Getting the mission done safely or just getting the mission done?

Flying Safety, Nov, 2004 by Jeff Moening

The following story was on the AFNEWS website, and it's a great story about our maintainers who make the mission happen in numerous locations around the world with less than ideal conditions. However, as I read the story it brought my thoughts to the hundreds of mishap reports I have read, and how this could have been the preview of a mishap report. The Air Force flightlines face time crunches every day, and we have to make the sorties, but at what cost? Here is an example where there was no mishap, but if you look at the story you should see several areas where you might question the risk assessment of people or ask if tech data was being followed. I have been deployed to this type of operation and you have to make do, but at what cost? Here is my take on where risk was taken and tech data usage or maintenance practice wasn't what I would have done. (I have removed identifying information because it is not pertinent to my comments.) You can agree or disagree with my assessment, but we must ensure safety is at the forefront of the mission. Safety is not a byproduct, but a force multiplier.

Senior Airman X and Airman 1st Class Y are perched high atop a C-130 Hercules trying to solve a mechanical problem. The No. 3 engine had a prop replaced a week before, and flight deck indicator lights now point out a malfunction. It is a mild 78 degrees at 8:50 a.m. when their supervisor stops by and turns up the heat.

"A flight crew will be by at 10 to preflight the jet. Think you can have it done by then?" Tech. Sgt. Z yells up at them from his truck. The fact that it is a Saturday has no bearing on these maintainers. "Yeah, no problem," they say.

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Do we have a scheduling problem here? Who drives the schedule, ops or maintenance? I wonder what would have been the effect if the troops had said no?

He knew they were going to say that. He said his Airmen are not afraid to tackle a dilemma--even if it happens half a world away from their home base at (base). "We've got our A-team out here," Sergeant Z said. "I'd take these guys anywhere, any place, anytime."

After their supervisor drives away, a troublesome screw gives Airman Y difficulty. Airman X quits working on the prop to give his buddy a hand. As Airman Y uses his weight to push a metal engine panel down with his foot, Airman X tightens the loose screw. By the time they fit the panel into place, it is 9:10 a.m. Time's ticking ....

In my training, if you had to use your foot to close a panel, odds were that something wasn't right underneath the panel, and you needed to reopen the panel and look inside. I know there are some tough panels out there, but this could be a bit excessive.

By now, it is 9:20 a.m. He does not want to do it, but Sergeant Z has to take his crew away from their current job so they can recover another C-130, which is expected to land in a few minutes with problems.

Task interference or steps missed when workers left one job for another were contributing factors in many of our past maintenance mishaps. The rule book requires that if you leave a task you are to write up in the forms where you stopped. Do you think this crew had the time to do that? Supervisors are always faced with the choice of taking their limited people supply to meet multiple tasks, but we must ensure we don't miss one thing for another in the process.

"These guys not only deploy a lot, but they put in some long hours," the supervisor said. "After 12 hours, most people get tired, but not Y. When he hears of an engine problem, he's chomping at the bit to get to it." When the troubled C-130 lands a few minutes later, Airman Y jumps out of the van as if it were on fire. By the time the other C-130 lands and Airmen Y and X connect it to auxiliary power, it is 9:35 a.m. before they get back to finish their original job.

They clamor into the flight deck, put on headphones and crank up the No. 3 engine to see if they fixed the problem. They are looking for the indicator light to blink on, then off.

Having been in a C-130 squadron before and looking at the time they had here, I wonder if they followed every step in the checklist for engine operation? Not having all the information, I would hope so, but they were very fast. We damage engines every month from engine runs gone wrong, either from FOD or maintenance that wasn't done correctly. Time is always short, but some things can't be rushed.

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By now, Sergeant Z hears over the radio that the flight crew is on its way out. With the engine running, he cannot be heard so he walks close to the aircraft and points his thumb up, then down, then shrugs his shoulders using signals to ask the two if the system checks out. They return with thumbs-up, and finish with five minutes to spare.

Now, they have got to get started on that other C-130, the one they recovered a half hour ago. Another deadline is set. The clock starts, again.

The goal of this article is not to label these guys as bad maintainers with no regard for tech data. They are like every other maintainer in the Air Force, mission hackers. They face countless deadlines, austere working conditions, low manning numbers and low experience levels. What counts is how we, the supervisors and managers, handle these problems through adequate risk assessment to ensure we meet the mission safely. We must be able to sleep at night with every decision we make, and unfortunately, this year we had a maintenance fatality due to people taking a shortcut. Management, experience, and how leaders set the example is what trains our replacements. We must ensure everyone follows the books. Safety and adequate risk assessment must be part of your daily tasks.