Saving money with IDEAS

David Realmuto and Darren Raines, 548th Propulsion Maintenance Squadron, explain to Brig. Gen. Bruce Litchfield, 76th Maintenance wing commander. their suggestion to reduce the steps needed to install the oil supply tube on F110 and F118 engine turbine frames. General Litchfield presented both men $5,000 Jan. 26. (Air Force photo/Ron Mullan)

Saving time and money with IDEAS

Published Feb. 5, 2009
By Ron Mullan
Tinker Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla., -- The 76th Maintenance Wing IDEA team recently completed validations of two suggestions submitted by wing personnel.

Brigadier General Bruce Litchfield, 76th MXW commander, visited the work centers Jan. 26 to present checks to all three men.

"It's really wonderful when you can recognize folks who put so much effort into an idea which provides a significant cost savings for the government and provides additional warfighting capability...in a more responsive timeline. What a great way to reward innovation," said General Litchfield.

Carter Haynes from the 564th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron received $10,000 for his suggestion on KC-135 boom telescoping chain and cable time-reduction.

Previously, the boom shop was not allowed to replace or repair any items attached to the boom structure tube. This meant a complete replacement of the boom at a cost of $300,000.

Mr. Carter's suggestion to do the repair work internally resulted in reduced labor hours, flow time, material costs and a tangible savings of more than two million dollars.

Darren Raines and David Realmuto from the 548th Propulsion Maintenance Squadron each received $5,000 for their suggestion on oil supply tube repair on the F-110 and F118 engine turbine frames.

Under the old method, the installation of the oil supply tube into the turbine frame required many steps. Blind spot-welding and brazing led to an abundance of failures and re-work due to undetected cracks on the back side of the oil supply tube.

Mr. Raines and Mr. Realmuto's suggestion was to reconfigure the installation process requiring fewer steps during installation, less set up time and using half the parts. In addition the new process dramatically reduced failure rate and rework. Tangible savings to the government was nearly $224,000.

General Litchfield noted that the 76th MXW is focused on making improvements every day.

"Our job, our focus, is to make it better every day and programs like the IDEA program provide tangible rewards for folks that come in with that kind of approach, that they are going to make their job, their work place, their support to the field, better every day and that is what this program really represents," said the general.