CTMA Connector November 2012: DoD Maintenance Update

We welcome the following organizations into NCMS:

Equipois, Inc. (www.equipoisinc.com)

Equipois is dedicated to the mission of utilizing its patented exoskeletal arm technology to reduce injuries, increase productivity, and decrease costs in the workplace. Their proprietary technology enables and enhances the most versatile tools in existence – human hands guided by the human mind. The goal: eliminating the costly and widespread injuries caused by exertion, repetition and strain.

ThinGap, LLC (www.thingap.com)

ThinGap offers light and highly powerful motors for industry, unmanned platforms and robotics.  They replace the traditional iron core motors with an ironless composite stator and unique new rotor design offering tremendous power and torque density.

PARC (www.parc.com)

Parc, a Xerox company, is in the business of Breakthroughs. Practicing open innovation, they provide custom R&D services, technology, expertise, best practices and intellectual property to Fortune 500 and Global 1000 companies, start-ups and government agencies and partners.

Terascala, Inc. (www.terascala.com)

Terascala storage appliances accelerate data throughput in big data, high performance enterprise computing environments. Terascala delivers over tens of GBs of aggregate read/write throughput to solve the 1GB/second bottleneck that is common with existing NFS-based storage solutions. Available from Dell, NetApp and EMC, Terascala appliances work alongside primary storage systems to provide on-demand fast data storage for problematic big data/fast data applications.

News from DoD Maintenance Symposium, 12-16 November, Grand Rapids, MI

• NCMS/CTMA Booth wins award for best large booth for the third time in four years.  Projects featured at the booth included Imaginestics Americas Voice, Perfect Point e-drill, Spectro Fluid Analyzer, Ecylpse Wiring Integrity, Curtis-Wright Laser Peening of Aircraft Skins, and the world premier of the Lockheed/Equipois Human Augmentation System.
• NCMS member company, MDS Coating Technologies Corporation, won the best booth in the smaller booth category.  They were highlighting their CTMA project work on erosion/corrosion resistant coatings for turbine engine blades.
• The CTMA project, Intermittent Fault Detection Isolation System (IFDIS) won the Best Ideas competition.  Their work was presented by Ken Anderson of Universal Synaptics.

Plan now for the NCMS/CTMA Technology Showcase

30 January 2013 at the Anniston Army Depot

More information and registration at:

http://www.ncms.org/index.php/programs/ctma/ctma-symposium/technology-showcase-anniston-army-depot-2013/#About

NCMS members are invited to participate in this event.  Table top displays will be set up in the new transmission facility on the Depot.  As an all-day event, this is a great opportunity for members to display their technologies to management, engineers and artisans at Anniston.  The event begins at 8:00 a.m. (unloading / set-up begins at 7:10 a.m.) and will conclude at 4:00 p.m.  A networking reception will immediately follow the event.

These showcase events in the past have received high accolades for their ability to target the Government’s technology needs, fill gaps and showcase members’ innovations.  It is a perfect opportunity that should not be missed!

Anniston Army Depot has identified the following as technologies of particular interest:

• Tracking material handling equipment
• Fastener removal
• Automated Inspection process
• Machine tool monitoring
• Automated painting
• Waterjet paint / coating removal
• Electrostatic paint booth
• Manufacturing execution systems
• Bridge scanning capabilities (combination of optical / laser)
• Plating modernization
• Housekeeping procedures for surface contaminates
• Camouflage projection
• Cold spray
• Friction stir welding
• Environmental
• Cadmium plating fasteners
• Supporting industrial base operations
• Reverse engineering capabilities
• Training
• Plating and finishing
• Painting and de-painting
• Robotic-assisted ergonomics

Not an NCMS member yet?  Contact Alissa Roath, NCMS membership chair, alissar@ncms.org, 734-995-3457.

Also Plan to Participate in the 2013 CTMA Symposium

8-10 April, US Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.

Start preparing for the $100,000 Maintenance Challenge, continuing this year at the CTMA Symposium.  This year we will be looking for quick-hitting project ideas with technology deployment at a DoD maintenance facility within 4 months.  In addition, we will be featuring a deputy commanders panel outlining current technology needs, as well as a panel moderated by Adele Ratcliff with the service laboratories showcasing projects addressing sustainment needs.

Recently Completed CTMA Project: Automated Process and Inspection Guide

Automated Process & Inspection Guide (AP&IG) Phase I standardized both the inspection data and the inspections process for depot maintenance facilities. It utilized Aspire Solutions, Inc (ASI) commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software application combined with COTS ultra-mobile PC technology to guide the user through the inspection process (improve accuracy) and standardize the defect data (enhance analysis capabilities). The project was unique in that it involved two pilots. The first was at Red River Army Depot (RRAD) involving the high mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV) ground vehicle. The second was at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (OC-ALC) involving the C/KC-135 aircraft. These environments are
very diverse and highlighted the tool’s configurability.

The RRAD pilot focused on the HMMWV road test. This inspection involved actually driving the vehicle to ensure functional operation. The pilot had two key goals:

• Standardize the defect data – Because of the high volume of HMMWV produced (28 to 32 per day), it was critical to analyze the defect data to ensure an issue was not missed. Missing an issue for a week could result in 150 HMMWVs that required full re-inspection.
• Decrease work – Because of the volume, rework was done during overtime hours making it very expensive.

The pilot produced strong bottomline results that helped inspect/repair the HMMWV faster and reduce cost while improving the overall quality with fewer personnel required.

The RRAD pilot on the HMMWV yielded substantial savings:

• Manpower reduction 73%
• Inspection time decreased 29%
• Reporting time reduced 96%
• Inspector training time down 80%.

It produced an estimated savings of over $2.3Mannually.

The OC-ALC pilot focused on the C/KC-135 inspection dock. This inspection reviewed the entire aircraft for defects once the plane had been stripped of paint and key access panels were removed. Because of the scale of the aircraft, the pilot focused on the leading edge wing since it was a problem area. The pilot had two keys goals:

• Capture head knowledge – Because of the turnover/retirement in staff, finding and training inspectors was a challenge. Due to the complexity of the aircraft, the training lead-time was 6 months and there was a shortage of experienced personnel to perform the training.
• Decrease inspection time – Reduce the amount of time spent in inspections without impact accuracy to enable more true maintenance time on the aircraft.

The OC-ALC pilot on the C/KC-135 produced significant savings:

• Manpower reduction 29%
• Inspection time decreased 35%
• Reporting time reduced 94%
• Inspector training time down 80%
• Test flights decreased 42%.

This produced an estimated savings of over $3.9Mannually.

The NCMS contact is Debbie Lilu, debral@ncms.org, 734-995-7038

We appreciate your feedback. Please contact Chuck Ryan with suggestions or input on other topics that would be of interest to you in this newsletter. The CTMA Program is sponsored by the Department of Defense; the content of this newsletter does not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the government; no official endorsement should be inferred. © 2012