High Performance Organization
Oct 14, 2008
By Lee Ann Tegtmeier/ Overhaul & Maintenance
SAN DIEGO--F/A-18s roar down the runway as pilots test the systems after major maintenance. Music from a local oldies radio station resonates through an aircraft maintenance hangar, interrupted by the whining of rivet guns and drum beats of hammers. About a mile away, water slaps against a sailboat in the harbor as a Navy frigate passes by.
This rhythm permeates the U.S. Navy's Fleet Readiness Center here on North Island, across the bay from downtown San Diego, Calif. The energy of positive change is tangible, from watching E-2/C-2 high-time wing replacement drop from 120 days to 91 days, to the Lean hangars filled with quality deficiency reports showing 99.7% first pass yield, to a manufacturing facility that makes titanium engine mounts to within 0.0005 in. tolerance. Sailors and MRO artisans work side by side to near-perfect safety and quality goals, which are clearly articulated on workflow boards throughout the 81 buildings on these 358 acres, carefully cranking out nearly 300 fixed and rotary wing aircraft--including F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets, EA-6B Prowlers, E-2 Hawkeyes, C-2 Greyhounds, AV-8B Harriers, H-60 Seahawks, AH-1 Cobras, UH/HH-1 Hueys and CH-53 Sea Stallions. Together 3,300 civilians (many retired from the military), 1,000 military personnel and about 460 contractors work toward the Fleet Readiness Center's goal: "Fix it once, fix it right, fix it on-time."
And, as the center's commander likes to say, "It's a world-class aviation MRO facility supporting the world's greatest team sport--Naval Aviation."
The maintenance center here at North Island, the birthplace of U.S. Naval Aviation, evaluates its work competitively and eyes the future. Anybody who doesn't think military aviation maintenance isn't as progressive as commercial aviation only needs to walk through a few facilities here to see that costs, technologies, capabilities, and meticulously planned readiness goals are part of the center's flight plan.
The Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW), one of six major U.S. Navy maintenance bases in the U.S., synchronizes its activities with the Naval Aviation Enterprise's to properly align all resources for the right outcome. Readiness at the right time and cost--what the Navy calls Ready For Tasking. Just as a publicly traded company tracks its metrics, the Fleet Readiness Center does its part to deliver the needed products (properly equipped and configured aircraft) when they're required, all while decreasing the cost of doing business. As Capt. Mike Kelly, the center's affable and energetic skipper, explained, "With the single fleet-driven metric, we know month by month what Ready For Tasking requirements are, so weýýýcan adapt all processes to hit the right cycle times for each aircraft." This means that for inventory-constrained aircraft, the center needs to speed up cycle times and adapt processes to boost output. To keep overall costs and resources in check, however, other aircraft lines might slow down.
Necessity drives part of their motivation. The Navy's Fleet Readiness Centers don't receive annual appropriations from the government; instead, they essentially "sell" their products and services throughout Naval Aviation. Kelly said last year the FRCSW posted $537 million in revenue by selling services and goods to the Navy. The other 23% of the FRCSW's budget comes from sailors performing intermediate level maintenance work, which receives funding.
The MRO center here also actively seeks public-private partnerships, which boost revenue, stabilize the workforce, increase material availability and improve deliverables to the warfighter, according to Linda Garcia, the FRCSW's industrial business operations department director. Public-private partnerships are a good deal for the private sector, too, because industry gets to use all of the vast depot expertise in engineering and technical services, not just touch labor, she said.
Performance-based logistics contracts this year represent 22% of the FRCSW's cumulative workload, and Kelly hopes that will grow to 30% in 2009, which is quite impressive considering the figure was 0.002% in 2003.
The largest touch labor contract is through the Boeing F/A-18 E/F First program, which includes overhauling and repairing dynamic components, aircraft structures, various instruments, hydraulics and engine accessories. Other major public-private partnerships cover Rockwell Collins F/A-18 A/D cockpit displays and F/A-18 E/F head-up displays, and EA6B constant speed drives.
Potential or pending F/A-18 PBLs include ones with GE Aviation (Smiths) for the F/A-18 A/F generator, Parker Hannifin for stabilizers and Honeywell for APUs. The center also is working toward PBLs with Boeing for AV-8B Harrier integrated support services and Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin for H-60 "tip to tail" support.
The partnerships are a win-win, according to Kelly, because the teamwork resolves reliability problems and reduces cycle times. "We can energize the supply chain," because OEMs' on-site engineering sees the wear and tear first hand, said Kelly.
Take the Rockwell Collins' F/A-18 displays PBL. The availability rate was 47% and back orders accounted for 583 units in December 2003. The rates switched to 99% and nine by June 2005. Since early 2006, the rates have been 100% and 0. Part of the success comes from Rockwell Collins being a good partner, even suggesting a better shop layout and housekeeping processes early on, said Garcia.
The FRCSW actively seeks work to fill its hangars. "We shape ourselves by external factors, look at our niches, look at all of the platforms and technology coming to maneuver our capabilities and expertise so we're relevant to the OEMs and services," said Kelly. Garcia agrees and said part of her job is to identify maintenance and modifications opportunities that fit the center's capabilities.
For instance, she and her team are monitoring future Navy platforms, such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which the center would like to help support through a PBL-type partnership. Logical future opportunities might also come from looking at common commodities across services, such as hydraulics. The FRCSW already supports Moog hydraulics for the Navy, so "there's no reason we couldn't provide hydraulic repair to Moog" for Army platforms, too, she said.
"Partnerships keep our skill sets fresh," said Garcia. It's clear the FRCSW wants to be a partner and peer with industry. "The Fleet Readiness Center enterprise is as competitive and innovative as anybody in the private sector, and we like to work with OEMs," said Kelly. "We welcome their conversations." In other words, these centers are serious about being a world-class partner.
This article appeared in the October 2008 issue of Overhaul & Maintenance.
Source
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=om&id=news/om1008navy.xml&headline=High%20Performance%20Organization
Back to Index
Move to Top 
