News

First validation aircraft for HVM arrives at Robins

  • Published
  • By Ed Drohan
  • 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  The aircraft that will be validating the new High Velocity Maintenance program just arrived at Robins Friday, but the HVM process started months ago. 

The C-130 Hercules is the first Air Force aircraft to undergo validation for the new maintenance process. HVM is designed to shorten the time the aircraft is down for maintenance and inspections and make it more available for the warfighters. 

"The validation actually started several months ago," said Doug Keane, (Check job title). "The planning, the pre-induction inspections, the process of deciding what repairs were going to be made, all started several months ago. This portion of the validation is to make sure the system works." 

The goal, Mr. Keane said, was to understand everything about the aircraft's condition before it ever got here. 

The purpose of HVM is to have everything the mechanics need to perform their work pre-positioned and ready for use, allowing them to stay at the aircraft instead of searching for the things they need to do the job. 

With the condition of the C-130 known in advance, HVM team members were able to schedule workflow, develop kits for each maintenance procedure that was required, establish requirements, order necessary parts, material and equipment, and effectively streamline the entire process. 

HVM is the Air Force's way of putting into play the best practices that are currently being used in the commercial airline industry, said HVM team lead Jerry Mobley. 

"Over the years our processes have not kept up with those in private industry," Mr. Mobley said. "There was a lot of waste in our processes, so we looked at each task, the sequence they were performed in, and looked at how we could do them more efficiently."
The C-130 was selected as the first weapon system to undergo HVM validation since it is in high demand around for operations around the world. Both Ogden Air Logistics Center and Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center will be testing HVM in the future on the F-22 and B-1B respectively. If the new processes live up to expectations, the hope is that it will be phased in throughout the Air Force.