Airmen improve inspection phase of F-15C through LEAN

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Bryan Franks
  • 33rd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The 33rd Fighter Wing maintenance Airmen completed a LEAN rapid improvement event Feb. 15 with an out brief to Col. John Powell, 33rd Maintenance Group Commander, on ways to improve the F-15C Phase inspection process.

"The goal of this LEAN event was to deliver a better jet back to the flightline, improve and increase training sessions with Airmen, and if possible, reduce the total number of man hours spent on each jet," said Senior Master Sgt. David Anderson, 33rd Maintenance Squadron LEAN event team leader.

The out come of the LEAN event could improve the Phase inspection process, directly affecting the wing.

"The mission of the 33rd FW is to provide air superiority for the warfighter," said Colonel Powell. "To accomplish this mission, the 33rd FW must be able to fly combat sorties. When Airmen are able to deliver a better jet to the flightline, the mission is directly impacted."

The LEAN team was made up of enlisted members and officers of all ranks with different involvement in the Phase inspection process.

The team mapped out the inspection process from start to finish and looked for ways to improve, add or delete processes, which would ultimately maximize the time an F-15C was down for a Phase inspection.

Some of the suggestions to improve the process included removing all of the panels from the jet at the beginning of the process, providing the Phase dock a tow vehicle, creating a "hot-items" list and zone inspections for the jet.

Before the LEAN event, the Phase Airmen removed only some of the jet's panels and then proceeded to another part of the Phase process. They would then remove the rest of the jet's panels. By removing all the panels at once, crews can remain focused on task instead of switching gears to begin work on another part of the Phase inspection, Sergeant Anderson said.

With access to a tow vehicle at all times, crews don't have to call for one and then wait for it to arrive.

The hot list would consist of problems an F-15C typically has when it comes in for a Phase inspection. By checking those areas on the jet first, Airmen can order parts immediately if a problem is discovered rather than wait for the rest of the inspection to take place first.

By inspecting the jet in zones, crews can "panel up" sections of the jet once Quality Assurance inspects the zone.

"Once the out brief concluded, everyone left with taskers to start on," said 1st Lt. Nickole Lensgraf, 33rd FW AFSO 21 Office. "Airmen in the Phase Dock are implementing some of the suggestions already and others changes will just take more time to implement."