What airport screeners need is a bonus plan

Our Washington politicians can finally stop fighting about how to best motivate the beleaguered airport security screeners.

Democrats want the screeners on the federal payroll. Republicans want them to remain in the private sector. They've been shrieking at each other for weeks.

But now, they can stop shrieking.

The problem has been solved. Solved, I tell you.

In this column. Today.

Let's call it the Nicodemus Airport Security Initiative...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...pagenews%2Dutl

I agree with this. Im concerned about lax standards, and also deviating standards regarding how rigurous these people are.

See my related post at:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/005595.html

it worked for colorado ski resorts. It used to be that you could borrow anyone's season pass and use it. Now the lift ops get $50.00 ($8.00 hour job) for every cheater they catch, and now watch everything like a hawk. It is much much harder to sneak in with someone else's pass now.

Exit Door Left Unattended At Boston Logan

Part of a concourse at Boston Logan Airport was evacuated and some 500 passengers were re-screened after an exit door was briefly left unattended.

Massport spokesman Phil Orlandella said a law enforcement officer noticed there was no one watching an exit where passengers normally leave the concourse.

The area is supposed to be guarded to ensure that no one enters the concourse without first going through security.

http://news.airwise.com/stories/2001/11/1005741173.html


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[b]Airport Security Put In Question[b]

The NTSB Inspector general said today that there continue to be alarming security lapses at airports despite tighter controls implemented after September 11.

Kenneth Mead told a Senate hearing that his office, working with Federal Aviation Administration staff, had identified some 90 incidents involving poor security practices since they began monitoring screening operations.

These included inconsistent use of explosive detection systems to screen checked bags, screeners not finding knives and other dangerous items in passengers' carry on bags and the failure of carriers to randomly check passengers boarding aircraft.

"We believe fundamental changes are needed to enhance the effectiveness of the aviation security system," Mead told the Senate Governmental Affairs subcommittee.

http://news.airwise.com/stories/2001/11/1005773558.html



[This message has been edited by doc (edited 11-14-2001).]

Safe Landing For Airline Security

http://www.nydailynews.com/2001-11-1...n/a-132403.asp

I agree with DOC. As a business owner I pay ALL of my employees in all three companies on a commission/incentive basis. It is the only way to help them establish personal net value. They must have incentive to do better. Hourly employees expect to sell their time in return for money. As an employer you need to create a senerio in which they can expand their income per hour through increased production. The trick, in this situation, is creating efficiency because some screeners will take forever on each passenger just to get a bonus in the early stages of such a system. It is, however, THE solution!

If the "bonus plan" is to be truly effective the screeners will have to be carefully screened themselves to insure that they aren't carrying to goods to work for the purpose of "finding" prohibited items to enhance their income.

Sorry, I just don't see this as beneficial. Unless you're willing to have some people go through the lines with things that should be confiscated on a random basis, if people play by the rules, then there will be no bonuses paid. And it will be totally random who gets the bonus.

This isn't a sales job, where your work leads to the sale which leads to your commission check. There, a bonus plan makes sense.

Here, it's so random that it's really not going to be an incentive in my view.

Sorry but life IS a sales job. But bonus' don't need to be "I caught you" driven. How about "piece work" on the assembly line. How about an accident free bonus as is done in some industries. How about a bonus for no terrorists! This is exactly what's great with America....debate! However it's done, a bonus is best!

Don't you think that if the flunkies who are currently working airline security had it within their capacitiy to "sell" something they'd be doing something else. There are all kinds of employment opportunties that offer greater incentives than "metal detector operator." The people you see at the airport selected that job as fitting their capabilities and needs.

IMHO, Any attempt to improve the current airline security workforce is equivalent to what a redneck cousin of mine calls "shining a turd;" no matter how good we try and make it look, it still stinks.

[This message has been edited by Spyder (edited 11-19-2001).]

Lets apply that to police and fire. We'll give bonus incentives to those who catch speeders and shoplifters and those who violate fire codes and don't wear seatbelts in accidents.

It's a public safety issue. Make them public employees, have high entry and ongoing standards, pay them well, treat them well and you'll have a great service like you do with a vast majority of police and fire agencies.

They're talking about raising the pay rate to around $35K a year for these folks, which is roughly comparable to what cops start out at around my neck of the woods.

With the economy slowing, a lot of people will want those $35K a year paychecks, so what you will have is far more intelligent and competent people applying for these jobs.

The $7 an hour idiots who get rejected by Starbucks won't be around for very long because they simply won't be able to compete with the people applying for these jobs now.

I would expect the same kind of standards that are required for cops to be imposed on these folks. That pretty much means all the Argen-not-bright people will be gone.

Only time will tell. Let's see how the higher wages work. You could be absolutely correct and the caliber of employee will be similar to our local police which is good as long as you aren't flying from wherever Jackie Gleason worked in Smokey and the Bandit!

You're right, and I could be wrong. But I do think that when you more than double the pay, which is what they're doing in going from $7.00 a hour to $35K a year, you'll get a better talent pool to choose from. That can only help.

Of course, government jobs are notoriously difficult to get fired from.