Precision Measurements Shop Helps Mission Stay Safe and Accurate

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — It may take dozens of maintainers to keep an aircraft mission ready, but it is often unseen that the tools and test equipment they use have its very own maintainers. The Airmen in the 60th Maintenance Squadron Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory at Travis calibrate, maintain and certify the test equipment used directly and indirectly in the maintenance of aircraft.

Airman First Class Kourtnie Melendez, a calibration technician with the 60th Maintenance Squadron’s Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory, uses a stainless steel gauge block to measure a micrometer, while Staff Sgt. John Cox, a quality assurance evaluator, observes her work. PMEL fine tunes countless pieces of equipment, like this micrometer that is used by a jet engine shop belonging to the California Air National Guard. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Ken Wright)

“There is no room for error,” said Airman 1st Class Kourtnie Melendez, 60th MXS PMEL calibration technician. “Precision is the first word of this job.”

If Melendez doesn’t do the job properly, it can result in Travis aircraft being grounded, she said. Maintainers would not be able to work the aircraft without properly calibrated test equipment.

To make sure the job is done properly and all the PMEL technicians are adhering to the proper technical data, quality assurance inspectors frequently conduct reviews on the calibration of equipment.

“Being QA in the PMEL shop is a two-man job,” said Staff Sgt. John Cox, 60th MXS PMEL quality assurance inspector. “We have to evaluate 29 technicians for adherence to guidance, as well as, inspect 8,900 pieces of test, measurement and diagnostic equipment items supporting nine different airframes.”

Having a heavy workload makes it all that more important for safety to be the number one priority, Cox said.

“As with most maintenance jobs, we have to be mindful of any tasks involving high pressure, force, high voltage and radio frequency radiation,” Cox said.

With all the dangerous aspects and the importance of doing the job correctly, the PMEL shop can be quite the challenge, Melendez said.

“Pressure can be very dangerous when it gets into the thousands of pounds per square inch,” Melendez said. “We abide by all the safety warnings and cautions and are very safe when it comes to handling these things. Focusing on the task at hand and calibrating equipment with zero errors are the greatest challenges.”

The challenge for Cox is to go on “fact finding” missions to find the root cause of any nonconformity that may be found with equipment, he said.
“Sometimes the root cause is attributed to training, or a faulty piece of equipment, those are easy,” Cox said. “The more challenging ones are distinguishing the accidents from disregarding policy; basically did this truly happen because of human error or was it because this person did not follow a step, note, caution or warning?”

Whether it’s carefully calibrating test equipment or ensuring the quality standards are being properly upheld, the maintainers at Travis can count on their PMEL shop to do the job safe, accurate and fast. (source www.travis.af.mil)

Aviation Week Brings Three MRO Events to Miami, Including the World’s Biggest Aviation Maintenance Show – MRO Americas 2011

MRO Americas, MRO Military and MRO Latin America take place April 12-14

March 23, 2011 – Aviation Week will present the MRO Americas Conference & Exhibition, MRO Military and MRO Latin America on April 12-14, 2011 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Florida. Leading executives, officials and professionals from all areas of the aviation and defense (A&D) maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry will attend to connect with existing and prospective customers, close business deals, learn about new technologies and services, and find out what the latest trends and developments are in this rapidly changing sector.

Now in its 16th year, MRO Americas and its co-located events offer unmatched editorial content and unique networking opportunities to the 6,000+ attendees. Last year, 91% of MRO exhibitors connected with prospects they hoped to meet, and three out of every four attendees agreed that the information gained at the conference is not available anywhere else. MRO Americas has a proven position as THE show continuously leading the airline and MRO industry forward, and MRO Military and MRO Latin America provide a deep-dive into topics relevant to these specific sectors. A sold-out, joint exhibition hall will host over 550 A&D product and services suppliers.

Keynote speakers at MRO Americas include J. Randolph Babbitt, administrator, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); Barry Eccleston, president and CEO, Airbus Americas Inc.; and Wolfgang Mayrhuber, chairman of the Executive Board and CEO (retired), Deutsche Lufthansa AG. At MRO Military, the featured speakers are General Donald Hoffman, commander, US Air Force Materiel Command; John Johns, Dep. Under Sec Defense Materiel Readiness; and Rear Adm. Timothy Matthews, commander-Fleet Readiness Centers/NAVAIR, U.S. Navy. MRO Latin America attendees have the option to attend the MRO Americas keynotes, as well as specialized workshops and presentations from key executives like Ruy Amparo, vice president-MRO at Brazil’s TAM Airlines. Additional information and online registration are available at http://www.aviationweek.com/events or by calling +1-212-904-4682. On Twitter, follow @aviationweek or search for #MROAM. Discounted rates apply for MRO providers, airlines, government, military, media, and groups of three or more.

MRO Americas is produced by Aviation Week and Overhaul & Maintenance, in association with the Air Transport Association and TeamSAI. Gold sponsors include AAR Corp., Delta TechOps, Goodrich Corp., and Pratt & Whitney. The silver sponsors are Aerotech Holdings, AeroTurbine, Aviation Technical Services, Avio-Diepen, AvMat Aviation Materials Management, Inc., Barfield, Chromalloy, Fokker Services, HEICO Corp., PlaneTechs, Safran, Spirit AeroSystems, Triumph Group, Inc., and United Technical Operations. Bronze sponsors include Airbus, Associated Painters, Inc., Aveos, Bombardier, GA Telesis, GE Aviation, Lufthansa Technik, Oracle, Rockwell Collins, TIMCO Aviation Services, TRAX, TTF Aerospace, Turkish Technic Inc., and VAS Aero Services. Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies and SR Technics are the titanium sponsors. MRO Americas is supported by the Association of European Airlines, the International Air Transport Association, and the Miami Maintenance Management Council. Media sponsors include Airliners, Aviation Week & Space Technology, Cargo Facts, and Low Fare & Regional Airlines. MRO Military is produced by Aviation Week, with media support from Aviation Week & Space Technology and Defense Technology International. The charter sponsor is Deloitte. Lockheed Martin is the gold sponsor. Siemens is the bronze sponsor. Northrop Grumman and Sikorsky Aerospace Services are the premier sponsors. MRO Latin America is produced by Aviation Week and Overhaul & Maintenance with assistance from media sponsors Airliners, AeroLatinNews, Aviation Week & Space Technology and Revista Aerea. (source Aviation Week)