Commander’s Innovation Showcase Award

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. – U.S. Air Force General Darren W. McDew, commander, U.S. Transportation Command, recently presented two Airmen of the 436th Maintenance Squadron’s (MXS) Production Team, Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, with the Commander’s Innovation Showcase award.

The 436th MXS team provides maintenance professionals for C-17 Globemaster III, and C-5M Galaxy aircraft; the latter is the largest U.S. Air Force transport aircraft.

The production team authored two maintenance cross-tells to address C-5 non-mission capability issues; the first cross-tell established new cargo floor dent limitations, the second concerned sloping longeron repairs.

These two new cross-tell procedures save an estimated 776 non-mission capable hours annually.

In order to map, or track, the productiveness of the new processes, the team utilized skills learned through the University of Tennessee Leadership Lean Applied Business Practices course and developed an innovative production utilization tracking system. 

“This system challenged the current status quo of creating Estimated Time In Commission (ETICs) by introducing full transparency as well as incorporating lessons learned for future repairs,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Steven R. Holsinger, superintendent, 436th MXS.

The new tracking system challenges the old ways of tracking and scheduling aircraft maintenance by mapping each maintenance action, which has enabled better planning, more efficient resource management, and established standards.  The procedure changes contributed to a 29-year high 81.3% mission capable rate for the C-5M Galaxy.

While these procedures were the product of the 436th MXS, they have shared their findings and procedures throughout the U.S. Air Force with hopes for additional time and money savings.    

“This innovative aircraft tracking and scheduling progression has allowed us to take a critical look at our processes and recognize opportunities to meet present-day challenges while maximizing productivity, ultimately improving Air Mobility Commands mission capability,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. James A. Wall, commander, 436th MXS.

Every quarter, the commander and his leadership team review Commander’s Innovation Showcase award nominations from across the enterprise and recognize one of the many high-performing, collaborative teams who emulate the command virtues, which are the foundation of the TRANSCOM culture – collaboration, trust, empowerment, and innovation.

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