Menu

Competitions: Venues for Success

Competitions are a great way of getting innovative technologies in front of key decision-makers. The 2018 DoD Maintenance  Symposium featured two competitions: The  Maintenance Innovation Challenge that provided a venue to introduce new technology ideas and the Defense Maintenance Challenge that tests and boosts maintenance skills. These events bring together engaging presentations and provide a clear message about how the work of DoD maintenance and sustainment artisans can be transformed. NCMS and its partners are pleased to support and enhance these events by introducing new processes and equipment to satisfy maintenance and sustainment gaps.

2018 Maintenance Innovation  Challenge (MIC) 

NCMS is proud that two out of the six MIC finalists were NCMS members and part of the NCMS/CTMA  booth at the 2018 DoD Maintenance Symposium.  Through the CTMA Program, NCMS searches for the most innovative maintenance and sustainment technologies across its network of partners and shares space with them in the centrally-located,  high-profile booth area.

Congratulations to Wet Technologies and  MaglogixR for being finalists at the 2018 MIC!  Congratulations to REACT Lab, 76th Commodities  Maintenance Group, Tinker Air Force Base, who took home the MIC Overall Winner Award at the  2018 DoD Maintenance Symposium. The staff is working diligently to sustain the U.S. Air Force’s aging KC-135 Stratotanker, B-1 Lancer, B-52  Stratofortress, E-3 Sentry, and E-6 Mercury aircraft.  With the difficulty of obtaining some parts for these legacy systems, the engineers at the Reverse  Engineering and Critical Tooling (REACT) Lab have taken the approach of not waiting to find the parts,  but make them themselves with the assistance of the AM. By using scan data to design tooling specifically for metal AM in CAD software, the technicians can rapidly prototype tooling and test equipment on demand, saving material waste, downtime, cost,  and efficiency.

This submission resonated with the panel of DoD senior logistics managers, usually admirals, and one or two-star generals who judged the six MIC  finalists. They evaluated the submissions on the  following criteria:

  • Maintenance centricity
  • An original contribution to the state-of-the-art
  • Commercialism
  • Technical maturity
  • Cross-service application
  • Potential to benefit maintenance
  • Feasibility and practicality

NCMS member Maglogix Wins 2018 MIC  People’s Choice Award 

Congratulations to Jim Michael, President of  Maglogix LLC, who wowed the audience at the MIC,  part of the DoD Maintenance Symposium that took place December 17-20 in Tampa, FL. His presentation,  along with supporting testimonial from Susan  Simms, NAVSEA Tactical Implementation Manager at the Puget Naval Shipyard, beat out the other  73 submissions and made a huge impact clearly demonstrating how the Maglogix magnets can save time and effort, lower injury rates, and reduce the costs of leveling and welding metal parts.

In his presentation, Using Multi-Pole Magnetic  (MP) Technology to Improve Productivity, Quality,  and Safety, Michael outlined how Maglogix incorporates  MP magnets into mounts, fixtures, and  hand-lifters that help technicians manipulate heavy  tools, equipment, and material, (e.g., for mounting  power drills and holding and fixturing metal undergoing  welding in position). This newly patented technology allows for close-in welding without arc deflection and offers incredible performance on even very thin steel. These magnets are extremely strong and resilient, with a performance-to-weight ratio of up to 400 pounds of hold force for every pound of magnet. Furthermore, they are switchable—  MP magnets can be turned on and off without the need for a power source. By contrast, electromagnets require a constant flow of electricity to maintain a magnetic field and will drop objects in the event of a power loss.

Mounts and fixtures incorporating MP magnets are a useful alternative to human augmentation systems (e.g., powered exoskeletons) and mechanized assistance (e.g., overhead cranes and forklifts) for handling heavy loads. The former is expensive and heavy and can impede their users’ mobility. The latter create wait times and are difficult to deploy in tight spaces. As the workforce ages and inexperienced new technicians enter the maintenance field, Maglogix’s offerings provide valuable tools for reducing injury while ensuring precise, high-quality work.

“Using magnets to assist in projects is a new way of thinking about manufacturing; powerful magnets no longer need to be used on the end of a hook,”  says Michael. “I couldn’t be more thrilled with winning the MIC People’s Choice Award. It brought  the benefits of my magnets to the attention of the  hundreds of DoD decision-makers in the audience.”  The other finalists were:

  • Wet Technologies, Inc.: Green Wet Blasting  Technology for Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul 
  • SurClean, Inc. and U.S. Navy: Laser Ablation and  Naval Maintenance Applications 
  • U.S. Air Force: REACT AM Metal Tooling and Testing  Equipment (Overall MIC winner)
  • U.S. Army/RDECOM/ERDEC: RAPTOR Means  Readiness: How Soldiers Pull on the Digital Thread 
  • U.S. Air Force: Robotic Automation for ESON Risk  Reduction, Throughput Increase, and Improved  Quality

The Defense Maintenance Challenge 

Competition Highlights the Future Needs of the  Maintenance Community

For the second year in a row, the Defense  Maintenance Challenge was held in conjunction with the DoD Maintenance Symposium. The competition provided an opportunity for current and future maintenance professionals to showcase their abilities and see how they stack up against peers across the country. The three-member teams competed in maintenance events intended to test the skills and knowledge required of a defense maintenance technician. Competitors contended in a range of events that highlighted their technical prowess in maintenance.

The test stations this year were:

  • Winglet Contour Check
  • Analytical Chip Debris Classification
  • Intermittent Fault Detection and Isolation in  Electrical Wiring Interconnect Systems
  • Oil Test Analysis
  • Safety Cable

These teams, made up of military personnel, are the face of the next generation of aircraft maintenance professionals.

According to the Airline Division of the  International Brotherhood of Teamsters, in the next 20 years, there may be as many as 600,000  maintenance technician positions available with not enough skilled artisans to fill them. This competition is one way to provide excitement and an introduction to some of the most innovative maintenance and sustainment technologies commercially available.

All four industry sponsors of the competition are  NCMS members. This is an example of NCMS members investing in the future of maintenance and sustainment. Sponsors were:

  • Automated Precision Inc.
  • Gastops LTD
  • Spectro Scientific, an AMETEK company
  • Universal Synaptics

The Defense Maintenance Competition is the first competition hosted by the Aerospace Maintenance  Council that focused on the military. The choice,  far from random, highlighted two things: trained military technicians will help fill the skills gap, and collaboration between industry and government is necessary to keep our aircraft safe.