B-1B PDM earns prestigious logistics award Published Feb. 8, 2013 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The 2012 Defense Logistics Awards were announced in December during an annual ceremony held in Washington, DC. This year, the B-1B Programmed Depot Maintenance production line, assigned to the 565th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, part of the 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group, was selected for the best logistics strategy in the Department of Defense. Charles Alley, squadron director, was on hand to accept the award on behalf of all the men and women of the B-1B organization. Mr. Alley extended his appreciation to everyone in the organization and said, "This is one of the proudest moments of my career to be part of the B-1 Team." Both the KC-135 and B-1 programmed depot maintenance repair operations were finalists in different categories for the Defense Logistics Awards. The awards were established to honor, recognize and promote the logisticians in the U.S. Department of Defense and the defense industry who have made a significant contribution to military logistics. These logisticians support interoperability and transformation through logistics initiatives, programs and processes. There are three organizational award categories: Best Logistics Strategy, Best Partnership Based Logistics Implementation, and Best Cost Savings and Performance Improvement. These categories are open for unlimited nominations from all corners of the defense industry including the Department of Defense and industry programs supporting defense. To judge the leading programs and initiatives, an unbiased panel of distinguished logisticians assembled to objectively evaluate the nominations. Due to aggressive Air Force senior staff mandated aircraft availability targets, as well as demanding Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex flow-day reduction goals, the 565th AMXS embarked on a powerhouse transformation effort referred to as High Velocity Maintenance. An enterprise value stream analysis was conducted of the B-1B PDM process which resulted in a precision "Production Machine" which established a highly efficient, continuous, repeatable inspection and repair process. Using a combination of Theory of Constraints, Critical Chain Project Management, AFSO 21 and the tenants of HVM, the "Production Machine" is comprised of five gates which encompass a 130-day overhaul process. "Through a barrage of enterprise initiatives, the B-1 team was not only able to identify a myriad of areas to improve but also provided resolutions for these required improvements," said Steve Eichler, B-1B production chief. "The teamwork could not have been any better." To achieve the results necessary, the B-1 team tackled numerous inefficiencies. Knowing each aircraft's input condition prior to arrival was critical. Senior leaders from field flying units and the repair line collaborated on a plan to provide meticulous insight on the condition of each aircraft at 90-day, 60-day and 30-day intervals before induction. Using the experience from the workforce, solid process transition gates with firm milestones were created. These gates were laid out on visual boards showing scripts with day-to-day task sequencing and the visual production process boards were placed on the dock floor to ensure the entire workforce team understood and were engaged in tactically sequencing their part of the overhaul process. These production boards captured daily work progress, the order of tasks to be performed and constraints that impacted the schedule. Serviceable replacement parts were organized in the form of both kits for 100 percent replacement parts (250-plus kits established) and a robust high-usage list that incorporated approximately 70 additional articles. Furthermore, these items were moved near the point of installation to improve delivery times. Aggressive material supportability reviews and part requirement reviews were instituted to sustain aircraft part availability improvements. The B-1B production machine has experienced unbelievable performance improvements. Average repair time has been slashed 84 days. Aircraft undergoing repair (work in process) have been cut by 46 percent (7.5 down to 4) and are below the Air Force aircraft availability goal. That translates to three additional jets, in a small fleet, that are available for real-world operations. Additionally, in fiscal 2010, 50 percent of all B1s were produced late to schedule. In fiscal 2012, the squadron completed 100 percent of its aircraft on-time, with 85 percent actually produced early with an average of 17 days ahead of schedule. The squadron also produced more aircraft than required over the past two years. Further, annual overtime has been chopped by 25,000 hours and out-of-scope work hours have decreased by 1,200 hours per aircraft. Improved capacity also allowed 565th AMXS to perform an additional 20,000-hour aircraft upgrade in FY12. The 565th AMXS fully expects continued improvements and has established a goal of 116 days for fiscal 2013. Further, the improvements have enabled the squadron to tackle the B-1 Integrated Battlestation modification on the Air Force's B-1 fleet which started the first quarter of FY13. This modification will take seven years and require 17,000 labor-hours per aircraft. "These gains could not be possible without the dedication and commitment from the entire organization," Mr. Alley said. "The improvement within the B-1 organization during the past year has been phenomenal! Everyone in the organization has embraced the team concept which has attributed to our success."