Lean team selected as "Best Practice" Published Dec. 15, 2005 By Bill Orndorff 309th Maintenance Wing HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- The F-15 Central Gearbox Lean team from the 309th Commodities Maintenance Group at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, has been selected as an Air Force Best Practice in the 2005 Chief of Staff Team Excellence Awards. The Air Force nominated 15 teams for the awards, which recognize outstanding team performance and promote systematic process improvement. The awards also serve as a means to share best practices and promote mission improvement and cost savings throughout the Air Force. "We're really, really excited about receiving this award," said Cathy Heywood, Power Systems Squadron director. "We spent a tremendous amount of time, starting in 2003, on this Lean project for Central Gear Boxes. We feel through the entire project that we have set up a best practice, so much so that we are Leaning out our entire facility in the Power Systems Squadron." The Lean team improved production of F-15 Central Gearbox products by using a three-phase approach. "We put together a cross functional team that included all areas of the value stream -mechanics, schedulers, planners, engineering," said Robert Migliore, core team leader and Lean process analyst. "That team took the three-phase approach, looking at data collection, implementation and sustainment. We relentlessly eliminated waste within our system, and linked processes together, creating true flow through a value stream." Other Lean team members were Craig Webster, business unit manager; Brandon Rogers, cell supervisor; Rebecca Rodriguez, cell wage leader; Chris Lampiris, core team facilitator; Craig Johnson, planner; Ester Moya, scheduler; Neil Packwood and Ron Monroe, Kristina Miller, Lean process analysts; Edward Hiponia, facilities engineer; Paul Catmull, process engineer; Ruben Medellin, evaluation and inspection; Bernadette Puhek, Ben Mabbutt, Rudy Nickerson, Joe Sexton, Brack Neilson, Lester Wolfe and Dan Orinak, mechanics; Greg Barfuss, maintenance; Tamara Cevering and DuPree Kment, material handling; and Matt Randall, production material technician. Like many Lean processes, the work force planned, designed and implemented every facet of the effort. Customers in supply chain management and weapon system engineering were also surveyed. "There is a huge change in power. Mechanics on the floor now have the ability to change their own systems," Mr. Migliore said. "They have concrete ideas out there and that starts the cultural change. The second portion of cultural change is adjusting to the new way of doing business. It's concentrated on what the customer needs and when they need it." The year-long process - four months to develop the plan and eight months to implement and sustain it - reduced the building area needed to produce the gearboxes from 9,255 square feet to 6,034 square feet. "This expands our capability to bring more workload in," Mr. Migliore said. "The specific processes that touched the CGB cells used to absorb 2,011 square feet - now they're done in a 634 square foot area. That represents a 68 percent reduction in square footage." Mechanics developed a cart system that eliminated the need to store parts and keeps the gearbox flowing through the disassembly, cleaning and repair processes. Improved too was the process to produce the gearboxes - from 100-plus days to between nine and 24 days, based on gearbox conditions and other production challenges. "The stats speak for themselves," Mr. Migliore added. "When you double your workload in one year, and you turn the corner on cultural change by empowering your people, you start producing quality products and top 91 percent reduction in flow time. It's good stuff -- it's awesome."