Tinker's AMR process becomes AFMC standard

Published Nov. 14, 2011
Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center Aerospace Sustainment Directorate

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Made at Tinker? You betcha!

Two years ago, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center Aerospace Sustainment Directorate personnel began developing standard work within the Aircraft and Missile Requirements, or AMR, process, knowing there had to be a more effective way to plan new programmed depot maintenance tasks. With the help of their partners from other organizations, a team of approximately 20 members documented new underpinning sub-processes for AMR in an OC-ALC instruction to provide standardization across the center.

"This is a strategic initiative that cuts across organizational and functional lines. The effort has aligned the efforts of multiple stakeholders to accomplish a single goal, to deliver high quality product to the warfighter efficiently and on time," said Maj. Gen. David Gillett, OC-ALC commander.

The AMR process outlines aircraft PDM plans which include engineering tasks and their associated maintenance hours and supportability details needed for successful execution of those plans. New PDM tasks are typically defined and approved three to four years in advance; however, they can be scheduled for an earlier start date based on a positive supportability posture or urgency.

The process entails multi-organizational experts utilizing a standard development packet to enable the weapon system's chief engineer to evaluate and approve a fully defined requirement. System Program Manager AMR leads then request a price out from maintenance planners who provide the man-hours needed to complete the work. Multiple processes continue until the task is approved for input into the weapon system's budget. Next the program office provides forecasts for material needs to the supply chain managers who take necessary actions to obtain the parts by need date.

This new process is expected to solve the problem identified in 2009 where approximately 50 percent of the new tasks were not supportable after three years of planning.

Beginning with the first rapid-improvement event in July 2009 and validated through subsequent events, it became clear that a lack of communication between essential parties and organizations was the primary root cause of disconnects.

"In the past, tasks were generally developed in isolation within the program office which increased the potential of unintended supportability shortfall, both parts and non parts categories. For example, misinterpretation of the statement of work or task description that the engineer would write out and a few years later the maintenance planner and mechanic would have to follow," said Gina Torrey, OC-ALC/GK logistics specialist in the Weapon System Supply Chain Management office and AMR process team member. "You know how it is when you write something, it is very clear to the writer, but maybe the reader reads something different. The countermeasures the team came up with where to put together a requirement's packet that addressed the various supportability issues and then pull together a collaborative team made up of program office, maintenance and supply chain personnel to discuss, add to, or clarify the packet elements."

Collaborative planning utilizing a DevPac has been applied to all new organic PDM requirements as directed by Col. Mark Beierle, OC-ALC/GK director.

Personnel from the 76th Maintenance Wing, OC-ALC/GK and 448th Supply Chain Management Wing of the Air Force Global Logistics Support Center met on several occasions to draft an OC-ALC instruction documenting roles, responsibilities, and procedures required from their respective organizations in support of new PDM tasks for the KC-135 Stratotanker, E-3 Sentry, B-52 Stratofortress and B-1 Lancer. Team members' commitment to the end goal provided the common ground to succeed.

"Last fall, Air Force Materiel Command Headquarters recognized the benefit of this new process and adopted the core elements and the DevPac into an AFMC-wide standard," said Colonel Beierle.

During the writing of the document, HQ AFMC Directorate of Logistics teams working support to depot maintenance operations covered some of the same ground for command standardization that drove revisions into the local document. In addition, because the instruction covers two separate chains of command, the finished document had to meet the legal guidelines of OC-ALC and AFGLSC.

"It's a very complex process because it crosses so many different organizations and there are a lot of opportunities for miscommunication," Ms. Torrey said. "We had to be very detailed in making sure those communications gaps weren't overlooked."

Ms. Torrey said obtaining legal coordination may have been the trickiest part of the process, as such a center publication had not been approved before. Following the ALC legal office recommendation to obtain a memorandum of agreement between the directors of 448th SCMW and OC-ALC/GK, OC-ALC Instruction 20-001 was published in October.

"Collaboration with all team shareholders provides dynamic planning for future requirements, capabilities and outputs," said Gilbert Montoya, 448th SCMW director. "This allows the supply chain to be fully supportable for future PDM tasks and ensures that no future PDM schedule is impacted as a result of parts."