Photo By Kimberly Koonce | Brandon Fone, data management technician, reviews a technical manual used on the H-53...... read more read more
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. – Aviation maintenance professionals at Fleet Readiness Center East always do their work by the book. Mechanics are required to consult maintenance manuals as they perform their repair and overhaul tasks on military aircraft, and it’s critical that those manuals contain only the most current information.
Keeping these paper and electronic manuals up to date is top priority for the data management technicians and librarians in FRCE’s Technical Library. Between production lines, machine shops, and engineering offices, more than 7,600 manuals and 440 computer-based systems are used daily to ensure that maintenance procedures are being followed correctly. It’s up to the 10-person library staff to make sure those manuals, drawings and portable electronic maintenance aids (PEMA) are current.
The librarians take that responsibility seriously, according to Melisa Jones, Technical Library supervisor.
“We try to instill in the librarians that every day when you do your job, you need to do it accurately, correctly, and in accordance with all guidelines, processes and procedures that we have in place,” Jones said. “The safety and quality of our products depend on it.”
Publication updates can take the form of technical directives, airframes changes, engineering bulletins, drawings, or other input. Data managers in the library are notified by the Naval Air Technical Data and Engineering Service Command (NATEC) about required changes and updates on any of FRCE’s many aircraft platforms.
“When we get an interim rapid action change, or IRAC, we have to incorporate it into the paper publication by annotating the manual,” Jones said. “When they open it up, it will say ‘see IRAC,’ and they know to refer to the IRAC.” Jones said other types of changes can affect as many as 50 to 100 pages within a publication, and each new page must be substituted for the corresponding old one.
Some librarians work in close proximity to their assigned aircraft programs, while others can log several miles a week traveling between aircraft lines to update PEMAs and manuals. A data manager travels weekly to the FRCE Detachment at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., and the Technical Library also supports MCAS Beaufort, S.C, and will support future H-1 work in Kinston, N.C.
Brandon Fone, data management technician, said he enjoys the daily interaction with the production shops he supports.
“A big part of my job is customer service, making sure that the people on the floor can be confident that what they’re seeing is current and correct,” Fone said. “I’m there to make sure that they’re able to use their paper copies and their digital copies accurately and in a timely manner, so it doesn’t slow them down.”
The facility has about 440 laptop systems known as portable electronic maintenance aids, or PEMAs, which hold digital copies of the technical manuals. PEMAs are stored in large electronic cabinets, and information can be pushed to up to 21 units at a time while they are connected to the cabinet.
“We put our personal identification numbers into the cabinet and check out a PEMA, just like a tool,” said Alexander Elftmann, V-22 work leader. “We bring it out, pull up the task we’re assigned to, and follow it, step by step.”
Jones said the H-1 and V-22 programs have used interactive electronic technical manuals, or IETMs, for several years. She said the H-53 program should be converting to electronic manuals sometime next year, while the F-35 program is using a hybrid of paper and electronic manuals. The AV-8 production line is expected to continue using paper manuals through the life of the aircraft program.
The technical library is conducting a pilot program in some shops that use PEMAs to reduce the number of paper manuals in the shops. Artisans say they appreciate the immediacy of the electronic manuals as long as a paper copy is available in case of a technical glitch.
“The best thing about electronic manuals is you’ve always got the most up-to-date copy,” said Robert Durst, test cell artisan in the Pneudraulics Branch. “You pull it off the computer, that’s the most current which is available. That’s the best thing you could ask for. The down side is if the system’s down, you have nothing. That’s the double-edged sword.”
According to Patricia Barr, data management specialist, the technical library staff is working with supervisors to find the mix between paper and digital information that works best for each individual shop.
“We don’t just go in and say this shop has 286 manuals, and I’m taking 140 of them,” said Barr. “We discuss the plan with the supervisor, and get their concurrence. Also, we can add digital copies of the publications to the laptops, so it’s no problem if the internet goes down.” But technical librarians acknowledge that the conversion from paper to digital is an on-going process.
Data managers in the technical library say they appreciate the responsibility they have to ensure that all technical information used at FRCE is correct.
“The mechanics on the floor refer to the copies as their bible. They don’t do any work without it being open,” said Fone. “Essentially if they’re not working off the correct data, they’re doing incorrect work, which has a direct result on the safety of the aircraft.”
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 $900 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: | 11.16.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 11.17.2020 11:06 |
| Story ID: | 383117 |
| Location: | CHERRY POINT, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 47 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Book smarts: Technical librarians keep maintenance information up to date at FRCE, by Kimberly Koonce, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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