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Show lines Hill AFB, Utah 84056-5824 www.hilltoptimes.com hilltop.pa@hill.af.mil Vol. 63 No. 30, August 5, 2004 INSIDE: Unit Compliance Inspection starts Monday Page 2 Family aids In suicide prevention Page 3 Meteor shower predicted Page 4 20 Questions Page 6 Division returning jets on, ahead of schedule Force. Many thought depots should be a( thing of the past as they had a reputation Ogden ALC Public Affairs for never getting things done on time," he The Ogden ALC Maintenance Directorate's said. Up until recently, the depots have been Aircraft Division has been turning out some called dinosaurs — big large beasts that impressive numbers this year, returning 97 percent of the jets they've fixed on, or ahead never evolved, Colonel Davidson added. of schedule, with a 62 percent zero-defiThis reputation was a result of cumberciency rate upon delivery. some processes, said Dave Stevens, the diviNumbers this high have never before been sion's deputy chief. seen in Air Force depot repair, according "Historically, we've done a mediocre job to Col. Paul Davidson, Aircraft Division of getting aircraft back to customers on chief. time." This is understandable, considering workers sometimes had to wait several The division says its success is a direct result of some dramatic changes in the way months for a part to come in, or had to walk back and forth across a hangar to get the they have been doing business for the past . tools one or two at a time, he said. several years. Each of the division's branches, incorpo"Eventually, following the call by the Air rating A-10, C-130, and F-16 depot mainte- Force to transform, leadership realized if nance, can boast significant accomplishments they didn't change their ways, they wouldin reducing the time it takes to get an air- n't survive," Colonel Davidson said. craft back to the customer. So, in fiscal 2000, Aircraft Division leadWhile Air Force Materiel Command's fis- ership began looking closely at their processes cal 2004 on-time delivery goal for its cen- and found employees who had been doing things the same way for 40 years, without ters is 90 percent, the A-lOs and C-130s change or improvement. repaired here are returned to their units 100-percent on time, and F-16s are reachRealizing the need for extensive change to ing their customer, as scheduled, 94-perthe status quo, the division looked to comcent of the time. mercial aerospace and auto industries for a solution. They found process improveThese numbers are even more notable, Photo by Karl Tilton ment tools like "Lean" and "Six S," helping considering their context, Colonel Davidcivilian sector companies dramatically stream- Leroy Sykes, F-16 Common Configuration Improvement Program secson said. tion chief, demonstrates how shop employees will soon be able to go "For years, air logistics centers have been line work flow, reducing turn-around time. to vending machines located In work areas to get necessary tools and a subject of criticism throughout the Air M See Division, page 4 supplies at the push of a button. by Kari Tilton 'Number, please' Commercial long distance call will require six-digit PIN review the calls made and ensure accountability if needed," said 2nd Lt. Charles Lundine, TeleHilltop Times staff phone Systems officer in charge. According to AFI 33-111, the new system will Beginning Aug. 15, the 75th Communications control and reduce the overall costs the Air Force Squadron is implementing a new Personal Idenpays for long distance calls. The system will track tification Number system, requiring a six-digit PIN to make any commercial long distance calls the approximately 300,000 long distance calls made every year at Hill using a PIN number from base telephones. "This PIN system will bring us into compliance assigned to the caller. with Air Force Instructions," said Tech. Sgt. Jon "PINs should be treated like your bank card PIN Marsh, Telephone Systems assistant NCIOC. because the person who is assigned that number Communication Systems Administrators at each is responsible for all calls made with it," said Sergeant Marsh. "We don't recommend that offices organization will be in charge of acquiring share them." PINs and recording who is assigned to them. Each organization has the authority to decide Although all phone users — there are about which employees will get a PIN and how they will 21,000 phone numbers in-use on the base — will be used. need a PIN, to simplify the process, the PINs will be randomly generated and users won't be able "The individual organizations will be able to by Beth Young Youth betid wires Page 8 388th Fighter Wing Fighter Country Pages A-D Back injuries preventable with careful lifting Archery deer hunt planned Page 9 off the floor or above his head. In fact, it's a safety violation that any employee lifts Hilltop Times staff more than the maximum weight. Back injuries are the No. 1 preventable "When I see stuff sitting on the floor that injury at Hill, with 40-45 percent of lost-time weighs 30 pounds, I know we have a probinjuries falling into this category. While the lem. When I see people putting stuff on a ideal situation would be to have someone shelf above their shoulders, I know we have else always do the heavy lifting, it's more a problem," Mr. James said. "It is no won-; realistic to understand how back injuries der we are not winning the battle." occur so that they can be prevented. Back injuries are not just a concern for "Last quarter, we had 12 back injuries," those who have physical jobs, says Mr. James. said Ron James, Ogden ALC Safety Office Many of the injuries occur in office settings. chief of ground safety. "The sad thing is that "A secretary filling the copier, for examthey were all preventable." ple — three or four reams of paper lifted off The Safety Office uses standards from the the floor can be too much," he said. The alternative would be to store the paper on a National Institute of Occupational Safety higher shelf or only lift one ream at a time. and Health to determine safe lifting limits. With this standard, no one should ever lift Although the NIOSH lifting analysis doesn't more than 51 pounds and most times less account for a person's strength, physical conthan that. dition is an important factor for back injuries. "By studying cadavers and other data, "Our workforce is aging and our physical NIOSH has come up with an equation that condition is terrible," said Mr. James. "When I walk through the hangers and industrial determines what weight is safe to lift," Mr. areas, I see we are overweight. It's no wonJames said. "If the conditions are perfect for the average person, that weight is 51 der we are getting hurt." pounds. As each of the variables are fac"A lot of the people we see with back injuries tored, that number is reduced." aren't our athletes," added Maj. Mark Lange, 75th Medical Group physical therapist. With each different lifting situation the variables that are factored are: "Young Airmen of the video game age are • the height the object is lifted to and from de-conditioned from the get-go. It is easy for them to get injured because they aren't • how far it must go in shape to begin with." • how many times it must be lifted • the angle of the body as it is lifted One of the best ways to prevent injury, says • how good of a grip is possible Major Lange, is to stay in good overall "The optimum lift is 30 inches. Once you condition. A regular exercise program, with go above or below that, it reduces the 51 strength training, can go a long way to keep pounds," Mr. James said. "It could easily go back injuries from happening. down to 10 pounds with everything factored Mr. James says that every employee is supin." posed to be trained on proper lifting when By this standard, even Arnold SchwarzenegM See Back, page 4 ger shouldn't be lifting^ box of copier paper by Beth Young Hill pentathlete wins gold Page 9 Services sponsors Summer Bash Page 10 Photo by Beth Young US. AIR PORCH to choose their own. "The Air Force is instituting the use of PINs to help prevent fraud and waste," said Lieutenant Lundine. Once the system is implemented, callers will still dial 98 then the 10-digit phone number. They will then be prompted to enter the new six-digit PIN. "Initially, it may be more work, but once it's in place and everyone has a number, it will require minimal upkeep," said Sergeant Marsh. According to the instruction, long distance calls from base telephones should only be made for official business or in the interest of the government. Personal local calls are allowed if they don't interfere with official duties, exceed reasonable duration and frequency, and don't reflect adversely on the Department of Defense or Air Force. Many factors reduce the safe lifting limit of 51 pounds. Ignoring safety rules by lifting heavy objects over your head with an awkward grip, like the scenario pictured above, can lead to serious back injuries. |