AFSO 21 improves war-ready engines Published May 19, 2009 By Airman Melshondra L. Hopkins 20th Component Maintenance Squadron SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. (AFNS) -- The 20th Component Maintenance Squadron is currently taking steps to improve the process of producing war-ready engines by applying Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century. From March 23 to March 25, Airmen from the 20th Maintenance Group gathered to participate in the TF34 Rapid Improvement Event here. The team consisted of representatives from the Air Combat Command TF34 Engine Regional Repair Center, 20th Maintenance Operations Squadron maintenance analysis section and engine management branch, 20th CMS test facility, 20th Equipment Maintenance Squadron aerospace ground equipment flight, the electronic warfare systems section and the propulsion flight office. Master Sgt. Brandon Milligan, the ACC TF34 section chief, and Master Sgt. Kenneth Carr, ACC TF34 superintendent, guided the team in reaching its goal as the RIE team leads. The spare engines are supplied to the 46th Maintenance Squadron, Eglin AFB, Fla., the 23rd Fighter Wing, Moody AFB, Ga., and the 52nd Fighter Wing, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. The overall purpose of the event focused on improving standardized and quality practices while decreasing the down time of TF34 engines. While participating in the RIE, team members mapped out the engine repair process from the time of repairable engine delivery to the engine being fully mission capable and available for worldwide deployment. Next, the team determined what their ideal state would consist of and what the desired future state would be. The RIE team members discovered current problems that were hampering the engine production process. They identified two general areas that excessively increased the down time of engines. These areas consist of the high pressure turbine clearance measurement and adjustment, known locally as the HPT grind, and the lengthy process of wrapping engines for shipment. By collaborating, they identified numerous problems hindering the HPT grind process. This task requires extensive training that consumes large amounts of time. This restricts the number of proficient personnel due to high production demands. The task also requires a great deal of equipment movement from the support section to the grind room. Airman performing the grind have to stop periodically to find a computer to perform measurement calculations. Lastly, the materials supplied from depot could arrive requiring just minor grinding or in some instances, major grinding. To reduce the time spent on the HPT grind they decided to sub locate grind equipment and a computer to the grind room, and contact the depot about both the excessive and inconsistent amount of time taken to grind HPTs. These corrections could potentially save 52 man hours and $2,080 in labor cost per turbine. Another issue that arose was the effort to reduce the amount of time it takes to wrap a spare engine prior to shipment. The solution to this was to acquire manufactured engine covers. By doing this, the shop could reduce the time spent preparing an engine to ship by eight employee hours and spare $50 in plastic and tape per engine. "The RIE showed me how brilliant minds get together to improve on-time consuming processes," said Tech. Sgt. Brian Lawson, 20th MOS engine specialist, "The RIE was very informative. The ideas that were brought up will save a lot of time in the whole TF34 buildup and teardown process."