911th Maintainers LEAN on better process, save time and money Published May 18, 2012 By Master Sgt. Mark A. Winklosky 911th Public Affairs PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AIR RESERVE STATION, Pa. -- When faced with austere budgets during tough economic times, two things an organization must look closely at are time and money. Each drives the other and when real and significant savings are returned in both areas, without sacrificing the core of a business, the result is a cultural shift validated only by the numbers. Saving more than $42 million in five years and cutting turnaround times for aircraft maintenance inspections from 51.8 days down to just 13 days accurately describes how the 911th Airlift Wing Maintenance Group dramatically improved their isochronal inspection process, earning them accolades as 'the best in the business' from 22nd Air Force in 2009. "I couldn't be more proud of the performance of our maintainers," say Col. Rebecca Oroukin, 911th Maintenance Group commander. "I've been in aircraft maintenance for 30 years and they are the best at what they do. No one has been able to replicate what they've been able to achieve with any consistency. And they have the track record to prove it," she says. According to Chief Master Sgt. Terrance Keblish, 911th Maintenance Squadron superintendent, being 'the best in the business' was not always the case. "In 2006, we had aircraft sitting for 50 plus days in ISO here and 50 plus days are way too long," says the chief. "So, we [911th MXS] collectively made a decision to change the flow plan of the ISO inspection, and trained our personnel to think and execute the process differently," he says. In the grand scheme of the inspection process, aircraft go through some type of formal inspection every 270 days beginning with the 'Home Station Check.' The ISO (short for isochronal) inspection occurs every 540 days and is a more comprehensive inspection than the HSC. A periodic depot maintenance inspection is also required every five years and covers the entire aircraft. "It's all about how you de-conflict and manage the process every day, taking the flow chart and breaking down every task so people aren't getting in each other's way," says Keblish. "We're not working any harder, we're just working smarter." With 16 shops working on the technical order, which consists of approximately 500 work cards and about 2,300 various tasks to perform, each shop signs off on their respective tasks when completed or makes note of supplies and equipment required for the next task. "How many times have you started a project at home and then had to stop to make yet another trip to Lowe's or Home Depot? Just think of all the time that wastes," says Master Sgt. Sam Ewing, 911th MXS flight chief. "Following this process helps prepare other maintainers for the next task and it saves valuable time in the process. This way, we get it done right the first time," says Ewing. There are three codes given to aircraft after an inspection: Code One = no write-ups or discrepancies; Code Two = some write-ups, but flyable; and Code Three = not flyable. In July of 2007, the first aircraft under the new, consolidated flow chart rolled out of the ISO inspection dock with a 17-day fly-to-fly time but with one problem. It flew a Code Three and came back with an avionics issue that required a needed parts change. "It was the last aircraft to go Code Three, and we swore that day that it would never happen again," says Keblish. "After that, the process continued to improve and 22nd Air Force stood up and took notice at the turnaround times we were producing. We were cutting edge, and shifting the paradigm," says the chief. "No one was in our league, not even close." "As a result of what we were doing here in Pittsburgh, a LEAN (Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century) event was held at 22nd AF in October 2007," says Keblish. "22nd AF wanted to show how Pittsburgh's process improvement worked. They [22nd AF] wanted to push our process to the other C-130 units in 22nd, but didn't want to shove it down their throats," he says. By 2008, after the 'AFSO21 LEAN' event, 22nd AF's fly-to-fly times were cut by 50 percent. "In May of 2008, AFRC held another [AFSO21] event and our process was presented again to all C-130 units within the command," says Keblish. "Unfortunately, there were some key leadership changes at that time which caused our process and savings to never fully come to light within the command," says the chief. "We weren't looking for accolades, but more of an opportunity to make a greater impact beyond Pittsburgh. We have an existing process here that works and that would benefit the entire Air Force and, quite possibly, our sister services as well," says Chief Keblish. "Now the base [911th AW] finds itself in a precarious situation with the closure crisis, and we still feel we are not done improving things here or elsewhere for that matter," says the chief. "Personally, I would love to see AFRC have another AFSO21 event where we could show how we've improved the process even more since 2008," says Keblish. AFSO21 focuses on generating efficiencies and improving combat capabilities across the Air Force. AFSO21 applies to all processes associated with the AF mission, not just any one area. The program is based on both LEAN and Six Sigma business process improvement tools. These tools were developed chiefly in the private sector to focus on increasing value to customers, save time and money, reduce waste and improve quality. A process is made lean by re-engineering it to eliminate steps that add no value to the end product or by combining process steps to save time. The theory is that even good processes can be made better. The 911th Maintenance Group received a Maintenance Standardization and Evaluation Program evaluation in August 2009. The MSEP report stated that "the flight inspection section, with support of the entire maintenance group, produces the best isochronal fly-to-fly statistics in the entire AFRC C-130 fleet. Not only are inspections completed promptly and efficiently, the finished product has a remarkable record for logging code one flights after returning to the flying schedule." Lt. Col. (ret.) Donald A. Van Patten, in his 2007 award winning paper titled Transforming the Aircraft Inspection Process, says that a unit is judged by its effectiveness in the degree of control it retains over its phase and isochronal inspection process. "Unit control has always been a foundational building block for maintaining a healthy fleet of aircraft..." says Van Patten. "...The integral factor to achieving a successful flying hour program is the capability to control the flow and rate at which aircraft are inspected. The inspection process is the banking mechanism for building a savings account of flying hour capability," he says. The savings account of flying hour capability the 911th MXS has banked is more than 940 flying days, or 2.5 years since 2007. That equates to more than $7 million in labor costs and aircraft availability savings of $35 million. "So, in layman's terms, it's kind of like winning the Powerball and adding years back to your life all at the same time," says Ewing. "These cost savings reflect a very conservative number," says Chief Keblish. "The labor cost alone was based on a partial Burdened Labor Rate at only $60.60 per hour. You'll pay that per hour for a mechanic if you take your car to the shop," says the chief. "For an aircraft mechanic, $100 per hour is a more fair assessment, but that's even conservative." The cost reflected for aircraft availability is based on 2009 data. Current fuel costs would also increase the overall savings reflected. Rack-and-stack the C-130 fleet average fly-to-fly times for Air Force Reserve Command's 10, C-130 units in comparison to those of the 911 AW: In 2010, the fleet average was 30.9 days, with the 911th AW at 20 days; in 2011, AFRC's fleet turnaround times increased to 31.9 days and the 911th's decreased to just 18.3 days. Speed can sometimes sacrifice quality, but not in this case. According to Ewing, the Mission Capable (MC) Rate is a quality indicator reflected in the process. "We are not only getting it done quicker, we're getting it done better," says Ewing. The MC statistics for 2010 show the AFRC fleet at 77 percent and the 911th AW at 81.3 percent; for 2011 the fleet jumped to 77.8 percent and the 911th AW was still ahead at 81.4 percent. The MC rate for the Wing increased from 63.25 percent in 2006 to 81.4 percent in 2011. "This is among the very best in AFRC with the oldest C-130s in the fleet," says Chief Keblish. "They may be the oldest, but they still fly great," he says. Another member of the 911th AW who touts the performance of the maintainers and their ability to get aircraft back in the air quicker is 911th Operations Group Commander, Col. Daryl Hartman. "Flying is our mission here and it does us no good to have an aircraft in the ISO dock for 40 or 50 days. Our maintainers give me more aircraft availability and I turn that into more flying missions. They do an incredible job of keeping the aircraft ready and on the flight line. We put them back in the sky and that is key to our success," says Hartman. So, why is there such a difference in these averages, and such a decrease in fly-to-fly times? "The process we have in place is unlike any other in AFRC," says Ewing. "We have led the pack in AFRC since 2007. I think the difference is the people. The process can only get you so far. It's the maintainers turning those wrenches who take it the rest of the way," he says. Pittsburgh has a reputation as a blue collar town forged from its steel industry roots. The people living in this area were brought up with a strong work ethic. It is this kind of mentality that still exists here today, says Ewing. These men and women in uniform here carry on that same tradition of hard work and dedication every day. When dedication meets innovation new tools in the market place can complement the way of doing things and help embellish an already existing program such as the ISO inspection process. One of the tools used to improve the process was the recent purchase of Microsoft Project 2010 software. This program quickly transformed wrench turners into mouse clickers. "With this software, anyone can get a quick glance at where we are in the process and learn which shops may be falling behind, or pulling ahead. It helps drive the process," says Ewing. The process has become so efficient that the maintainers are called upon at times to even perform ISO inspections on active-duty C-130s. "When there's an emergency and help is needed you dial 9-1-1. When a C-130 is in need of a quick turnaround, you dial 9-1-1 for our Maintenance Squadron," says Ewing. Most recently, a call was received from AFRC as to whether the 911th MXS could do an ISO inspection on an active duty C-130 from Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. According to Ewing, the 1974 model C-130 arrived at the 911th AW April 9, 2012, got a bath the next day, and went into the ISO dock on the 11th. "With this aircraft, we laid everything out, plugged it in the schedule and came up with 18 days for a turnaround goal. This was quite ambitious considering several members, key to the process, were in Puerto Rico supporting Coronet Oak missions," says Ewing. "After it was all said and done, it actually took 22-days for this plane," says Chief Keblish. "There are some things we [911th MXS] do here to ensure these birds are ready to fly and sometimes it takes a few more days than expected, but 22-days is still less than half of what we were producing just five-years ago." There has also been a change in the culture and philosophy throughout maintenance which has shown an acceptance of this new way of doing business, says Keblish. "Let's face it," says the chief. "Everyone is afraid of change. But, there seems to be a shift from fear to acceptance here and it's exciting to see that change as the culture shifts. What was once viewed as impossible [going from an ISO process averaging 51.8 days to just 13 days] is now accepted as the standard operating procedure here." "We're not done though," says Keblish. "There are still some areas we can improve upon. I honestly believe if we had two full shifts and tweaked our process a bit more, we could get average fly-to-fly times down to around 7-10 days. Then we can talk about saving the Air Force some serious cash."