Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD) artisans continue to revolutionize helicopter overhaul, maintenance and repair to operate more effectively and efficiently--this time with a new oil flush stand that translates to cost savings.
CCAD is the leading Department of Defense facility providing rotary wing support to helicopters vital to the fight. The depot is critical to the DoD industrial base, offering services found nowhere else to provide optimum combat power.
Though CCAD support to full aircraft, a vast majority of the work lies in the individual shops bringing helicopter components to better-than-new condition.
In the Rotating Electric Shop, experts created a new piece of equipment to flush oil out of UH-60 Black Hawk generator components. By building this new equipment in-house rather than purchasing it new, CCAD spared taxpayers around 85% the cost. The oil flush stand will also achieve a safer, more economical and environmentally-friendly solution while saving time, money and man hours.
The new equipment flushes out contaminants and oil collected in Black Hawk components.
Engineers designed the equipment with quick connect and disconnect features to replace the old equipment that required wrenches and two people to remove the hoses. These new features modernize and streamline the process while reducing man hours. It also makes the flush stand a one-man job.
"Now it takes you a matter of seconds to actually use the quick disconnect," said Linda Lopez, CCAD Engineer and the brains behind the idea. "It takes only twenty seconds versus thirty minutes."
"It's made it easier with the quick connects so that we can run it more efficiently because we don't have to disconnect anything," said Jody Boren, Electrical Mechanical Repairer. "It's cleaner, safer and easier to access now."
The leaking oil and tangled hoses of the old non-enclosed equipment made safety a huge issue. The old tank was located on a cart next to the electrical equipment on top of another cart which created multiple slip, trip and fall hazards.
"At any moment a hose could've ruptured releasing hot oil on an employee," said Eduardo Perez, Safety Engineer. The new flush stand is fully enclosed, eliminating the hazard.
The new stand is also ergonomic. The stand is at eye level so employees do not have to bend over to reach the equipment. Handles are located on both sides to push the wheeled, enclosed oil flush stand throughout the depot without worrying about dangling hoses.
"Everything is right here for the employee to get their job done," said Perez. "Now they can push out products for our Warfighter a lot quicker with this equipment."
"This has such a vast savings, improved safety and man hours because there are really no controlled software configurations for the equipment," said Melinda De La Fuente, Equipment Certification Lead.
"I think CCAD should do more of these in-house designs because it will save a lot of time and money," said Lopez.
CCAD has been heralded for its innovative workforce. Though they have been working on decades-old helicopters, they continue to find new methods to lean out their processes and modernize their equipment to more efficient models. A number of programs and incentives exist for these modern innovators, encouraging them to find opportunities to save.
The goal is to increase production while saving taxpayer money and minimizing waste while getting the aircraft or component to the Warfighter faster. The Warfighter's mission is the priority so CCADers strive to deliver.
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