NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA MBA PROFESSIONAL REPORT Process

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE

SCHOOL

MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA

MBA PROFESSIONAL REPORT

Process Improvement at the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Detachment (AIMD) at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island

By: Eric Jafar,

Terence Noel C. Mejos, and Chieh Yang

December 2006

Advisors: Keebom Kang

Uday Apte

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

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REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank)

2. REPORT DATE December 2006

3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED MBA Professional Report

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE: Process Improvement at the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Detachment (AIMD) at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island 6. AUTHOR(S) Eric Jafar, Terence Noel C. Mejos, and Chieh Yang

5. FUNDING NUMBERS

7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, CA 93943-5000

8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER

9. SPONSORING / MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) N/A

10. SPONSORING / MONITORING AGENCY REPORT NUMBER

11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this report are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE A

13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) This project focuses on the J52-P408 engine repair process and the implementation of the “AIRSpeed”

program at the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department (AIMD) at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI), WA. The project was conducted with the sponsorship and assistance of Program Executive Office Ships (PEO SHIPS) and Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems (PEO IWS). The goal of this project is to analyze how the leadership of AIMD incorporated Theory of Constraints (TOC), Just in Time (JIT), Lean, Six-Sigma, and Lean-Six-Sigma methodologies in the engine repair process, and examine the effects of its application in relation to repair cycle time and overall readiness level. This report will describe and compare the earlier and the current AIRSpeed engine removal and repair processes, starting from the flight line to the ready for issue (RFI) pool at AIMD. Using simulation modeling tools and private industry production and inventory management philosophies, we will make recommendations for further improvement in the repair process. We will examine how the application of AIRSpeed processes contributes to the mission readiness of the United States Navy and Marine Corps’ fleet of EA-6B Prowler aircraft, while reducing operation and maintenance cost.

15. NUMBER OF PAGES

123

14. SUBJECT TERMS AIRSpeed, Lean, Six-Sigma, Engine Repair Process, Repair Cycle Time, Value Stream Mapping, Process Improvement and Arena Simulation.

16. PRICE CODE

17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF REPORT

Unclassified

18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE

Unclassified

19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF ABSTRACT

Unclassified

20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT

UL

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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

PROCESS IMPROVEMENT AT THE INTERMEDIATE MAINTENANCE DETACHMENT (AIMD) AT NAVAL AIR STATION WHIDBEY ISLAND

Eric Jafar, Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy Terence Noel C. Mejos, Lieutenant, United States Navy

Chieh Yang, Lieutenant, United States Navy

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

from the

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL

December 2006

Authors: _____________________________________

Eric Jafar _____________________________________

Terence Noel C. Mejos _____________________________________

Chieh Yang Approved by: _____________________________________

Keebom Kang, Lead Advisor _____________________________________ Uday Apte, Co-Lead Advisor _____________________________________ Robert N. Beck, Dean

Graduate School of Business and Public Policy

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ABSTRACT

This project focuses on the J52-P408 engine repair process and the

implementation of the “AIRSpeed” program at the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance

Department (AIMD) at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI), WA. The project

was conducted with the sponsorship and assistance of Program Executive Office Ships

(PEO SHIPS) and Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems (PEO IWS).

The goal of this project is to analyze how the leadership of AIMD incorporated Theory of

Constraints (TOC), Just in Time (JIT), Lean, Six-Sigma, and Lean Six-Sigma

methodologies in the engine repair process, and examine the effects of its application in

relation to repair cycle time and overall readiness level. This report will describe and

compare the earlier and the current AIRSpeed engine removal and repair processes,

starting from the flight line to the ready for issue (RFI) pool at AIMD. Using simulation

modeling tools and private industry production and inventory management philosophies,

we will make recommendations for further improvement in the repair process. We will

examine how the application of AIRSpeed processes contributes to the mission readiness

of the United States Navy and Marine Corps’ fleet of EA-6B Prowler aircraft, while

reducing operation and maintenance cost.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 A. BACKGROUND ..............................................................................................1 B. PURPOSE.........................................................................................................4 C. RESEARCH QUESTION ...............................................................................4

II. BACKGROUND ..........................................................................................................7 A. NAVAL AVIATION MAINTENANCE PROGRAM ..................................7

1. Objective ...............................................................................................7 2. Levels of Maintenance .........................................................................7

a. Organizational-Level Maintenance..........................................8 b. Intermediate-Level Maintenance .............................................9 c. Depot-Level Maintenance.........................................................9

3. AIRSpeed............................................................................................10 B. NAVAL AIR STATION WHIDBEY ISLAND ...........................................11

1. Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Detachment (AIMD).............11 2. Aviation Support Division (ASD) .....................................................12 3. Aviation Squadrons ...........................................................................13

III. LITERATURE REVIEW .........................................................................................15 A. THEORY OF CONSTRAINTS (TOC) .......................................................15

1. Tenets of TOC ....................................................................................15 2. Operational Elements of TOC ..........................................................17

B. JUST-IN-TIME (JIT) SYSTEM...................................................................17 1. Advantages..........................................................................................18 2. Disadvantages.....................................................................................19 3. Strategy ...............................................................................................20

C. LEAN PRODUCTION ..................................................................................24 D. TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM) ...........................................27

1. TQM Applications .............................................................................28 E. SIX-SIGMA....................................................................................................28

1. Methodolo