551st CMMXS team reorganizes; saves time, increases productivity

Published May 5, 2011
By Brandice J. O'Brien
Tinker Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- They said the former process wasn't working. They likened it to chaos and putting out fires. In January they took steps to change it. In March they saw a noticeable difference and this month, they were recognized for their efforts.

The 551st Commodities Maintenance Squadron's Wash/Strip Team participated in a rapid improvement event. They said they hoped to gain organization and better flow; and that's exactly what they got.

"When the team leader out-briefed me on the event and their results, you could see and hear the pride of accomplishment," said Col. Herbert Phillips, 76th Commodities Maintenance Group commander. "They came together to solve a problem and make their processes better, and the improvements were more than any of them expected. Better yet, they are already looking at ways to further improve the new process. I couldn't be prouder of the entire team."

Prior to the RIE, the Wash/Strip team was comprised of approximately eight personnel who worked one of two shifts. When they arrived at Bldg. 9001 each day, they picked up where the last group left off, where ever that may be. There was no rhyme, reason or order.

During their shift, the group took aircraft parts of various sizes, and chemically stripped them to bare metal, washed them and had the parts ready for their next destination.

"Our job is to fill warehouses back up with usable assets - parts that have already been worked and repainted," said John Snow, work leader for the 551st CMMXS Wash/Strip Team. He's been with the team for a year.

But, there were several issues with the process in addition to the lack of organization.

Because many parts were coming in from bone yards, their histories were unknown; they could have sat in the sun for 20 to 30 years, baking 15 layers of paint into place. With lack of order in the team, these parts could have been deemed priority over pieces that may only take 10 minutes for the whole process, said John Teas, 551st CMMXS Wash/Strip Team equipment cleaner who has worked on the team for roughly five years.

Or, because there were only two shifts working, when one group left for the day, a part could sit untouched for eight hours, leaving the next shift to start from square one.

In a given month, the team turned over roughly 380 parts and consistently raced to get the next one done and fill backlog or mission-impaired capability awaiting parts' requests.

As frustration mounted, about eight members from the team got together and spent three days brainstorming solutions and drawing up future plans.

"Process improvement is like a tool," Mr. Teas said. "Any time you use a tool you have to use it every day or at the very least oil it every day. If you just sit it there, it's going to rust."

The RIE resulted in a "plan of attack" - adding a new shift, employees and a schedule of priorities. Twelve employees were hired onto the team; they added a swing shift and created a week-long schedule of tasks.

"We know what's coming, what should be inducted next, and we can fill our days with what's coming in and how we're going to push things out," Mr. Teas said.

Kevin Loudermilk, 551st CMMXS Wash/Strip Team equipment cleaner who has worked on the team for approximately five years, agreed.

"We know what the other shops need per week or month," he said. "We can meet that or exceed that, if possible."

The goal was to have a 30-day buffer goal; meaning the team was 30 days ahead of schedule.

"If a plane comes in here to be refurbished and reworked, they pull parts off and if we're not able to get to them quick enough, our warehouse has parts we've already reworked that are sitting there waiting to get back on the aircraft," said Susan Kendrick, 551st CMMXS mechanic who does Lean projects.

While they are not there yet, the team has a two-week supply of parts ready for the shops, which is also beneficial should one of the two booths, where they perform stripping and washing tasks, break down.

In March, a full month after the RIE changes were implemented, the team produced 1,026 pieces; nearly 650 more pieces than before they enacted the RIE suggestions.

"It just shows what you can do when you put your mind to it,'" Mr. Teas said. "But when you have everyone from the floor who's actually doing the work come together, you can come up with all kinds of stuff and bounce ideas off each other."

In the end, it's the aircraft that benefits.

"It just shows we're a big part of keeping airplanes in the air and up to date," Mr. Loudermilk said.

As a result of the team's efforts, Colonel Phillips, on April 20, presented the team with the commodities maintenance group's first "76th CMXG Transformers - Continuous Process Improvement Event of the Quarter" award. The award recognizes outstanding contributions that support the group in Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century, transformation and lean efforts.