Analysis: KC-135 Lean Fueling Operations

Air Force Journal of Logistics, Winter, 2007 by Bruce P. Heseltine, Jr.

Introduction

Over the past several years, fuel costs have risen dramatically. At the same time, United States Air Force Air Mobility Command (AMC) is facing some very significant challenges.

* Personnel cuts

* Engaging in the Global War on Terror

* Aggressively working to recapitalize its aging KC-135 tanker fleet

* Reduced budgets and ever-increasing oil prices

* Inefficient operational practices

Changes must be made to reduce consumption of fuel, while maintaining mission effectiveness. This paper addresses significant potential cost savings associated with the implementation of an aggressive lean fuel savings initiative in the KC-135 community.

Lean

It is important to lay the foundation of what is meant by a lean fuel initiative. Womack and Jones define the basic principals of lean as

* Specifying Value

* Identifying the Value Stream

* Flow

* Pull

* Perfection

The Specific Value of this fuel savings proposal is an enhanced, effective, mission planning and execution program that achieves greater efficiencies through reductions in fuel consumption. As the product in this case is an air refueling mission, the Value Stream consists of all specific actions required to achieve mission success, both on the ground and in the air. In the KC-135, Flow starts with mission scheduling and planning, and includes every step in the process until both the aircraft and aircrew are assigned their follow-on mission tasking. The goal in addressing flow is to identify steps in the process that are wasteful. In other words, what steps are aircrews and mission support personnel taking that are not necessary to accomplish the mission? The Pull step in the lean tanker process entails the allocation of fuel to assigned or tasked aircraft and aircrew mission planning and execution. The goal is to identify extraneous actions or waste while continuing to meet the mission needs. Implementing a plan to transition fueling from a standard ramp load to as required to meet mission requirements would help achieve this goal. Finally, the Perfection step in the lean fuel process occurs by thoroughly assessing post-mission data to determine if the mission was flown as efficiently as possible and to further identify areas for improvement. This thorough review can identify trends in daily operations, lead to the development of tabulated data that could speed the mission planning process, and eliminate steps deemed nonessential to the success of the mission.

Enhanced fuel efficiency can be achieved without compromising mission effectiveness, and a lean fuel savings initiative would not sacrifice the world class capability of Air Mobility Command's (AMC) tanker fleet. The International Air Transportation Association (IATA) asserts that accurate and efficient fuel management will actually improve safety because it requires additional attention, accuracy, increased situational awareness, and can reduce overall fuel budget by 5 percent. (2) To achieve enhanced mission efficiencies, this article proposes a leaning of the current KC-135 mission planning process and the elimination of the currently practiced standard ramp fueling procedures. The goal is to "instill a culture of energy awareness in the planning, scheduling, and execution of all AMC activities, from support through training to mission execution." (3)

This article identifies ways to reduce the daily and annual costs of flying AMC KC-135 aircraft by utilizing industry practices to enhance mission fuel efficiencies. These practices are also applicable to Air Education and Training Command (AETC) since their KC-135 missions are analogous to those flown by AMC. The objective is to make this as low cost as possible using current off-the-shelf technology for data analysis (primarily Microsoft Excel) as well as incorporating preexisting infrastructures available at each flying unit in AMC and AETC.

This article demonstrates that the use of lean and just-in-time (JIT) fueling procedures, coupled with the development of a tanker dispatch system, would enable the KC-135 community to accomplish highly efficient mission planning using a fixed targeted shutdown fuel quantity. Therefore, aircraft would be loaded with only the fuel needed to accomplish a given mission, while significantly reducing unnecessary ferrying of fuel. The net result would be a decrease in the amount of fuel required (or purchased) each year.

The following questions are addressed in this article.

Do AMC and AETC KC-135s ferry unneeded gas?

What course or courses of action should AMC and AETC take to improve tanker fuel efficiency?

A review of the applicable literature led to the following research hypothesis: Implementing airline and cargo industry practices of fueling aircraft only as necessary to meet mission requirements will increase KC-135 fuel efficiency.

Historic Fuel Practices

Traditionally, KC- 135 aircraft have been fueled to the maximum load for a worst-case mission scenario which affords maximum flexibility. This practice, generally, is accomplished the night before a planned mission. Air Force Instruction (AFI) 11-2KC-135V3 states, "Units may develop standard ramp loads that meet the minimum local training mission requirements or emergency evacuation requirements (whichever is less)." (4) However, the most common standard ramp load is 80,000 pounds, which far exceeds either of the above requirements. A limitation to an amended fueling practice is the perception that refueling aircraft the night before is essential, because units do not have adequate capability (manpower or equipment) to fuel aircraft just a few hours prior to the flight. The first hurdle is to overcome this mindset and demonstrate how changing the standard refueling sequence of events is in everyone's best interest.