14th AMU: Management to maintenance

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Phillip Butterfield
  • 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  Editors note: Second in a series of six on the 14th Aircraft Maintenance Unit

The 14th Aircraft Maintenance Unit demonstrated well-organized maintenance by garnering a 90.9 percent fully-mission-capable-rate in August. This accomplishment was in part due to a mutual flow of information from the production supervisors, or "prosuper," to flightline expeditors, to the shop-specific expeditors who position the maintenance professionals. 

After the plane lands, the pilot informs the prosuper of any problems during the flight. Next, the production supervisors pull together the flightline expeditors, who are the leaders of the different maintenance specialties required to fix whatever issue the aircraft may have. The appropriate expeditor for the failing system will gather trained Airmen with their tools, parts and any other equipment required to fix the problem and return the aircraft to service. 

"The real life blood of flightline communication is the expeditor," said Master Sgt. John Bell, 14th Aircraft Maintenance Unit production supervisor. "The expeditors have their finger on the pulse of flightline maintenance. They manage and lead their people in an effort to get the aircraft ready for the next mission." 

The flow of information passes through the flightline expeditor before it reaches the shop specific expeditor. This is in an effort to strategically place the shop-specific expeditors so they can talk to the pilots in order to fix the issue before the pilot shuts the aircraft down and makes his official report. The flightline expeditor is a crucial link in getting extra equipment and services out to the maintainers that are fixing the aircraft. 

"As a flightline expeditor, I take the requests from the prosuper and channel it to the appropriate shop expeditor," said Tech. Sgt Chris Hudson, 14th AMU flightline expeditor. "A big key to our success is the excellent rapport I have with the prosuper and the shop expeditors and vice versa." 

The shop expeditor controls the maintenance activities of their shop and sends technicians out to do repairs on the aircraft. 

"After the prosuper prioritizes the aircraft that need to be fixed, and the flightline expeditor relays the information to us, I coordinate with my lead technicians, whether they're avionics, elctro-eviromental or engines, on the best way to work the issues," said Tech. Sgt. David Bruce, 14th AMU avionics shop expeditor. "When we have a game plan in place we let the flightline expeditor know and he then will forward the information back to the prosuper." 

With the plan in place, the maintenance technicians can now fix the aircraft, returning them to service and showing why they earned a 90.9 percent FMCR. 

"Flightline operations is choreographed controlled chaos," said Sergeant Bell. "But, with our ability to effectively communicate with each other we are able to smooth things out, and perform safe and timely maintenance."