The B-1B programmed depot maintenance team at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker AFB, Okla., has won a Shingo Bronze Medallion prize for its work in radically improving the bomber’s maintenance, repair, and overhaul processes. “The Shingo award establishes that the B-1B PDM is a world-class operation,” said Kim Roe, 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group Bomber Transformation chief. Whereas it took 180 days to finish a B-1B PDM cycle five years ago, the process now is down to 152 days, with the goal of 130 days. At the same time, the number of aircraft concurrently in depot has been reduced, thus making more aircraft available for combat. The Shingo Prize, often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of manufacturing,” is named after the late Dr. Shigeo Shingo who created Toyota’s world-renown automobile production system. In October, 76th AMXG representatives will receive the prize in Arlington, Va., at the annual Shingo Public Sector conference. (Tinker report by Danielle Gregory)
A three-month continuing resolution that ended in December inflicted less pain on the Department of the Air Force than it had expected, as procurement and construction continue in the new year. The federal government operated under a stopgap spending measure that stretched from the beginning of the fiscal year on…