Courtesy Photo | A Soldier from B Company, 426 Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team,...... read more read more
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Story by Cpt Lyn Graves
133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
KIRKUK, Iraq (Feb 21, 2006) - A 101st Airborne Division maintenance unit in the Iraqi theater is first to implement Quality Assurance/Quality Control in it's maintenance process and has inspected over 1000 vehicles since arriving in country.
"Bravo Company is responsible for the battalion maintenance, pre and post inspections, 'says Second Lieutenant Kyle Carter of Bravo Company, 426 Brigade Support Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
"The purpose of the QA/QC on the incoming vehicles is to assist the
operators in conducting an after mission Preventive Maintenance Checks and Services as well as to conduct a quick check for any severe deadlining faults," said Carter. "The intent of this being that vehicle operators would most certainly be tired and possibly a little shell shocked after coming off a long mission. With inspectors supervising the
PMCS and conducting checks of their own, we ensure that no fault is missed. The goal is to send any deadlined vehicles to maintenance immediately after QA/QC is complete so that the vehicle can be repaired as quickly as possible."
The pre and post inspections are centerpieces of the QA/QC program that Bravo Company has employed to repair vehicles quickly, though the inspections themselves are not quick.
"Pre-inspections will take most of the day and are very exhaustive," explains Carter," and a post-inspection must be available for whenever the CLP returns, sometimes this means waiting for hours."
"The vehicle inspections provide a screening of all vehicles before they leave on a mission to ensure that the operators are conducting a proper PMCS and also, if a serious fault is found, prevent that vehicle from leaving the FOB," says Carter.
The goal is to minimize, as much as possible, the number of vehicular malfunctions while on missions and to maximize combat power.
"This program I'm sure has not only saved lives out on the road, but
helped 426 BSB maintain the highest combat power in the Brigade. What these
inspectors do helps to keep transportation assets up and running so that we can continue to support the outlying FOBs with all the necessary supplies and equipment," Carter explains.
Keeping assets up and running is a job given to only the best inspectors. The NCOs in charge of the inspections are exceptionally talented and were hand picked for their positions.
Staff Sergeant Ritchie Warmouth, QA/QC inspector, says," QA/QC is important because it prevents vehicles from breaking down and saves lives. We catch a deficiency before it happens and causes a break-down.
"QA/QC is different from preventive maintenance because it is more thorough and is done by a separate technician, better because we can catch a problem and fix it right there."
| Date Taken: | 02.27.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 02.27.2006 14:32 |
| Story ID: | 5531 |
| Location: | KIRKUK, IQ |
| Web Views: | 120 |
| Downloads: | 18 |
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