Improving Efficiency in Military Aircraft Maintenance Operations in Terms of Jobs Completion Time Ricardo R. Cepeda Pastrana Master in Engineering Management Dr. Héctor J. Cruzado Graduate School Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico Abstract ⎯ Extensive job completion time in the Motivation for Study aircraft maintenance operations has resulted in While specific maintenance tasks have benefit countless extra man-hours and impacted thousands from the implementation of innovative ideas, there of military missions for decades. The main cause of still plenty room for improvement in the overall this problem narrows down to the time spent in military aircraft maintenance operations, particularly preparation to start a maintenance task. Current within the United States Air Force. In most military operations of an aircraft maintenance organization bases, the three most-needed elements to perform a in Kadena Air Base, Japan, were evaluated in efforts maintenance task are geographically separated. The to reduce the time to at least 50%. It was found that problem lays in the integration of all three in the by implementing a software tool developed by a current process, particularly in the time spent startup company, maintenance start times can be between the notification of a maintenance task and reduced up to a 60%, allowing aircraft to a mission- having maintainers on the aircraft fully ready to ready status much quicker and giving back time to perform the task. This time is known as “Start technicians for resiliency and proficiency training. Time”, which varies depending on the task Key Terms ⎯ Aircraft Maintenance requirements and directly affects overall job Operations, Aircraft Tools & Equipment, Aviation completion. Maintenance Process Improvement, Maintenance Task Management. Objective The objective of this project is to improve INTRODUCTION efficiency in the military aircraft maintenance As military aircraft technicians are dispatched to operations by reducing “Start Time” to at least 50%. perform a maintenance task, three elements are most A study was conducted to identify factors affecting likely needed: tools & consumables, support current process with the intent of developing equipment, and the technicians performing the task. solutions to meet the objective. The solutions must It is essential for maintenance organizations and be cost-effective and aligned with military policies their members to start and complete the job as soon in conjunction with local and federal regulations. as possible. Doing so increases the aircraft’s availability to support other missions and provides BACKGROUND maintainers time to tackle other maintenance tasks Military Aircraft Maintenance or to conduct proficiency and readiness training as needed. Therefore, high efficiency in military The Air Force Smart Operations of 21st Century aircraft maintenance operations ins imperative. (AFSO21) is probably the most popular initiative, Current maintenance operations in the United States which “was designed to increase productivity, Air Force are hindering the maximum potential of responsiveness, and efficiency, thus improving their force to conduct efficient maintenance. To equipment readiness, reliability, and availability” solve this problem, a study was conducted in Kadena [1]. The initiative supported the “Red is Good” Air Base, Japan, to identify key factors and generate culture in the aircraft maintenance community, the most efficient solution. which utilize metrics to bring problems to light rather than been used as measurement of failure or approximately ten major programs ensuring the success. Moreover, “Red is Good” is what ignited integrity of a $15 million inventory sustaining the proposal for this study. reliable and safe aircraft maintenance. In the aviation industry, particularly in military • Aircraft Maintenance Management: This operations, time is critical [2]. One breakdown in the department collects, retrieve, and provide all process of maintenance operations could add hours data impacting the health of an aircraft fleet. to an aircraft on the ground, jeopardizing time- Data includes maintenance actions, time of sensitive missions, and overall health-of-fleet status. aircraft out of commission, number of flights, Companies like Fleetio offers application software etc. This data is utilized to identify trends and to streamline the management and maintenance overall health and performance of the fleet. operations of an aircraft fleet. While aviation Organizations leaders made informed decisions maintenance is reviewed, four areas are highlighted: based on this data, therefore its integrity is manpower, facilities, tooling, and equipment [3]. It imperative. is important to understand each area and find the most efficient way to integrate all, while maintaining METHODOLOGY compliance of local and federal regulations [4]. Since the objective of this project is to improve Organizational Structure current process, the traditional DMAIC model, shown in Figure 1, was implemented to drive the In the United States Air Force, aircraft study. The following provides a quick overlook of maintenance organizations are broken down into the study roadmap utilizing the aforementioned three main departments: Aircraft Sortie Generation, methodology: Support Sortie Generation, and Aircraft Maintenance Management. • Define – Although there is a general knowledge of how efficiency is being affected across all • Aircraft Sortie Generation: This is the largest military aircraft maintenance organizations, one department and most important, as it is the on- will be selected to maintain relevance of the field team performing the inspection, servicing, study and safeguard the integrity of the and repair of the aircrafts. Unlike other military collected data. branches, aircraft technicians are broken down into eight specialties: Engines, Hydraulics, • Measure – The study will revolve around the Electricians, Electronic Warfare, Fuels, Time, Cost, and Feasibility of the alternative to Communication & Navigation, Guidance & improve the process. Control, and Crew Chiefs. This type of structure • Analyze – Current operations will be monitored allows having experts on each major aircraft and documented for a period of one week to systems for more reliable and efficient identify organizations-specific problems, maintenance. Whitin this department is also investigate root causes, and generate possible found the Production section, which directs the solutions. aircraft maintenance thru the management of • Improve – Implement possible solutions for these specialties. one week and compare results against the • Support Sortie Generation: While this previously analyzed. department is often overlooked, it is at times the • Control – Determine which solutions best fit most impactful within an aircraft maintenance the organization needs and meet the study organization. It stores, maintain, and manage all objective. Identify any areas within the tools, equipment, and hazardous materials recommended solutions that might be worth to required for the performance of aircraft go through another DMAIC study. maintenance. This requires the management of Figure 1 DMAIC Model ANALYSIS APPROACH As stated in the methodology model, current Figure 2 Factors Affecting Job Completion aircraft maintenance operations were monitored to identify the major factor affecting maintenance The following week was then focused on each efficiency in terms of job completion. task “Start Time”. Figure 3 shows a graphical Major Factor representation of current “Start Time”, with tasks averaging 47 minutes before maintenance is started. Observation was conducted for a period of one week, where maintenance tasks where timed from start to finish. They were then broken down into four categories: preparation, maintenance, follow-up, and others. The following explains each of them while collected data is found in Figure 2. • Preparation: it starts when a technician or maintenance team is notified of a maintenance discrepancy requiring a corrective action. It then ends when they have everything required to start the job. It also includes being at the affected Figure 3 aircraft, ready to start the repair. Current Start Time • Maintenance: process in which the repair or maintenance task is performed, up to the point Objective Requirements where the affected system is ready for Based on the project’s objective, the goal was to operational checkout. reduce “Start Time” to the 20-minute timeframe. In • Follow-up: actions taken to ensure safe addition to meeting this objective, solutions must operation of affected system. This includes adhere to United State Air Force regulations operational checkouts and leak checks. policies. The project is conducted in Kadena Air • Others: other factors affecting job completion. Base, Okinawa, Japan. Therefore, solutions must Most are out of technician’s control and may also be implemented in accordance with United include weather, work schedule, etc. States & Japan agreements and restrictions. It must It is evident that the major factor affecting job also be reliable and cost-effective. completion is during preparation. For this project, it Primary Solution will be known as “Start Time”, as it is the time spent to start the maintenance process. The primary solution is the use of a software tool to streamline and support the integration of the elements in the preparation for a maintenance task: personnel, support equipment, and tools. Support equipment consists of maintenance platforms, power generators, air compressors, and other assets required to facilitate the maintenance to be performed. While tools and personnel are managed by the same organization, support equipment it is not. If both organizations agree, each could benefit from this solution. It is also mobile and cost- effective. Only disadvantage could be the software Figure 4 Kadena Air Base – Airport upkeep. The way the software tool would work is with a RESULTS & CONCLUSION computer station at the tool room and another one at support equipment dispatch office. The software Only primary solution was tested due to would store all tools and equipment required for monetary capital and time required for the each maintenance task. When technicians are tasked, development of new infrastructure. However, as the select the job to be perform from their e-tool shown in Figure 5, the software tool seems (laptop) and would request each department the promising to future aircraft maintenance operations. required tools and equipment. Technicians can head The trial run shows a 60% decrease in “Start Time” straight to the aircraft to perform other preparation when compared to performance shown in Figure 3. tasks while waiting for tools and equipment to be delivered. To ease the finding of each support equipment around the airport, each equipment would have a finder tracker. Secondary Solution With most delays happening due to support equipment delivery times, a designated location for these assets would be the alternate solution. Figure 4 shows the geographical location of aircraft parking (brown), technicians & tools (green), and support equipment (yellow). Having designated location Figure 5 Software Tool Trial would eliminate the wait of the driver looking for the requested equipment (if available). A small satellite tool room could also be implemented with high-use The objective of this project was to increase tools. However, this solution would require a much military aircraft maintenance efficiency by reducing bigger capital and will only benefit those parked next maintenance preparation time, also known as Start to it. Historically, organizations change parking Time, to at least 50% of current time. While only one locations due to multiple reasons. Therefore, of the two possible solutions was conducted due mobility would be a huge plus. monetary capital and time constraints, the application of a software tool showed a 60% decreased in maintenance preparation time, 10% more than the project’s target. The most notable challenges for the implementation of such tool are the buy-in from organizations and agreement of everyone involve. Being something new to this industry, reluctancy is expected. If adapted, it could revolutionize military aircraft maintenance operations. However, additional testing would be required to determine the impact in other aircraft maintenance organizations within the United States Air Force. REFERENCES [1] McAneny, P. J. (2009). Red Is good [electronic resource]: Transformational changes for US Air Force aircraft maintenance / Paul J. McAneny. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air University Press, 2009. [2] Flowers, L. (2019, July 9). Improving the aircraft maintenance management process. Atom. Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://www.fleetio.com/blog/improving-the-aircraft- maintenance-manangement-process [3] Aubin, B. R. (2004). Aircraft maintenance. [electronic resource]: The art and science of keeping aircraft safe. SAE International. [4] Aircraft Maintenance and facilities operations: NBAA - National Business Aviation Association. NBAA. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://nbaa.org/professional- development/pdp/objectives/aircraft-maintenance- facilities-operations/