C-5 Programmed Depot Maintenance earns accolades

  • Published
  • By Damian Housman
  • Warner Robins Air Logistics Center Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) --  The C-5 Programmed Depot Maintenance team at Robins AFB earned the 2006 Chief of Staff Team Excellence Award in a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley presented the award to the C-5 PDM Process Improvement Team in late September.  

"The increased tempo of operations in the war on terrorism means our strategic airlift assets are in greater demand by the warfighter," said Leigh Thompson, 559th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron deputy director. "We had to find a way to get C-5 (Galaxys) back in the war, and we have."

Ms. Thompson said the team has improved its processes through lean initiatives and implementation of critical chain project management, increasing the capacity to do unprogrammed C-5 work.

"CCPM is focused on critical chain buffering, pipelining, and buffer management," said Gail Turner, a scheduling supervisor. "It's a new management process that helps managers focus on schedule and cost instead of managing at the lowest level."

"We were having problems with damaged wire during removal and installation of the heat exchanger," said Calvin Williams, an aircraft electrician. "We moved some of the wiring out of the way, and used a protective cover for other wires to prevent damage during the repair process."

Another area of improvement was the repair of floor boards. The team had to identify the parts of the floor boards delaying completion of the process.

"Floor boards were taking a lot of time. We were able to reduce floor board defects and cut flow days," said Darrell Harman, the sheet metal work leader. "We are just trying to get the aircraft out to the warfighter as soon as possible. That's the bottom line. Awards are nice, but we want better, faster ways to do things. The team has one vision, and that is to support the warfighter," he said.

Robins AFB maintenance members also received four Shingo prizes and the Franz Edelman Award this year.

(Courtesy of Air Force Materiel Command News Service)