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B-1 maintenance at OC-ALC wins bronze Shingo medallion

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  • By Danielle Gregory
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla., --  The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center has been recognized again for the innovative improvements in depot activities. The B-1B Programmed Depot Maintenance team was awarded the Shingo Bronze Medallion for its achievements. 

"Five years ago we struggled to complete our aircraft, reschedules and missed schedules were routine. The scheduled rate for producing and aircraft was about 180 days. Today we put through an aircraft in 152 days, with our eye on 130. In that same time frame, we have reduced the number of the number of aircraft on station by 28 percent," said Matt Lyday, B-1B Structural Maintenance Supervisor. 

Those working on Tinker truly appreciate supporting the mission and know that by staying focused they can achieve anything. Not content to rest with improvements made in the B-1B PDM program in 2005, PDM leaders determined to find an "out of the box" way to leap to a new level of excellence, and launched the Critical Chain Project Management method of tracking and prioritizing work on the PDM. 

In less than one year, the B-1B PDM team reduced the time to overhaul the bomber more than 22 percent, cut the number of aircraft at depot from seven to five (releasing two more aircraft for critical combat missions), and did this while remaining defect free on produced aircraft. The results led to the team being submitted for a Shingo Prize evaluation team to confirm the impressive achievement. 

Started in 1988 by Dr. Shigeo Shingo at the University of Utah, the Shingo Prize is often called the "Nobel Prize of manufacturing." It represents the pinnacle of world-class excellence in business performance. The Public Sector Prize promotes use of leading edge manufacturing strategies and practices to achieve world-class results in the public sector or government owned facilities. In 2005, Tinker was recognized with a Shingo Prize for its KC-135 PDM program. 

"The Shingo award establishes that the B1-B PDM is a world-class operation. It is a great honor to be a part of this team," said Kim Roe, 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group Bomber Transformation chief. "This award recognizes the mechanics and managers who have shown that critical chain theories are applicable at the depot maintenance level, repair and overhaul process." 

Before winning the award, the unit was evaluated for several days by a team dedicated to the Shingo prize. Prior to the team's arrival, the Shingo Prize organization assessed the B-1B Production Flight's achievement report to determine if Tinker should be granted an actual site-visit. 

"We started preparing for the site visit more than a year ago. Possibly the greatest amount of time was spent working on the achievement report," said Mr. Lyday. "That consisted of thinking about what we do everyday at Tinker, and then trying to condense a year's worth of stuff into 100 pages." 

The Shingo examination team consists of process improvement experts with unique experiences in the implementation of the "Lean philosophy." Scoring Tinker's B-1B Programmed Depot Maintenance improvements and processes by the Shingo examiners came as a result of a comprehensive review of PDM processes and interviews with process owners, managers and mechanics to see how their initiatives are succeeding according to the rigorous standards of the Shingo Prize. 

"Knowing how you got where you are, and being able to explain that process and the results in a clear, measured format is the 'proof in the pudding' for the past two years of PDM transformation," said Lt. Col. William Singer, Deputy Director for the 565th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. 

The Shingo evaluation team wanted to see that appropriate LEAN techniques and tools were in place, and how they were systematically brought together across the value streams and the enterprise. Finally, the team looked for the deeper understanding of LEAN concepts from production management to the floor mechanics, for an in-depth picture of the sustaining culture of continuous improvement. 

"Our Shingo Prize recipients are at the highest level with a deep understanding of not only the "know how" of LEAN but the "know why"," said Jacob Raymer, Assistant Director, Shingo. 

According to Lt. Col. Singer, "The recognition of the B-1B Programmed Depot Maintenance line at OC-ALC is a public acknowledgement of what the PDM team has been told informally by the combat customers, the B-1B Program Manager, and other agencies we work with. Now the efforts and success of our personnel is a matter of record." 

In October, representatives from the 76th AMXG will travel to Arlington, VA. to formally receive the Shingo Prize at the annual Shingo Public Sector conference.