Langley AFB transitions to new maintenance initiative

  • Published
  • By Shaun Eagan
  • 633rd Air Base Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. --  The 633rd Civil Engineer Squadron implemented a new facility maintenance initiative at Langley Air Force Base beginning fiscal year 2014.

Initiated by Air Combat Command, the policy prolongs the lifespan of equipment and facilities on base while saving money.

According to Todd Barnes, 633rd CES deputy operations flight chief, the Air Force began to conduct research and evaluate how successful some large private sector companies maintained equipment and facilities to reduce spending. The research showed practicing preventative maintenance decreased the need for corrective maintenance, and because of that, the 633rd CES was ready to design a new maintenance strategy.

"It's better to be proactive with preventative maintenance than reactive with corrective maintenance," said Barnes. "This new policy will allow us to save money by fixing problems in advance, rather than waiting until the problem occurs."

The engineers are responsible for deciding what level of preventative maintenance is required for each facility or piece of equipment, as well as what the inspection process timetable should be, Barnes said.

Once they finalize the inspection process, engineers annotate facility and infrastructure requirements on maintenance action sheets; a basic checklist for inspectors.

"We wanted to develop a new strategy that will optimize limited resources in order to maximize our ability to take care of our mission partners' requirements," explained Barnes. "The preventative maintenance policy is more cost effective, and will help us down the road."

Barnes said he holds a weekly meeting to keep track of facility statuses and reviews upcoming inspections. The engineers can keep track of the scheduled maintenance inspections by viewing their database.

Along with the new policy, Barnes introduced the new priority-based work order system. Each facility is designated a priority level based on its importance to the overall mission. Barnes ensured that although some buildings may be more mission critical, each building will receive the required maintenance needed to stay operable.

Although the new maintenance policy means engineers will inspect the facilities routinely, U.S. Air Force Capt. Hans Winkler, 633rd CES chief of operations engineering, still expects facility managers to report faults and areas of concerns.

"We still need people to report issues with the facility and perform their general requirements as facility managers," said Winkler. "They need to identify work that needs to get done. Eventually, this process will get Langley to a point where equipment and facilities have less problems."

According to Barnes, the 633rd CES has been successful in pushing the new ACC initiative. He says engineers and technicians have been efficient at adapting to this new policy change, which is reflected in the better management of resources.

"There may not be a noticeable impact right away, but it's a smarter use of our resources," said Barnes. "We're taking a step forward for everything to run smoothly over the long run."