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Show Page June 2. HILL TOP TIMES 10 1978 Fast Fighter eople, feamvi ui f a By Charles Finney 7 new concept being pioneered in maintenance is FAST FIGHTER. A September 1977, as a result of suggestions and comments from Dean Phipps, a module chief in the aircraft division, an OJE project was initiated encompassing one aircraft and its In repair-modificati- on dock. Goal of the project was to enhance the job of the aircraft mechanic and those supporting skills interfacing with it. FAST FIGHTER is an acronym for Flexible Aircraft Scheduling Technique and is the name of an Orthodox Job Enrichment (OJE) project in the Aircraft Division, Directorate of Maintenance. the entire project and serves as the direct interface with the Directorate of Distribution. The team developed a new method of material handling. As a result a new centralized material control area is being established for earlier identification of repuired parts and more positive control over them. has assigned five to real time dedicated programmers, Preliminary results are encouraging, as reflected in reduced time the aircraft is in the program development, FIGHTER. depot. requirements of the mechanics and their aircraft. In addition a computer tracking system is being developed to provide real time in- formation on parts status. Development of a new method of materials handling and a computer tracking system has number of problems which interrupted enncnir 100 required a close working relationship with the Comptroller and Directorates of Materiel Management and Distribution. timely routing and requisitioning of materials, thereby meeting material The team began by looking at job changes that would improve the material handling procedures to allow skilled mechanics to do their job with maximum parts support. Jf J-- the work process were identified and job enrichment principles were incorporated in job redesign to solve them. This flexibility provides the material controller with the means to accomplish more team was selected to initiate the pilot project. From one aircraft, the project has expanded to encompass many aspects of the Aircraft Division. Once it gained momentum, management realized that the effort would impact the entire division. A A facilities . systems.' - 1 The Comptroller to support FAST aircraft in the Average flow time for 113 The three is aircraft days. depot produced to date under the FAST FIGHTER concept were processed in an average 101 days. This flow time reduction will decrease aircraft inventory and the with an additional commands provide using 18 no increase in with aircraft of squadron F-4- These programs are being designed to meet unique requirements of the customer. The materiel Management Directorate has assigned an associate member to the effort to track the project in terms of workload adjustments. Capt. Robert Freeman, from Distribution, has a dual role. He originally was assigned as the Distribution representative. However, when the project was designated "PACER FORM" by AFLC, he was then appointed as overall project monitor. Therefore, he works in the Maintenance Directorate to coordinate D F-4- D F-4- D in-dep- ot costs. Although the project is relatively new, trends indicate that the basic concepts are sound. Future plans call for expanding the FAST FIGHTER concept throughout the Aircraft Division. 4i U.S. Air Force ij t'-"- " r If k-- y PhotM 3 4 By x . jr .t 'r.-r- r 4, I - ?l I ' - , -- y r vrV - rw - ' . Etsil Fisher . 4 - 1 v 1 J J f J - J TEAM ACTION Team work progresses rapidly under the FAST FIGHTER project. Here (1-Tom Wertz, Jim Clark, Don Ingram, Gary Zobell and Norm Hull apply their skills. r) 1 A k Chuck Elliott, Rick Painter and Lee Udy nose aircraft. install the gear steering on an INSTALLS (1-- r) I F-4- D i : ' , K ' I ' ' ' - r , $ - :: t .. 1 , v, , - - r t TECH DATA Rodney Techmeyer and David Lamplugh use technical data to ensure kit accuracy. V (1-- r) ft i f rr ill)" -- ;' . . " iv, (I-PARTS KITS Joe Desmond and Henry Shaw preposition parts kits in the Material Control area. r) 7k j t v , " r 1 |