Planning ahead for maintenance

Published Sept. 2, 2011
By Brandice J. O'Brien
Tinker Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Planning for the fiscal 2015 programmed depot maintenance workload is almost complete. That's right, almost.

At Tinker, several offices work ahead of the current fiscal year. The Aircraft and Missile Requirements' process requires planning years ahead of execution. Earlier this month, the leads for several weapon systems presented their plans with maintenance hours priced out to the board of experts. In the upcoming weeks, the leads will review comments, answer questions and iron-out details before moving on to fiscal 2016 requirements.

"An ALC strategic breakthrough performance area this year redesigned the AMR process," said Col. Mark Beierle, director of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center Aerospace Sustainment Directorate. "Combining lean improvements across the Center including B-1 HVM; an integrated program office, 76th Maintenance Wing, Air Force Global Logistics Center, Defense Logistics Agency, and Air Force Materiel Command Headquarters' team created a disciplined, standardized method to develop and implement the right warfighter requirements into the aircraft PDM program."

Likened to balancing a checkbook, Guy Phillips, AMR lead for the B-52 Stratofortress, said without the aircraft and missiles requirements' process, the Air Force will not know how much money to set aside for PDM work.

The process begins in December, three fiscal years ahead of time, after engineering experts create and give AMR leads a list of step-by-step procedures, and needed materials. AMR leads package the outline and turn it over to maintenance planners who estimate how many man-hours are needed to complete the list. When returned from maintenance planners, the man-hours and tasks are filed into the Consolidated Air Force Data Exchange, or CAFDEX.

In a given year, Mr. Phillips said there are approximately 300 parent tasks, with more than 800 sub tasks.

Keeping both the aircraft and requirements straight is a challenge in-and-of itself. Approximately 17 B-52s out of a fleet of 76 aircraft will undergo PDM each year, Mr. Phillips said.

"Each aircraft gets pretty much the same task as the other. There are some requirements that don't get accomplished on every aircraft," Mr. Phillips said.

For instance, the paint scheme an aircraft undergoes varies depending on its last PDM cycle. If in the last cycle the aircraft received new paint, the next time, it will be scuffed and repainted.

When the CAFDEX is updated, usually in July, AMR leads have roughly a month to build a brochure to present to the aircraft and missiles requirements' board. A team of stakeholders from major commands and the Center of Asset Management Headquarters office meets annually with the AMR leads for face-to-face discussion of weapon system brochures.

"Aircraft and Missiles Requirements is the key element that drives your PDM programs," said Tony Ruble, E-3 Sentry PDM and AMR lead. "Without an executable requirement coming out of the AMR process your PDM programs operate inefficiently, which drives up incredible cost to the taxpayers and impacts aircraft availability to the warfighter."

While experience allows Aircraft and Missile Requirements' leads to know where to suspect complications, the growing demand for more efficient and cost-effective processes continue to be challenging, said Vince Plumlee, AMR point of contact and presenter for the B-1 Lancer.

Mr. Ruble agreed.

"When your requirements increase in hours, the AMR board wants to know why and they expect you to provide reasonable justification," he said. "Understand a few hours increasing here and there across all weapon system platforms equate to millions of dollars to the taxpayer."

On Oct. 15, AMR leads will have the fiscal 2015 plans updated and will close out the project to get ready for the next fiscal year's PDM workload.

"It's very labor and resource intensive, and demands a lot of your time and energy, but very much needed to manage lifecycle sustainment programs for aging weapon systems," Mr. Ruble said.