Fighter Jet News
F-16 Fighting Falcon News
Falcons soar through depot efforts
April 29, 2005 (by
1st LT. Caroline Wellman) -
The 309th Aircraft Maintenance Group recently celebrated the completion of the first jet to go through a new, leaned-out modification process that shaved more than a month off the normal completion time.
Hill maintainers finished the F-16 Fighting Falcon six weeks ahead of schedule and just three months after they began the new program, dubbed the Service Life Improvement Program Structural Augmentation Roadmap.
"The SLIP/STAR program is still in its infancy," said Dr. Chalon Keller deputy division chief of the Transformation Office. "The results to date are encouraging. So far, eight jets have been started on the new flow line, and the first jet went through the production line in 67 days."
The standard work schedule before cellularization was 90 to 105 days per jet.
"SLIP/STAR was an ambitious process improvement initiative," said Dr. Chalon Keller. "From the success of the Common Configuration Implementation Program cellular flow line, management and technicians changed the fundamentals of how SLIP/STAR operates."
The transformation hasn't been easy.
"Because the SLIP/STAR program is a structural modification, the level of complexity and detail in designing a cellular flow model has been intense," Dr. Keller said.
The changes mean that the production line is now arranged in cells with all necessary equipment and resources that perform concurrent work functions in a particular sequence.
Work is now carefully sequenced in a way to maximize technician time. Jets and supporting equipment are carefully positioned to compliment workflow. Activities are choreographed so that jets pulse through the flow every seven days.
Through cellularization, jets get through the modification process faster.
According to the SLIP/STAR production chief, increased throughput isn't the only improvement.
"Some of the most significant improvements made during this evolution are cultural changes," said Michael Dooner, SLIP/STAR production chief, citing the new process as evidence of the importance of employee suggestions for improvement.
"Our mechanics are encouraged to take ownership of their work cells. They can see the potential for higher-level change and improvements, and they are starting to become excited at the possibilities," Mr. Dooner said.
Encouragement also stems from the different roles technicians have under the cellular-flow system.
"Not only are they highly skilled technicians, they now have been trained to be knowledge workers are empowered to now run their cells as independent business units," Dr. Keller said.
For Jay Johnson, a SLIP/STAR technician and a member of the cellular-flow implementation team, that means less frustration and more productivity.
"The cellular-flow design is an extraordinary effort, one that has all but eliminated the chaos of working on aircraft," said Kent McGrath, a structures supervisor. "Our technicians understand what's expected of them day-to-day with minimal supervisory involvement."
That clarity comes from how easy it is to determine the status of an aircraft under the new system, said Vince Sandoval, a Resource Cost Center supervisor.
"Leadership is determined to raise the bar and to make SLIP/STAR a world-class production line, one that operates under industry standards and that can compete with the private sector," she said.
"The SLIP/STAR program is still in its infancy," said Dr. Chalon Keller deputy division chief of the Transformation Office. "The results to date are encouraging. So far, eight jets have been started on the new flow line, and the first jet went through the production line in 67 days."
The standard work schedule before cellularization was 90 to 105 days per jet.
"SLIP/STAR was an ambitious process improvement initiative," said Dr. Chalon Keller. "From the success of the Common Configuration Implementation Program cellular flow line, management and technicians changed the fundamentals of how SLIP/STAR operates."
The transformation hasn't been easy.
"Because the SLIP/STAR program is a structural modification, the level of complexity and detail in designing a cellular flow model has been intense," Dr. Keller said.
The changes mean that the production line is now arranged in cells with all necessary equipment and resources that perform concurrent work functions in a particular sequence.
Work is now carefully sequenced in a way to maximize technician time. Jets and supporting equipment are carefully positioned to compliment workflow. Activities are choreographed so that jets pulse through the flow every seven days.
Through cellularization, jets get through the modification process faster.
According to the SLIP/STAR production chief, increased throughput isn't the only improvement.
"Some of the most significant improvements made during this evolution are cultural changes," said Michael Dooner, SLIP/STAR production chief, citing the new process as evidence of the importance of employee suggestions for improvement.
"Our mechanics are encouraged to take ownership of their work cells. They can see the potential for higher-level change and improvements, and they are starting to become excited at the possibilities," Mr. Dooner said.
Encouragement also stems from the different roles technicians have under the cellular-flow system.
"Not only are they highly skilled technicians, they now have been trained to be knowledge workers are empowered to now run their cells as independent business units," Dr. Keller said.
For Jay Johnson, a SLIP/STAR technician and a member of the cellular-flow implementation team, that means less frustration and more productivity.
"The cellular-flow design is an extraordinary effort, one that has all but eliminated the chaos of working on aircraft," said Kent McGrath, a structures supervisor. "Our technicians understand what's expected of them day-to-day with minimal supervisory involvement."
That clarity comes from how easy it is to determine the status of an aircraft under the new system, said Vince Sandoval, a Resource Cost Center supervisor.
"Leadership is determined to raise the bar and to make SLIP/STAR a world-class production line, one that operates under industry standards and that can compete with the private sector," she said.
Courtesy of Ogden ALC Public Affairs Republished with kind permission of Hilltop Times.
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