Photo By Kimberly Koonce | Debbie Walker, production controller for FRCE’s engine clean and paint shops, counts...... read more read more
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. – Each day, aviation maintenance professionals at Fleet Readiness Center East’s clean and paint shops clean, treat, coat and route hundreds of parts that make up the gearboxes, rotor heads, engines and other dynamic components that spin on the aircraft FRCE maintains, repairs and overhauls.
These shops process nearly 6,500 parts each month and are key in keeping the dynamic components workload flowing through the aircraft maintenance facility. Without their hard work, other shops dependent on these parts wouldn’t be able to stay on schedule.
David Smith, who supervises the FRCE engine clean and paint shops, knows this from personal experience. He used to supervise the gearbox shop and sometimes had to wait for critical parts to be cleaned and painted before his shop could assemble the gearboxes. He said he and his employees are committed to ensuring that other shops have the parts they need when they need them.
“Let’s say the main gearbox shop has seven gearboxes on their schedule, and all the parts for those seven gearboxes are sitting in one of my shops,” said Smith. “I need to get those parts back to them so the gearboxes can get built for assembly. I can’t let parts linger around. I’ve got to move them because late parts are hurting somebody’s schedule.”
Because the workload is so critical, it’s imperative that components leave the shops on time. Coronavirus-related workforce shortages recently threatened to overwhelm the shops’ already busy schedules. However, an informal partnership with the paint and cleaning operations in FRCE’s rotor head shops is keeping things running smoothly.
With FRCE’s adoption of the Mission Aligned Organization structure and its streamlined decision-making process, Smith and Mark Gillikin, rotor head clean and paint supervisor, decided to team up to help keep Smith’s shops on schedule. Gillikin said the workload in his shop is often not as heavy as it is in the engine clean and paint shops, so he frequently brings parts from Smith’s shops for his employees to handle. This flexibility in the MAO structure allows the two sections to work together to keep the workload moving.
“We can make a decision by talking every morning and make it happen right then. The whole goal is to get the work to the customer, to the fleet.” Gillilkin said. “Recently we had our best week this year in terms of production, and we’re doing at a time with COVID-19 going on. That’s pretty good.”
The shops’ dispatch report is critical to setting priorities, because it indicates how many days an item has been in process. Smith and Gillikin assign work on expedited items first, then parts that have been in the shops the longest, with a goal of processing the parts in five days or less. Flexibility is also key to keeping parts moving, when a higher priority item may have to move to the head of the line.
Debbie Walker, production controller for the clean and paint shops, is responsible for keeping the shops’ workload organized, which isn’t an easy task when priorities are rapidly changing.
“It’s like a living organism out here. You might have to change today what you did yesterday,” Walker said. “We might get an overflow or our shelves may get full. One process may get held up because another has to take place in a limited amount of time. We do have to stay flexible and support each other.”
Although speed is key to keeping customers on schedule, the critical nature of the parts produced by the clean and paint shops means jobs have to be done right the first time. Parts must be cleaned repeatedly to ensure metal chips or plastic media are not allowed to clog oil passages. Coatings must be applied at precise thicknesses so components can be assembled properly.
Dean Sanderson has been a painter at FRCE for about 17 years. Through his years at FRCE, he has gained experience in applying a wide variety of coatings to aircraft parts.
“I’ve worked with engineering on a lot of projects. Engineers are always looking to prototype new parts, testing coatings, drafting instructions and reading blueprints,” Sanderson said. “This information is critical. If you put a coating in the wrong area, when it goes together, bad things can happen. You’ve got to be really careful with what you’re doing.”
Charlie Carpenter is FRCE’s resident expert in applying magnesium coatings to metal. He said he treats between 50 and 100 parts each day to prevent them from corroding.
“There’s a time line with working with magnesium,” Carpenter said. “After it’s blasted, cleaned and treated, you have a certain amount of time to get it coated, or the part will start corroding on you.”
Smith and Gillikin both say that the coronavirus pandemic has created staffing issues for their shops, which has complicated an already demanding schedule. They credit the dedication and teamwork of their employees for helping them get the job done for their fleet customers.
“We’re trying to do more with less, and everybody’s worried about what’s happening on the outside,” Gillikin said. “But my people have stepped up and done it. I’m so proud of them.”
Smith agreed. “Our employees have a lot going on, but they’ve done what it takes to meet the challenge. It hasn’t phased them a bit.”
FRCE is North Carolina's largest maintenance, repair, overhaul and technical services provider, with more than 4,000 civilian, military and contract workers. Its annual revenue exceeds $835 million. The depot generates combat air power for America’s Marines and naval forces while serving as an integral part of the greater U.S. Navy; Naval Air Systems Command; and Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers.
| Date Taken: | 07.30.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 07.30.2020 13:47 |
| Story ID: | 374915 |
| Location: | CHERRY POINT, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 33 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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