DLA Aviation's multi-servivce partnership with Tooele Army Depot

In the continuing effort to provide alternative means of supporting Defense

Logistics Agency-managed national stock numbers, DLA Aviation in

Ogden, Utah is partnering with Tooele Army Depot's engineering staff

growing the depot's organic manufacturing capability. The partnership is

proving beneficial to both DLA and Tooele with workload generating from

DLA Aviation and DLA Troop Support.

The partnership started in March 2009 at the direction of Ogden DLA Site

Commander, Army Col. James Kinkade, and Barbara Simbro, his chief of

supply, to expand the Department of Defense's organic manufacturing base

and support the depot maintenance workload at the Air Force's 309th

Maintenance Wing.

Kinkade said his supervisors and Air Force Engineering Support Activity

community members toured the Tooele Depot to assess their capabilities

and processes.

"We were looking for any conceivable option to satisfy Maintenance Wing

requirements," said Kinkade. "This led to the idea of establishing a

permanent partnership between the Ogden Air Logistics Center and Tooele

Army Depot. We were pleased to learn that Tooele's experts offered

quality, reliability, and timely products. Plus, they were only an hour

away."

The depot-to-depot partnership began under the leadership of Army Col. Yolanda Dennis-Loman, past Tooele

commander, and continues to grow under the leadership of Tooele's current commander Army Col. Christopher

Mohan.

Mohan and his staff visited Hill Air Force Base in Ogden March 28 for office

calls with senior leaders at Hill and to tour the Landing Gear Facility (where

the T-38 pins are installed), Hill's Organic Manufacturing Shop, and its First

Article Testing Lab.

The T38 Aircraft is used as the primary trainerfor Air Force pilots, NASA

pilots, shuttle chase planes, and is also used by the US Navy and NATO

forces.

"This partnership was a win-win, involving not only Tooele artisans, but the

Air Force and multiple DLA supply chains," said Mohan. "We are very

pleased to help DLA with engineering and manufacturing of these required parts. This will support DLA while at the same time allow us to perform

work that directly supports our core mission."

"The initial push included four parts needed to support the T-38 landing gear time change program," said Nikki

Cassell, Material Management Section chief at DLA Aviation at Ogden. "We were having problems procuring the

parts and the gear time change program is critical to supporting pilot readiness and aircraft safety on our aging fleet

of trainers."

"Our push for organic was based on some identified quality deficiencies with existing material at the source of

supply, as well as problems with DLA contracts," said Dave Spargur, chief of DLA Aviation's Landing Gear Material

Management Cell at Ogden. "The decisions to organically manufacture this part proved to be very prudent…as two

DLA contracts were cancelled due to the contractor's inability to perform."

He said Tooele has been integral to ensuring uninterrupted first-year production on the aging fleet of more than 500

and their efforts will increase aircraft safety and enhanced pilot readiness.

"Tooele is currently manufacturing two DLA-managed parts," said Cassell. "One is a pin assembly and the other is

an F-16 metering pin to support a current work stoppage." DLA has current requirements of 108 each for the pin

assembly with five-year projected requirements of 432 each year.The pin, which supports Air Force, Navy, and

NASA customer requirements, is managed by DLA Troop Support

The metering pin is an emergency requirement to fill existing backorders on work stoppages until the DLA contract

can deliver, said Spargur. He said currently 21 pins are needed, and future demand is for 290 each year through

fiscal 2013.

"It is truly a multi-service partnership," said Cassell. "And we now have two sources with organic manufacturing

capability, Tooele and the 309th CMXG's 533rd New Manufacturing.

DLA Aviation continues to foster the Tooele partnership with bi-weekly meetings to determine their ability to

manufacture more than 100 additional parts.

"We are continuing to add items to DoD's expanding database of organic capability," said Spargur. "Recently, we

asked Tooele to look into the possibility of reverse engineering a port clutch shaft for the C-130 aircraft's mounted

winch.

"Our demand is 36 per year and according to our product specialist and engineer, the existing drawings are

incomplete and the original equipment manufacturer cannot provide the technical data to produce the part from

industry," Spargur said. "Our goal is to reverse engineer through destructive testing, then recreate the drawings for

DLA and the Engineering Support Activity. Although this part is relatively inexpensive, at a cost of $30.82 each,

once any good surplus is exhausted we could be forced to redesign a new (much more costly) next higher

assembly."

Related Links:

Tooele Army Depot partners with Defense Logisitcs Agency