Reduced cycle times, increased efficiency and an emphasis on safety and quality earned the Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) V-22 team two awards presented during an April 20 ceremony.
During an event live-streamed from Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) headquarters at Patuxent River, Maryland, FRCE’s V-22 Aircraft Integrated Product Team (IPT) earned the 2022 NAVAIR Commander’s Award for Best Performing Fleet Readiness Center/Integrated Product Team and Andrew Rock, V-22 Branch Head, was named Most Collaborative IPT Lead. This year marked the 22nd annual observance of the awards, which recognize teams that improve speed and readiness within naval aviation.
“The outstanding service provided by our V-22 Aircraft IPT, with Andrew Rock at the helm, consistently helped maximize material availability to the Fleet,” said FRCE Commanding Officer Capt. James M. Belmont. “There are real-world implications to the support provided by the workforce at FRC East, as we saw with Marine Aircraft Group 26 (MAG-26). Our V-22 team’s dedicated service helped provide MAG-26 with mission-capable aircraft when the Marines were called upon to support Joint Task Force-Haiti in a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mission following a devastating earthquake in August 2021. The Fleet’s ability to execute critical missions is always aided by the quality and timely products delivered by FRC East.”
NAVAIR Deputy Commander Tom Rudowsky led the ceremony, presenting awards that reflect the NAVAIR values to teams and individuals focused on outcomes that matter to the fleet: speed of capability, delivery, affordability and availability.
“Our people are the driving force behind our success here at NAVAIR,” Rudowsky said. “We know our mission is not about us, it’s about how we support those who are on the front lines so they have the capability they need to successfully execute their mission and return home safely.”
The enterprise has faced significant challenges over the past year, but has found a way to continue delivering outcomes for the Fleet, he said. The V-22 Aircraft IPT at FRCE exemplified this with its exceptional performance.
In 2021, the V-22 team pushed to drive down cycle times for planned maintenance interval (PMI) events on V-22 aircraft, accelerating the return of aircraft to the Fleet by 31 percent. The team kicked off the year with a 297-day delivery in January, setting a new record for FRCE and Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers (COMFRC). The team continued its unyielding drive to shorten cycle times throughout the year, hitting the 220-day mark in March and 164 days in November. The team also returned its first Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1) V-22 PMI in an unprecedented 122 days.
In total, FRCE returned 21 V-22s to operating forces in fiscal year 2021, achieving early delivery on 15 of those aircraft and making a positive impact on aircrew proficiency and currency, and flight line readiness.
The V-22 Aircraft IPT achieved this notable reduction in cycle time through the implementation of several strategies that helped the team boost efficiency, Rock said. This includes the application of a “Core Team” concept, in which the same core group shepherds the aircraft through the entire process from induction to delivery. One work leader assumes responsibility for each aircraft, and with input and assistance from subject-matter experts, makes daily decisions on scheduling, parts and staffing. The work leader oversees a team of seven to nine mechanics who work the same aircraft for the duration, and monitors the progress of critical operations while making course corrections and elevating potential barriers to higher levels for action.
“With this concept, the team is mirroring the aerospace industry’s airframe and power plant license concept, which enables employees to perform a mix of trade skills and allows for flexibility in work assignments and increased employee utilization,” Rock explained. “It allows the team to be fully engaged, and instills a sense of ownership, commitment, inclusiveness and teamwork that results in increased efficiency.”
Implementation of the Naval Sustainment System (NSS) also helped improve efficiency on the V-22 line. With support from COMFRC, the team completed full implementation of Phase 1 of NSS, which focuses on fleet readiness center reform through an emphasis on people, parts and processes, and a commitment to providing artisans with the resources they need to get the job done. As part of the initiative, the V-22 Aircraft IPT established a dedicated production control center (PCC), through which all maintenance activities flow.
PCCs ensure efficient operations and production management by helping streamline the administrative functions on the line: issuing work orders, validating work order completions, keeping track of milestones and helping production run smoothly.
“The production control center makes information readily available and improves communications and collaboration,” Rock said. “The PCC manager coordinates with the work leaders to clearly identify the sequence of tasking, which helps facilitate a smooth transition from phase to phase and ensure on-time or early delivery and optimized employee utilization.”
That optimized employee utilization proved effective in driving down turnaround times and reducing costs. The V-22 Aircraft IPT was able to significantly increase direct labor hours on the line with only a minor increase in staffing, showing a 30% increase in direct labor hours with just a 15% increase in staffing. At the same time, the team absorbed an average increase in work hours per aircraft of 24% for CV-22 aircraft and decreased the cycle time for MV-22 aircraft by an average of 135 days.
Other improvements in the V-22 Aircraft IPT’s performance include a 19% reduction in the cost of poor quality from fiscal year 2020 figures; a 14% reduction in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordable injuries; and a finding of 100% compliance in and International Organization of Standardization Aerospace Standard 9110 audit. Aerospace Standard 9110 assesses the processes, procedures and efficiencies of an organization’s quality management system and serves as the benchmark for excellence in the aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul industry. Conformance to the AS9110 standard is voluntary, and represents an above-and-beyond commitment to quality.
In addition to recognizing the herculean efforts of the V-22 Aircraft IPT, Rudowsky honored Rock as the Most Collaborative IPT Lead for his exceptional leadership and innovative approach to bolstering V-22 readiness. The annual award honors an IPT lead who has achieved significant warfighting capability using innovative teaming strategies.
David Williams, director of FRCE’s Rotary Wing Division, said he nominated Rock for the recognition because Rock’s management and leadership of the IPT enabled the V-22 Production Line to support the Naval Aviation Enterprise in generating superior combat air power.
“Across the enterprise, V-22 cycle times for planned maintenance interval events were unpredictable or simply too long,” Williams said. “The goal for Mr. Rock, a Marine Corps veteran, was to reduce cycle time while ensuring the highest quality airframes, engines and components, maintaining a safe work environment, and delivering the absolute best value. The overall performance of the IPT certainly indicates these goals were met.”
In addition to piloting the “Core Team” maintenance concept, Rock has promoted by example a culture of “Safety First,” making safety of paramount importance to the team’s daily operations, and championed top-down management involvement in product quality assurance.
“With Mr. Rock’s leadership, the V-22 IPT demonstrated exceptional performance in supporting the V-22 Production Line in execution of their rework and planned maintenance interval events,” Williams said. “He is certainly deserving of this recognition, as is the IPT as a whole.”
Rock’s leadership embodied the “Get Real, Get Better” formula that leads to a winning culture, as did all of the NAVAIR Commander’s Award winners, Rudowsky said.
“Each of today’s award winners is being recognized for their accomplishments but, more importantly, they are being recognized for behaviors they and their teams have demonstrated – behaviors that were instrumental to their success,” he explained. The winners challenged assumptions, didn’t take no for an answer, elevated issues quickly, made hard decisions and owned the results, and listened with an open mind to ideas that weren’t their own.
“They practiced and abundance mindset, and figured out how they would, vice why they couldn’t,” Rudowsky continued. “They thought differently about the problem and redefined how they executed to achieve required outcomes. … Ultimately, we found a way to really think differently about how we do our business.”
FRCE is North Carolina's largest maintenance, repair, overhaul and technical services provider, with more than 4,000 civilian, military and contract workers. Its annual revenue exceeds $1 billion. The depot provides service to the fleet while functioning as an integral part of the greater U.S. Navy; Naval Air Systems Command; and Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers.