Working at the Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD) for twelve years, Manuel Muro could not be happier.
"I'm in a new building with air conditioning, natural light, and plenty of room; I love it here!" exclaimed Muro as he builds an AH-64 Apache transmission. Manuel is one of the CCAD Directorate of Powertrain (DPT) artisans who have recently moved from Building 8 to their new home in Building 1700, more commonly known as the Dynamic Component Repair Facility.
Last April, the first artisans from the Powertrain Gearbox and Rotor Head, along with Division Chief Robert Kunicki moved into Building 1700 as the advance echelon to begin transitioning production into the new facility. Powertrain (DPT) Director Marco Garcia met with his division chiefs and strategized a phased approach to moving their team into the new building. "We began with smaller components to see how the process would work," said Garcia. "Moving our production into the new location worked out smoothly, even when accounting for physically having to move parts into the new location then moving the completed components back to Bldg. 8 for testing and sale," said Garcia. After evaluating the first move for four months, Garcia and his team proceeded on the next phase of moving larger components to 1700. Eventually all elements of DPT, including transmission testing, will move into the new facility.
Building 1700 will replace a portion of CCAD's original WWII era buildings. Six additional phases are scheduled for the facility during the coming years. Designed for streamlined production, Bldg. 1700 is a departure from the confined and inefficient area currently housing most of DPT. Now the many hours of planning and hard work that have gone into this new building realize payoff through CCAD artisans producing components and generating revenue in the new location.
The next major milestone will be the startup of new Smart Transmission Test System (STTS) currently undergoing installment and testing. Leading the industry, a team of CCAD engineers, spearheaded by Gary Hogg, CCAD Chief Engineer, developed an unprecedented system for testing powertrain components and transmissions. In the old building, test cells are restrictive in that each allows testing of only a single type of transmission. The process of testing with the old system is labor and time intensive in several aspects. Using the old system, CCAD artisans must hook up each transmission inside its unique test cell, tying up that cell during the arduous task of set-up. The process requires dedicated test cell operators whose full-time focus on testing restricts their opportunities to work in other areas of their job series-- such as building powertrain components. If a test cell is down, production comes to a standstill.
In contrast, the streamlined STTS allows for transmission connections outside in the pre-staging area on a cart, which artisans later move into the test cell. This process eliminates the single choke point of the old system and allows maximization operational time. In addition, the new test cells have the flexibility to test multiple types of transmissions, helping to eliminate bottlenecks and production downtime. Describing the STTS Robert Kunicki stated, "This flexibility is a game changer for CCAD. It allows us to dramatically reduce the time required to test transmissions." DPT estimates a savings of sixty-six percent by utilizing the improved workflow and new test cells in Bldg. 1700.
The new building and STTS cells will produce another significant benefit by allowing artisans to build and test their components themselves. By following their own work through each phase of the building process, CCAD artisans will have the advantage of legacy knowledge and be able to apply lessons learned on each stage of production. In the old area, this simply was not possible due to persistent congestion at the test cells and space configuration of the area.
Asked about the upcoming work process change Aircraft Mechanic Helper, Sara Botello, is excited. "I like learning new things and I take pride in my work. I like that we're going to start testing our own components! I can see this new approach being used at other shops in CCAD," said Botello. She is not alone in looking forward to this new, streamlined process.
"Right now if there's a problem, we accept it or pass it on for someone else to fix. By building the component ourselves from start to end, we can catch and resolve our own issues before final sale," said Muro. "I have a nephew in the Army, and I don't want him to worry about the safety of his helicopter. We make great parts at CCAD and this new building and everything that it brings will make us even better. I've only been in this new building a couple of weeks and I can already see big improvements."
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