“Air Speed” was started at headquarters to speed up the process of
repairing aircraft at NAVAIR facilities.
Two aircraft repaired at Jacksonville were the F18 and the P3 fighters,
worked on in different hangers. Lean manufacturing experts were hired
as consultants to lead internal lean teams and develop internal expertise.
Independently, they analyzed the current situation for the P3 and F18.
Their conclusions were the same:
◆ Each plane was treated as a unique project, with craftsmen working
in place, in no particular standardized process.
◆ The work area around the plane was disorganized with tools and
parts lying every which way.
◆ Repair people spent an inordinate amount of time walking to get
tools and parts and indirect materials.
◆ When the plane was disassembled, parts were tossed into boxes that
were sent to storage (e.g., an automated storage and retrieval system),
and then when the parts were brought out for reassembly, much
time was spent sorting through boxes, looking for parts. Parts were
often missing because they were "robbed" to work on another plane.
◆ Many planes were being worked on at once, and when they got stuck
on one for some reason (e.g., needed key parts), they shifted to work
on another.
◆ There was a belief that the planes came in for repair unpredictably and
that it was impossible to plan for a stable, leveled amount of work.
Value stream mapping revealed a huge amount of waste in the current
processes. Future state maps were developed and similar solutions were
presented for all the aircraft:
◆ The process of disassembly, inspection, repair, and reassembly needed
to be separated into distinct phases.
◆ A flow line needed to be set up with planes at different stations, and
specific work done at each station.
◆ The line then needed to be balanced to a takt time. Analysis of actual
data showed the arrival of planes was far more stable than previously
believed.
◆ Standardized work needed to be developed at each station.
◆ 5S was needed to stabilize the process and reduce much of the non-
value-added walking and getting stuff.
◆ A “hospital” position was needed so that if the workers got stuck on
one of the planes (e.g., waiting for a long-lead-time part), the plane
could be set aside in the hospital and the flow would not stop.
singke
(singke)
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