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Contest informs, encourages FOD prevention

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tong Duong
  • 379th AEW Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Wedged between the treads of a truck, a bolt makes its rounds on the flightline before losing its hold and rolling into the middle of the taxiway--waiting patiently to hitch another ride, this time through a jet engine. 

However, not every bolt that gets run over has to end up causing damage to the aircraft that take off and land here.   

The wing has an ongoing foreign object damage prevention program that is designed to give Airmen an incentive to be alert for things that could be hazardous. For instance, a poster contest re-emphasizes the importance of preventing FOD. 

"The purpose of the FOD poster contest is to get all personnel assigned to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing including associate, coalition, and geographically separated units involved and to instill a mindset that we all need to think about FOD and ways to prevent it," said Master Sgt. Donald Bobo, 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Operation Squadron quality assurance FOD prevention monitor. "Having a new poster each month draws people's attention to the program so they're not seeing the same old message over again." 

According to Sergeant Bobo, FOD is anything that could go through an engine and cause damage including rocks, aircraft fasteners and tools. 

The wing's last chargeable FOD* incident occurred October 2006 when a screw was ingested into a F-15 engine, resulting in $93,353 of damage. 

"Foreign Object Damage consumes the time of trained technicians, supervisors, and 
leaders," said Senior Master Sgt. Eric Herriman, 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Group QA superintendent. "All of these individuals are involved in the decision making process of how to remedy the problem. It ultimately hinders our ability to launch aircraft performing missions vital to the warfighter." 

At each monthly FOD meeting, posters are voted on by maintenance commanders and unit FOD representatives. Col. Lawrence Martin, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing vice commander, presents the contest winner with a certificate, and the winning poster is displayed for a month on the FOD homepage and all FOD bulletin boards around the base. 

Every day, the chances of FOD damaging an engine are possible, but many steps are taken to minimize the risk, said Sergeant Bobo. 

Sweepers drive around the flightline all day and assigned priority areas are swept whether FOD is visible or not. Each unit also does a FOD walk and uses a 'FOD boss mat' to sweep within their assigned aircraft parking area twice a day. Airfield management also patrols the taxiways and runways every three-hours looking for FOD. 

As a FOD prevention monitor, Sergeant Bobo's responsibilities require him to investigate the origin of any objects found on the flight line. 

"Anyone who loses an object or tool that could possibly end up on the flightline reports the incident to the maintenance operations center," Sergeant Bobo said. "They notify me and the quality assurance folks so we can focus on ensuring a tool or item doesn't end up in one of our engines. I drive the entire flightline several times per day looking for FOD, and the source of any FOD that I find is turned into my office." 

To help decrease the chance of FOD incidents on base and to keep the mission here at the forefront, Sergeant Bobo offers these tips:
- Always be on the lookout for FOD while driving and working on the flightline.
- Do a thorough tire roll-over inspection at the FOD checkpoints prior to entering the flightline.
- Repeat the procedure if the vehicle leaves a paved surface and re-enters the airfield.
- Report any FOD found to the FOD prevention office so the root cause of the
Incident can be identified and steps can be taken to prevent future occurrences. 

Poster submissions are due to Master Sgt. Donald Bobo by the 25th of each month. For more information, please e-mail or call 437-2415. 

* Chargeable FOD is anything that costs more than $20,000 and could have been prevented from being sucked into the engine including rocks, aircraft fasteners and tools.