipment are utilized. Examples include:

  • Parts improvement. Through the feedback we get from customers, we stay abreast of how GSE operators are using their equipment and how GSE maintenance staff maintains the equipment. Calling upon the information we gain straight from the real world of ground support operations, we make improvements to parts by redesigning them and remanufacturing them using better quality materials, better design approaches, and adding enhanced features.
  • Parts from other industries. Many GSE parts are borrowed from industries such as automotive or agriculture. As a result, it’s not uncommon for those parts to have a shorter life, simply because the parts were not designed to withstand the non-stop and unforgiving demands of a ground support operation. Sage engineers study those parts carefully, analyzing all aspects of their performance and their failures...and then we make improvements to provide longer and more dependable life in GSE.
  •  Product invention. Sage engineers often begin from scratch, creating an entirely new part or mechanism. As with parts improvement, the need for new parts typically results from information and suggestions provided to us by our customers. Furthermore, we research the GSE marketplace worldwide on an ongoing basis, identifying parts that have become obsolete and need to be re-invented to meet today’s ground support needs. Newly invented parts are then analyzed extensively, both in state-of-the-art testing facilities and in actual field use.

 

Quality control. Just good is not good enough.

The parts that are engineered and re-engineered by Sage Parts are designed to do more than simply meet requirements. Our parts exceed requirements, resulting in more productive and efficient usage by GSE operators, along with more durability and less frequent replacement.

Our parts undergo rigorous testing and quality assurance processes with stringent criteria. Redundancies are built into those processes in order to identify and address any potential flaws before our parts ever reach the marketplace. What’s more, many of our parts are subjected to an intensive inspection procedure, which means we check every one before shipping. Added to that, we carefully inspect, analyze and test all parts that come back to us under warranty – diagnosing each part and the way it functions, and then we report those findings back to our customers.