[The following article appears in _Public_Sector_Quality_Report_, July 1995, pages 2 and 3.] QUALITY CUP AWARD WINNER SHARES "COOL" CASE STUDY The U.S. Air Force recently flew off with two of the five top honors in the 1995 Rochester Institute of Technology/USA Today Quality Cup awards competition. The 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base, Japan, won in the government category for its efforts to improve reliability of the failure-prone Sidewinder missile used on F-15 fighter jets. Travis Air Force Base, CA, won in the non-profit category for its efforts to reengineer administration of medical physicals to pilots. Besides receiving a silver-and-marble trophy, the two Air Force units were featured, along with winners from manufacturing, service and small business, in articles published in the May 5 USA Today Money section. In case you missed that day's edition, PSQR thought you might be interested in one organization's prizewinning story. We invited Sgt. John Kmiec of the 18th Wing to share details of his organization's quality improvement effort. As background, the Sidewinder missile is one of 23 weapon systems on an F-15 fighter jet, but one of the few designed for use in extremely tight, air-to-air combat. The heat-seeking missile's record for frequent failure dates to the Vietnam War. A team of Kadena maintenance workers and pilots decided to find out why and try to correct it. Kmiec picks up the story... Improvement Opportunity The 18th Wing F-15s stand ready to provide air superiority for the Pacific forces. One weapon used to prosecute this mission is the AIM-9 Sidewinder. To destroy the enemy in air-to-air combat, and ensure our wing's ability to produce its primary product-airpower-our pilots need reliable weapons. The AIM-9 process was chronic, averaging about 102 in-flight missile malfunctions per month. This made the weapons system among the top five failing systems in the wing. If the wing was to improve its key process of maintaining ready aircraft, munitions and support equipment, the most logical place to start was with the AIM-9. Our AIM-9 process action team consisted of maintainers and pilots from eight different organizations in the wing. We felt it was extremely important to focus on the needs of the primary user of the AIM-9. For this reason, we identified pilots as our primary customer. And, in the final analysis, as far as our customers were concerned, it all came down to one thing: Our pilots needed weapons systems that worked...reliable AIM-9 missiles. Process Evaluation First, we brainstormed an opportunity statement: "An opportunity exists to improve AIM-9 missile reliability, beginning with a serviceable missile being turned out of the missile shop and ending with the missile performing successfully for our ultimate customer, the pilot." Then, our team developed flowcharts to identify the process as defined in our opportunity statement, We measured customer satisfaction in terms of pilot-reported discrepancies (PRDs), along with feedback from our pilots, maintainers and senior leaders. Based on a nested Pareto analysis of PRD data, we identified missile "no cool" and related malfunctions as our greatest opportunity for improvement, representing 74 percent of all fails. The missile will not function unless the guidance control unit (GCU) is sufficiently cooled by the release of argon gas from a bottle. Cooling also affects missile tone and tracking necessary for target acquisition. Basically, everything hinges on the missile properly cooling. Analysis After Pareto analysis of the existing PRD data. we brainstormed the causes of "no cools" and related malfunctions. We then collected data to verify actionable root causes identified during our fishbone analysis, so we could isolate those having the greatest probable impact. Take Action We planned, tested and implemented solutions for all actionable root causes. We also monitored our plan's effectiveness using data we collected on system performance, and made adjustments to the plan, when needed, to ensure continuous improvement. Among the root causes we identified: * "Three-time loser rule." Practice of not turning in failed missiles for repair until the third fail. Nobody was tracking this, and the missiles weren't getting fixed. Solution: Turn in missiles on the first fail. * Flightline argon servicing procedures. Caused damage to the GCU probe tip, prohibiting transfer of cooling argon gas. Reason: Technicians couldn't reach the AIM-9 loaded on the aircraft without damaging the probe. Solution: Use a ladder to inspect the probe, and verify a positive seal by venting the argon bottle. * Defective/worn argon bottles. Bottles incapable of properly seating and cooling the missile. Solution: Identify and turn in unserviceable bottles. We also discovered that by replacing a 13 cent pre-form packing at the base of the bottle, we could prevent up to $120,000 in annual replacement costs for defective bottles. * Tracking procedure. We had no idea what the relationship was between flightline and missile shop corrective actions, resulting in an unknown number of discrepancies going unfixed. Solution: Track and record all missile problems from "jet to shop." * Pilot write-ups weren't specific enough to allow proper trouble shooting of the missile system. Technicians didn't have enough information to fix malfunctions, often resulting in problems repeating. Solution: Increased emphasis and training for pilots on accurate discrepancy reporting. Results By the time our team drew to a close in January 1994, AIM-9 PRDs dropped from 102 to 34 per month. That's a 67 percent decrease. "No cool" and related malfunctions also decreased sharply when compared to figures collected before our team was formed, showing a direct relationship with the overall decrease in system failures. That is, as we decreased "no cool" and related malfunctions, overall system performance improved significantly. In fact, we've realized annual savings of 3,236 work hours and over $162,000 based on our 18th Wing average of only 15 fails per month since January 1994. Standardize We published all process improvements in various wing maintenance and training checklists and lesson plans. Standardized procedures enhanced training capability for pilots and maintainers, ensured continuity as personnel rotated assignments, and formed the basis for continual process improvement. In fact, process performance has continued to improve, even after our team came to closure, with an overall 85 percent decrease in missile malfunctions since we were first chartered to improve system reliability. The RIT/USA Today Quality Cup competition, established in 1991, recognizes teams and individuals who make significant contributions to the improvement of quality in an organization. Each year three teams or individuals (a winner and two finalists) are honored in each of the five categories. About 400 RIT USA Today award applications are received annually. Applications entail a narrative of no more than 1,000 words describing the applicant's accomplishments, plus no more than six pages of supporting documentation. Applications for 1996 will be due later this year. For more information, or to obtain an application, see the contact below. CONTACT: Carol Ann Skalski, USA Today, 1000 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22229, (800) 872-8748 or (703) 276-5890. 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