451st EMXG Ammunition Support Equipment gets LEAN facelift Published Jan. 12, 2010 By 2nd Lt. Ryan Maddox 451st Expeditionary Maintenance Group KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Explosive safety standards have always determined what can be located outside of an Ammunition Supply Point, and Kandahar is not one of the exceptions to the rule. These standards required the 451st Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron's Munitions Flight to relocate from one location to another. With this new locale came new benefits, new rules, and new constraints. These constraints included parking munitions vehicles, trailers and other munitions material handling equipment in an area half the size of the previous location. To meet these constraints, the opportunity to use "Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century" principles and tools were essential to create workspace and flow. A team comprised of representatives from the Ammo community, as well as two "outside" perspectives form the Aerospace Ground Equipment and Maintenance Flights of the 451st Maintenance Group came together to address this opportunity. The team was tasked to determine locations to temporarily store 12 mobility trailers and five broken and/or spare trailers somewhere on Air Force allotted land on a NATO airfield. The primary issue was the Air Force has no land allocated outside of the designated plot for the flight office. If not on Air Force land, then an inter-service negotiation would be brokered with the Army for safe, secure storage. These negotiations took time. After a review of explosive safety rules, the team accomplished a site survey view of the potential sites. Among these were locations inside the ASP, outside the ASP (an area soon to be vacated U.S. Marine Corps munitions specialists), and a small plot of land outside the munitions holding area on the A-10 aircraft parking ramp. "Finding a location for this equipment would be much easier if the quantity distances arcs didn't take away potential land," said Senior Airman Jesse Frates, referring to the complexity that explosive QD rules play in site planning in or around an ASP. After some debate about efficient use of resources, the team concluded the best site for the broken trailers was in the same location where they would be maintained. Also, this location would be ideal for the ready line due to its proximity between the ASP and the flight line and provide transportation flow to either location. The next logical question the team addressed was how the Munitions Flight would maintain its trailers and where? Ammo currently uses an Army facility, but is restricted on the hours they are allowed to use it. It didn't take long for Tech. Sgt. Michael Light of AGE to ask, "What's stopping you from getting your own facility?" With a little debate, some LEAN tools and a few diagrams, the trailer maintenance building and vehicle flow plan were laid out on white butcher block paper. All that was left to do was design the facility. Looking around the tent, there were no experts on trailer maintenance and we needed some local expertise. Senior Airman Sean McMullen did this just nicely as he spent a majority of his career in TM. With his help, the team designed a TM bay that would suit them in whatever tent or operating bay they could acquire. All they needed was the facility and the land to put it on. Through this AFSO21 Rapid Improvement Event, the Munitions Flight found a home for all of its trailers, streamline trailer maintenance and transportation workflow, and solved a congested parking problem. Whether at home station or abroad, through peacetime and in war, LEAN concepts and tools will sharpen the edge for the warfighter, anytime, anyplace. This event supported by leadership is just another example of AFSO21 and its positive impact on facilitating change in the Air Force for continuous process improvement and the warfighter.