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548th PMXS shop eliminates wasteful operations; saves time, cost, space

  • Published
  • By Brandice J. O'Brien
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  By taking a simplistic approach to process improvement, 548th Propulsion Maintenance Squadron Blade and Gearbox Unit personnel achieved staggering results. They reduced backlog, flow days and customer costs. Like their 76th Maintenance Support Group and 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group counterparts, they proved "Art of the Possible" is more than a motivational phrase.

Commonly heard throughout the Air Force Sustainment Center, "Art of the Possible" refers to striving for more than what was initially thought possible. The Blade and Gearbox Unit personnel achieved it through an engine blade process improvement initiative where they inventoried and streamlined blade equipment, set up an analytics station and leaned several workspaces. Furthermore, the team eliminated wasteful processes.

"It was an employee-driven initiative that met a couple of times a week and they mapped out the current state process and identified waste and looked for non-value added things," said Emily McGinnis, 548th PMXS Blade Repair work leader. "We took a simplistic approach and let the employees not be afraid to ask questions. Usually out here, you just do your job. You don't ask questions. We encouraged people to ask 'why' they were doing certain things."

Inventorying shop spaces
In October 2012, the team inventoried and organized several shops, which had been in complete disarray.

"We had boxes and pallets aligned from wall to wall. Baskets were everywhere, from floor to ceiling," said Clayton Wagner, 548th PMXG chemical cleaner. "There was no rhyme or reason."

Mr. Wagner said shop personnel organized the pallets and baskets into swim lanes and inventoried the equipment and tools.

"We slashed days of inventory by 99 percent from 29.1 days to .4," Mr. Wagner said. "Morale has definitely improved and we reduced overtime from 18 percent to zero."
Through inventorying, the team found equipment wasn't being effectively utilized or processed. Like a treadmill used as a hangar in a bedroom, it was uncounted for and stationary. The team reallocated the equipment and sent it to areas where it would be used.

By clearing the space, there is room for more equipment, such as a blaster, which was obtained from storage and saved more money, said Donna Stacy, 76th Propulsion Maintenance Group process engineer.

"This process has really been amazing," said Bob Stewart, 548th PMXS mechanic.

Analytics station
The team also set up an analytics station to inspect arriving parts for flaws or defects before they are shipped to another area.

"In the month of December, we caught 13 percent of our workload before it was ever entered into the system," Mr. Wagner said.

Ms. McGinnis said that equates to a cost avoidance savings in excess of one million dollars or more than 10,000 unusable blades.

Previously, the items weren't accounted for until they reached a repair station and were inventoried as needed. If at that point, the part was condemned or had an incorrect identification number, it held up the next step in the chain.

Leaning the workspace
Prior to an engine blade process improvement initiative, each person in the Moment Weigh Shop was responsible for a particular set of blades, from cradle to grave. Meaning, that person ordered the blades, completed its paperwork and patternized the set before sending the blades to the next station, completing the job from start to finish. Each blade set required 30 minutes to an hour of time.

As a result of a rapid improvement event, the workspace has been leaned to a modular flow and three people work as a team to care for each set. Now, it takes approximately 6.25 minutes to work a set of blades.

"We used to have one or two people manning this station, all this room, all this stuff," Ms. McGinnis said. "But, now we have three people and what it means is work is constantly flowing and they're making sure everything goes to the next step. We can sell and put out as much work as they give us because we are the very end product. This is the end of line. From here, they get packaged and go to the engine line.

"We didn't reduce shifts or reduce manpower or anything like that, but we really cut down on square footage and amount of time it took to do the job," she said.

Eliminating extra workspace
Following another rapid improvement event, the team found processes were being duplicated in a couple of shops. To eliminate the extra work, officials decided to eliminate the mezzanine shop, which will also save energy to light the area and power the equipment. Personnel and tools will be transferred to a ground-floor shop.

Miscellaneous savings
Shop personnel also removed an outdated conveyor system and inventory system. The former Blade Tracking System had cost the squadron $567,000 for software support and wasn't an effective system. The squadron switched to a self-developed system that doesn't require software support.