The airmen at RAF Mildenhall, Britain, who maintain the Air Force Special Operations Command MC-130 aircraft in shape have managed to trim 20 days from the time it takes them to perform an isochronal inspection. And, they’re not stopping there. The 352nd Maintenance Squadron plans to attempt to cut another 10 days or so off that. The isochronal inspectors check some 2,400 individual items when they inspect and repair 85 aircraft systems. They began using “Lean Flow” management about nine months ago to reduce the time it takes to do their job.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
