1. Realized Savings to Date: $18M+
Wiring is a crucial and complex system spanning entire weapon systems. Thousands of mission aborts and hundreds of thousands of non-mission capable hours per year are attributed to wiring incidents. Wiring is truly a critical system that requires new maintenance tools and processes to address maintenance realities.
The EWIS Phase I program demonstrated the benefit that can be realized by effective wire testing and maintenance. The EWIS technology is a reliable, user-friendly, menu-driven equipment that detects and locates wiring defects on a variety of cable and wire types. The EWIS Phase II focus is on providing aircraft maintainers with the necessary inspection test protocols and processes to impalement the EWIS technology effectively into a phased depot maintenance environment providing early warning and insight into any degradation of the aircraft wiring.
~50% reduction in troubleshooting time
Increased readiness and fewer mission aborts due to wiring incidents
9,336 man-hours saved in F-16 repair in the first six months
Realized Savings to Date: $18M+
F-15 realized $3M cost avoidance to date
CTMA Investment - $1.25M
Industry Cost Share - $2.6M
Enhanced Wiring Integrity Systems (EWIS) DoD Potential Cost Benefits $12.5B/first year assuming full DoD deployment
DoD Benefits
Application by Armed Services:
Level 1 Annual Savings
PNSY - Shipyard Cranes: $36K
FRC SE - F404 Engine Harness: $1M & $1.4M 1 time ECP
Ogden ALC - F-16 Mod: $63K
Warner Robins ALC - C-5 Strut: $154K
Dyess AFB - B1 Radar Harness: $96K
FRC SW - SH-60B AFCS: $179K
Seymour Johnson - F-15E Sec Power: $852K
Level I ROI for CTMA and industry since EWIS inception = 148%
Level 2 Annual Savings
FRC SE : $1M
PNSY: $36K
Ogden ALC : $105K
Warner Robins ALC: $922K
Dyess AFB: $288K
FRC SW: $1.6M
Seymour Johnson: $1.8M
Tobyhanna Army Depot: $336K
Level 3 Potential:
Full implementation for repair of wiring systems could lead to cost savings approaching $12.5B per year first year with reduction of integrity related issues.
CTMA Sponsored:
Fleet Readiness Center Southeast EA-6B circuit breaker panel repairs
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard analysis of electrical problems on cranes.
Tobyhanna Army Depot shelter wiring repair
Warner Robins ALC, Dyess AFB, Ogden ALC, Ellsworth AFB, Seymour Johnson AFB, Fleet Readiness Center Southwest wiring faults
Barstow Marine Corp Base automated vehicle electrical checks
Activity Sponsored: Seymour Johnson F-15 Improved Maintenance Practices U.S. Air Force has issued a 2009 contract with Eclypse International for up to $26M in equipment and support for diagnosing wiring problems on aircraft.
Potential:
Even greater DoD benefits will be realized by expanding EWIS technology applications to the many complex and restricted access wiring systems on the many weapon platforms.
Enhanced Wiring Integrity Systems (EWIS)
Wiring is a crucial and complex system spanning entire weapon systems. Wiring is truly a critical system that requires new maintenance tools and processes to address maintenance realities of thousands of:
Mission aborts and hundreds of thousands of non-mission-capable hours per year due to wiring incidents.
Wiring maintenance issues consuming several million maintenance man-hours annually.
Economic need is to increase mission readiness of materiel at reduced cost by requiring fewer maintenance man-hours and minimizing the repair and modification materiel costs.
The EWIS technology is a reliable, user-friendly, menu-driven equipment that detects and locates wiring defects on a variety of cable and wire types and greatly reduces Mean Time To Repair (MTTR). Phase I of the EWIS project demonstrated the benefit that can be realized by effective wire testing and maintenance. EWIS Phase II focused on providing aircraft maintainers with the necessary Wiring Maintenance hardware and software tools and inspection test protocols and processes to impalement of the EWIS technology effectively into a phased depot maintenance environment (providing early insight into any degradation of the aircraft wiring). Phase II was built on the accomplishments of Phase I and extended it to a proactive environment providing enhanced capability for fault detection and isolation, thus optimizing the time to repair.
Conservatively 1,000x faster than old method (pin-to-pin)
Provides exact location of wire fault
Reduces unscheduled maintenance
Portability enables expeditionary maintenance and rapid response to GWOT
Technology milestone on the path to wiring system prognostics
Ensures early detection of faulty repair processes
Reduces LRU “Re-Test OK” rate approximately 50%
Increases system availability.
Phase II addressed applications for FRC-SE F-18, AF-ALC C-5, and AF Dyess B-1 aircrafts. The project also included four DoD observers with interest – three AF B-1and one Navy H60 helicopter application.
ANALYSIS: (source: A. Yang-FRS SE, R. Foley-TYAD, D. Bensley-Portsmouth NSY, C. Teal-ECLYPSE International, D. Maleche-NCMS)
Level 1 Benefits:
Realized Savings to Date
$ 5,964,000 Seymour Johnson AFB
$ 2,468,800 FRC SE
$ ,000 PS NSY
$ ,000 Ogden
$ ,000 WR ALC
$ ,000 Dyess AFB
$ ,000 FRC SW
$9,554,800
The Navy, Air Force, Army and Marines participants included:
FRC SE – EA-6B Engineering Change Proposal, Replace Circuit Breakers
Portsmouth NSY – Shipyard Cranes, Submarine Maintenance Period
Ogden ALC – F-16 Modification and Wing Tests
FRC-SE –F-18, F404 Engine Harness
Warner Robins AF-ALC C-5 – Bogie and Strut rewire
Dyess AFB – B-1 SCAS and Radar Harness
Seymour Johnson AFB – F-15 Secondary Power System
FRC SW – SH-60B AFCS system
Tobyhanna AD – Fire-finder Backplane, Mobil Shelters
Cost:
FRC SE – EA-6B, Circuit Breakers, $824,000 material cost avoidance, test & replaced only 15% (997) vs. planned 100% (6,646). The labor savings: 60 hours/plane planned for the 6,646 units but actual at 8 hours/plane = 52 hrs saved x $100/hour x 124 planes = $644,800 labor saved (data from the FRC project report). Total savings of $1,468,800, material and labor.
FRC SE – F404 GE engine engineering forecasts $1,000,000 per year in savings were realized when they extend this testing capability to the I-level (data from 2011 records reported in the EWIS – Phase II Final Report).
Portsmouth NSY – Shipyard Cranes, $36,000/crane/year, 5 days per event, 6 events/year = 30 days, 30 days x 8 hours/day = 240 hours x $150/hour labor = $36,000/year/crane (data provided by Eclypse International).
Ogden ALC – F-16 Modification including complete wing test, 630 rework hours avoided x $100/hour = $63,000, 5 year x $63K = $441K through (data from 2004 & 2005 records reported in the EWIS – Phase I Final Report).
Seymour Johnson AFB – F-15 Participant reported savings of approximately $355,000 by reducing false avionics box replacements and removals from January 2010 to June Total savings from 2005 – 2012 is $5,964,000.
WR ALC – Eliminated shop rework time of 16 man days per month by eliminating wiring defects on incoming struts resulting in approximately $166,400 in cost avoidance (data from 2011 records reported in the EWIS – Phase II Final Report).
Dyess AFB – B1 Lancer, Avoids $8,000 in potential rework each time an incoming radar harness is inspected. Estimated savings of $96,000 per year. (data from 2011 records reported in the EWIS – Phase II Final Report).
FRC-SW – SH-60B Helicopters, Automated AFCS system testing, $143,000 to $214,500 in maintenance man hour savings. (data from 2011 records reported in the EWIS – Phase II Final Report).
Availability:
F-15 Intermediate repair realized 9,336 man-hour savings in first six months – increased availability.
Reliability:
C-2 rewire verified engineering data and the electrical integrity of wiring prior to flight test and clearly improved mission readiness of rewired aircraft.
Cycle Time:
Tobyhanna Shelter Wiring automated test program resulted in troubleshooting time reduction of 50% (10-17 man-hours/ shelter).
Level 2 Benefits:
WR ALC – In addition to its Level I savings, the site has six additional Test Program Sets, assuming similar savings as Level I results $921,600 annual savings.
Dyess AFB – In addition to its Level I savings the site has three additional Test Program Sets, assuming similar savings as Level I results $288,000 annual savings.
FRC SW – In addition to its Level I savings the site is implementing nine additional Test Program Sets, assuming similar savings as Level I results $1.6M annual savings.
Seymour Johnson AFB – F-15 Improved Maintenance Practices, $3M saved 2005, 1500 hours/month, $100/hour, $1.8M/year, from Seymour Johnson 2005 project report, 5 year x $1.8M = $9M through 2009.
Tobyhanna AD – Fire-finder Backplane, Mobil Shelters, Tobyhanna AD estimated savings at $1,400/shelter x 240 shelters/year = $336K annually (once fully implemented).
Level 3 Benefits:
Full DoD EWIS implementation for repair of wiring systems could lead to cost savings approaching $12.5B the first year. Per the 2008 DoD Fact-book, approximately $50B is spent on electrical maintenance alone each year. EWIS technology could reduce that cost by 25% within the first year if fully implemented across the DoD on aircraft, ships, submarines, vehicles, shipyard cranes, etc. After the initial impact, the savings may decrease since the new process will be in place, but the savings should level off and remain in the billions.
Winner:
Seymour Johnson AFB Chief of Staff Award 2005
Defense Manufacturing Excellence Award 2006
NAVAIR Innovation Award 2011

2. CTMA Investment - $250K; Industry Cost Share - $500K
Spaceframes are the preferred body structure for military vehicles due to their light weight and strength. Cost and quality issues with conventional MIG and TiG joining methods for thin-walled components used in spaceframes have prevented their use.
Deformation Resistance Welding (DRW), a new solid state joining method that does not melt the materials to be joined reduces manufacturing cost by a factor of 10 while increasing dimensional accuracy, corrosion resistance, and weld cycle time.
Total vehicle weight reductions of 10% are achieved while improving survivability, cost, and versatility.
CTMA Investment - $250K; Industry Cost Share - $500K
Corrosion Resistant Solid State Thin-Walled Component Joining Novel solid state welding technique especially useful lightweighting ground vehicle platforms using spaceframe body architectures
DoD Benefits
Level 1 Benefits:
Allows the use of bolt-on non-structural armors that can be upgraded throughout the life of the vehicle.
Same vehicle structure can be easily reconfigured depending on mission and service requirements (canvas to Frag-7).
Dramatic fuel and maintenance savings can be realized when operating HMMWV at canvas level of protection (7,000 lbs gwv) in non-threat environments vs. Frag 7 (13,500 lbs.).
Provides HMMWV rollover protection in unarmored configuration.
Level 2/3 Benefits:
Widespread deployment of lightweighting spaceframes on both new and legacy ground weapon systems will produce weight savings of 10% and operational versatility while maintaining performance and safety.
Application by Armed Services:
CTMA Sponsored:
U. S. Marine Corps/ U.S. Army/TARDEC:
Design depot installed retrofit spaceframe component capable to support a FRAG 7 armor kit and blast shield for the M1151 HMMWV platform.
Modeling report of component/total vehicle performance under various loading conditions lbs weight savings utilizing improved frame design with FRAG 7 equivalent bolt on armor kit options.
Manufacturing tooling designed and fabricated for welding of physical sub-frame component using DRW method.
Test parts from prototype tooling demonstrating DRW welds that meet performance specifications

3. Realized Savings to Date: $1.2M
The annual cost associated with industrial vehicle operations is well beyond the acquisition, labor, maintenance, energy, damage repair, and lost work time cost from accidents.  In today’s Lean Logistics environment, failure to maximize productivity in material handling and remanufacturing operations accounts for a substantial “tax” on operational expense due to inherent process inefficiencies.
CFAMS is a cutting edge industrial fleet vehicle management solution, utilizing the latest in real-time sensory data collection, and operator interface technology while improving operational safety at the vehicle level, providing actionable management reports on operational (direct mission support) utilization and CBM status.
CTMA Investment - $300K; Industry Cost Share - $607K
Realized Savings to Date: $1.2M
Centralized Fleet Automated Management System (CFAMS) A vehicle management system with potential savings to DoD of over $491M annually
Application by Armed Services:
DoD Benefits
CTMA Sponsored:
Army
Sierra Army Depot (50 vehicle pilot)
Red River Army Depot
Anniston Army Depot
Tobyhanna Army Depot
TACOM
Army Materiel Command
Potential:
Air Force
Navy
Marines
Defense Logistics Agency
Level 1 Benefits:
SIAD: Demonstrated pilot-scale savings extrapolated depot-wide results in annual cost savings of $1,245,320.
Level 2 Benefits:
AMC: Implemented at Army depots and arsenals gives anticipated savings of $14,395,910 annually.
Level 3 Potential:
Anticipated savings for all services (non-tactical vehicles) is $491,880,430 annually (100,000 vehicles)
Centralized Fleet Asset Management System (CFAMS)
Dramatically improves vehicle/operator/ facility safety; helps avoid accidents and lost work time.
Enables up to 15% reduction of fleet size and associated costs (acquisition, labor, fuel, etc.)
Reduces vehicle maintenance costs up to 30%.
Improves vehicle operator productivity up to 7%.
Provides essential data for fleet optimization – so vehicle mix matches mission requirements.
Supports lean-logistics process improve­ments, with ability to increase velocity of materiel to warfighters.
Army Materiel Command (AMC) participated in a successful demonstration of CFAMS at Sierra Army Depot (SIAD). Pilot data indicates a significant return on investment (ROI) – conservatively, a cost breakeven in about one year, and recurring savings of up to $7K per vehicle per year. Additionally, direct observation from the SIAD team indicates that CFAMS dramatically reduced both lost work-time accidents and facility damage.
The system can also be augmented/integrated with automated functions for inventory management and pedestrian-vehicle accident avoidance.
In summary, CFAMS improves material handling safety, process efficiency and the associated velocity of materiel movement, while reducing vehicle-related damage, emissions, and overall fleet costs (for vehicle acquisition, battery/fuel, and ongoing maintenance). CFAMS delivers multiple operational benefits and cost savings, returning the Government’s initial investment within the first year and providing recurring savings to the Government for up to seven years beyond initial implementation.
ANALYSIS (Sources: Tom Manzagol & Roger Tenney, I.D. Systems; Debbie Lilu, NCMS; Sierra Army Depot)
Level 1 Benefits:
Annual Savings Opportunity Summary for Pilot (50 Vehicles)
Depot-wide annual savings estimate, extrapolated from actual SIAD pilot results: $1,245,320.
Based on CFAMS cost and an annual inflation rate of 3%, the financial benefits for a 50-vehicle fleet are:
Implied Rate of Return: 112% to 183%.
5-Year Net Present Value: $812,510 to $1.2M.
Payback (cash flow positive): 11 to 16 months.
Annual Savings Opportunity for Full-Site Deployment (184 Vehicles)
Based on CFAMS cost and an annual inflation rate of 3%, the financial benefits for a 184-vehicle are:
Internal Rate of Return: 137% to 227%.
5-Year Net Present Value: $3.1M to $4.7M.
Payback (cash flow positive): 10 to 14 months.
Level 2 Benefits:
The cost savings potential proven in the SIAD pilot, extrapolated across the material handling fleets of all Army depots and arsenals, suggests achievable cost savings to the Army of more than $14M annually.
Level 3 Potential:
Extrapolated across the non-tactical vehicle fleets of all DoD services, including the Defense Logistics Agency (approximately 100,000 vehicles), CFAMS has the potential to save the Government an estimated $491M annually.
Preventative Maintenance/Repair
$65,140
Fleet Reduction: Vehicle Lease Savings
Additional Maintenance/Repair
Fuel/Energy Savings
Labor Cost Reduction
$231,840-$331,200
$27,050-$38,640
$52,800-$75,440
$482,230-$688,900
Damage Reduction
$46,000
Total Annual Savings Opportunity
$905,060-$1,245,320
Preventative Maintenance/Repair
$17,700
Fleet Reduction: Vehicle Lease Savings
Added Maintenance Savings
Fuel/Energy Savings
Labor Savings
$63,000-$90,000
$7,350-$10,500
$14,350-$20,500
$131,040-$187,200
Damage Reduction
$12,500
Total Annual Savings Opportunities
$245,940-$338,400 3

4. CTMA Investment - $0.4M; Industry Cost Share - $1.2M
The use of composite structures being introduced into defense systems is increasing rapidly. Current composite inspection and repair processes are manual and subjective
dependent on the technician tapping the surface of the structure with a coin at 3”
intervals and making a judgment based on sound.
Probability of detection is questionable with manual inspection
Depot composite repair cycles are excessive
Current processes will require an increasing number of artisans
Sustainability suffers from lack of disciplined inspection and repair
Lack of historical records
IRPC is identifying computer controlled advanced technologies including digitizing, shearography, ultrasonic photo imaging, microwave, mechanical impedance that can be integrated into a automated work cell to detect defects, moisture, and delaminating. with the capture of historical data in digital form.
CTMA Investment - $0.4M; Industry Cost Share - $1.2M
Inspection & Repair Preparation Cell (IRPC) DoD Potential Cost Benefit $5,278.3K/year if implemented at all three ALC’s with 25% reduction in turnaround time for Radome repair
Application by Armed Services:
DoD Benefits
CTMA Sponsored:
USAF – WR-ALC – C-130 & F-5 Nose Radomes
OO-ALC – A/C Radomes & Structural Parts
OC-ALC – A/C Radomes & Structural Parts
Army – ANAD – Protective composites for vehicles
TYAD – Electronic systems shelters
Navy – Structural ship components
Activity Sponsored:
Active participation by AFRL Composite Directorate and NDT Lab to drive and support implementation. WR-ALC provided two serviceable Radomes ($75K).
Potential:
Substitution of computer controlled inspection and repair processes for manual subjective inspection in the repair, and manufacture, of composites will reduce cycle times, and labor costs while increasing reliability and service life in the field.
Level 1 Benefits:
WR-ALC Estimate of Labor and Flow Day Reductions
C-130 Nose Radome $463.7K/year
F-15 Nose Radome K/year
Inspection and Repair Preparation Cell (IRPC)
The Inspection and Repair Preparation Cell (IRPC) is a direct response to the need for increasing in-service time for expensive, critical composite structures by reducing both cost and cycle times in their required maintenance. The team has focused on the C-130 Radome at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (WR-ALC) to demonstrate the production-ready technologies to be delivered by the IRPC. The C-130 Radome is a large complex composite structure, with high volume repair rates. The current inspection and repair processes are performed manually. Inspection on large composite structures is performed by a manual tap test performed by technicians listening as they tap the structure with a coin at 3” spacing.
Phase I of the project has identified individual computer-controlled inspection processes including shearography, ultrasonic photo imaging, microwave and mechanical impedance to accurately define defects, and defect size, and eliminate false readings. This includes moisture and heat detection. The manual operations to be automated include detection of defective areas, routing, or grinding operation, to remove the defective composite skin, removal of crushed core, preparation of replacement core plugs, and pre­paration of dry fabric plies for repair. While the IRPC project has focused on the C-130 Radome, the work cell will be applicable to the repair of many different types and sizes of large composite structures such as helicopter side panels.
Utilizing automated work cells with the capability to perform multiple operations with a single set-up, and eliminating the need to transport parts to separate locations between operations, while providing consistent disciplined automated approaches to the inspection and repair methodologies, versus the current “subjective” manual approaches and processes, will yield greatly reduced cycle times, and provide capabilities for significantly more consistent quality repairs. Automated cells, operating under computer control, will enable the capture of historical data regarding repairs that are made. This data will then greatly improve the ability to judge the “condition of the fleet” and enhance the future decision-making processes.
Provision of two serviceable C-130 Radomes (valued at $75K) by the WR-ALC and active participation by the AFRL’ s Composites and NDT Directorates illustrate the strong service support and will drive implementation across the depots. Bell Helicopter has provided test panels for testing.
ANALYSIS:
(source: WR-ALC Engineering, OC-ALC and B. Waddell-NCMS)
Level 1 Benefits:
Estimated labor and flow day cost avoidance reductions provided by WR-ALC Engineering would be $463.7K/year for the C-130 Radome and $861.1K/year the F-15 Nose Radome.
Level 2 Benefits:
Similar Radome reductions (using ratios based on WR-ALC Radomes) for the USAF Aircraft inventory, and man-hour data from the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (OC-ALC) would provide additional cost avoidances of $3,953.5K/year.
Level 3 Potential:
The Anniston Army Depot (ANAD) is developing a composite manufacturing capability to support the incorporation of composites into fighting vehicles for operator protection. The Tobyhanna Army Depot (TYAD) is considering the use of composites for communication equipment structures. The Navy is increasing the application of composites for structures as well as aircraft. All these applications will save costs and increase reliability through replacing manual inspection with computer controlled discipline inspection and automation that will evolve through the IRPC project. OC-ALC is providing thin-skinned aluminum structures for testing IRPC technology. If successful, this would greatly expand potential applications.
Level 2 Benefits:
Based on Comparable Reductions
KC-135 Nose Radome $560.7K/year
F-16K Nose Radome K/year
B-52 Side & Nose Radomes K/year
Level 3 Potential:
ANAD and TYAD are participating to incorporate the new technologies into their new composite repair and manufacturing capabilities. The AFRL Composite Lab is participating to broadcast the new technologies and incorporate into TO’s.

5. Realized Total Savings to Date: $14.2M
Information is power. The DoD is a data rich, but information poor. The existing data collection, inspection, and repair processes do not provide the necessary level of accurate, standardized data to enable true process improvement and cost reductions.
The AP&IG technology provides point of use (POU) inspection and data collection capabilities. It is novel because it streamlines the inspection process by standardizing both the process and defect results ensuring that every item is inspected the same way and has the same result regardless of who performs the inspection (reliable, repeatable process)…
● Automates data collection ● Highly mobile
● Standardizes processes ● Easy to use
● Standardizes defects ● Extremely versatile
● Ensures accountability ● Eliminates paper
● Reference material at POU ● Actual photos
CTMA Investment - $250K, Industry Cost Share - $690K
Realized Total Savings to Date: $14.2M
Automated Process & Inspection Guide (AP&IG) DoD Potential Cost Benefits $100M/year assuming broad cross service adoption
DoD Benefits
Application by Armed Services:
CTMA Sponsored:
Red River Army Depot
Tinker Air Force Base
Activity Sponsored:
Red River, Tobyhanna, Corpus Christi, Anniston Army Depot
OC-ALC
Dyess, Ellsworth, Seymour Johnson, MacDill, McConnell AFB’s
Albany & Barstow Marine Corps Maintenance Center
Potential:
Barstow Marine Corps Maintenance Center
Albany Marine Corps Maintenance Center
LetterKenny Army Depot
WR-ALC
OO-ALC
Numerous field level opportunities being pursued
Level 1 Benefits:
Manpower reduction 41%
Inspection time decreased 43%
Reporting time reduced 94%
Inspector training time down 80%
Test flights decreased 42%
Realize savings for two pilots of $6.2M annually with additional $8M savings in self-funded projects
Level 2 Benefits:
$35M annually estimated
Level 3 Potential:
$100M annually estimated across the Army and Air Force
Automated Project & Inspection Guide (AP&IG)
CTMA originally sponsored two AP&IG pilots at Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (OC-ALC) and Red River AD (RRAD). The OC-ALC pilot focused on the C/KC-135 leading edge wing and the RRAD pilot focused on the HMMWV quality roadtest. Both pilots were very successful. The primary areas impacted include: 1) Rework 2) Inspection time 3) Personnel 4) Analysis Time, and 5) Training. The high degree of success prompted the depots to expand the technology using their own internal funds. An overview of all of the pilots is listed below.
ANALYSIS:
(source: Mike Oestmann-RRAD, Randel Bowman-OC-ALC, Rick Foley-TYAD, Greg Russell-Marine Corps, Randy Kirk-Aspire Solutions, and Debbie Lilu-NCMS)
Level 1 Benefits (% savings averaged over the three pilots):
Manpower reduction 41%
Inspection time decreased 43%
Reporting time reduced 94%
Army
The Army currently has several AP&IG pilots. The original NCMS sponsored pilot at RRAD – HMMWV and additional projects at RRAD, TYAD, CCAD, and ANAD that were self funded due to the successful NCMS pilot. Each operation has collaborated extensively to develop an Army approach and not just a depot-specific effort during the course of the CTMA project and self-funded pilots.
RRAD – HMMWV Quality Inspections, 5ton Quality Inspections, FMTV Quality and Production Inspections, MRAP Pending Final Approval
Because of the high volume of HMMWV repaired each day (between 26 and 32 vehicles/day), it was critical to accurately inspect the vehicles and analyze the findings to prevent them from re-occurring. The technology was able to standardize the inspection and the data captured as part of the inspection. This enabled defects to be reduced decreasing rework (23%). The time it took to analyze the defect data to enable root cause prevention was vastly decreased (96%). This put people out on the floor focused on solving a problem rather than producing reports. Inspector training time was also vastly impacted (reduced 80%). Originally an inspector was trained for one month before beginning inspections, and that time is now down to less than a week. This is significant because in 1 year the inspection team has completely turned over 4 times. This was all accomplished while also reducing the actual inspection time 20 minutes per HMMWV by streamlining the process and providing all reference material at the POU. While this may not seem significant, this equates to 20 minutes times 30 vehicles. This enabled RRAD to reduce the size of the inspection team from 4 people to 3 people. This produced an estimated total savings of over $2.3M annually. The pilot’s success led RRAD to self fund an expansion on the 5ton, FMTV, and MRAP platforms.
Savings on 5ton and FMTV have exceeded $3.7M with MRAP project pending.
CCAD – PaveHawk PSA & QA
CCAD focus was two-fold. PSA – Capture requirements directly at POU, QA – Standardize inspection processes and defect write-ups. The project is still ongoing, but has already eliminated 12 days of flow time, vastly decreased training times, and enabled four positions to be not filled after attrition. This produced current savings of over $1.2M annually with additional savings expected as project matures. Additional platforms are also evaluating the technology for expansion opportunities.
TYAD – HMMWV, Paint
Much like RRAD, TYAD focus is reducing defects to impact rework and first pass yield. The TYAD pilot focused on paint inspections involving high value piece parts and mobile shelters and was expanded to include the firefighter radar system. The project produced strong value reducing paint defects 85% and eliminating the need to purchase an additional paint booth (direct savings of over $1M). The pilot was self funded by TYAD.
ANAD – A1 Abrams
Project is being developed to focus on QA inspections on the A1 tank line in Anniston.
Air Force
The Air Force is currently utilizing the technology at the OC-ALC, Dyess AFB, and Ellsworth AFB with Seymour Johnson, MacDill, and McConnell AFBs utilizing the technology. The projects are focused on the C/KC-135 and B-1 platforms with further implementations at OC-ALC on B-52, Engines (F100, F101, F108, F110), and NDI.
OC-ALC – C/KC-135, F108 Engine, CSD (pending), B-1 (pending)
The CTMA sponsored pilot at OC-ALC was focused on the C/KC-135 leading edge wing. The wing inspection is quite complex and relies heavily on the experience of the personnel since much of the information is undocumented. The pilot’s focus was on capturing head knowledge and reducing the inspection time. The technology was able to capture the head knowledge enabling the inspection to be vastly reduced. The original inspection was 10 hours/wing and required 4 different skill sets to perform the inspection. Using the technology the inspection was reduced to 2 hours/wing and required only a single person to inspect the entire wing (80% reduction). The accuracy was significantly improved with test flights reduced 42% by catching the defects on the first pass. Each test flight costs approximately $28K. If the plane has to be de-fueled to make the repair, it costs approximately an additional $55K. This produced an annual savings of over $3.9M annually. This success led Tinker AFB to self fund further projects on C/KC-135, B1, B52, Engine lines, and NDI.
The B-1 project impacts Dyess & Ellworth AFB’s with pre-induction inspection processes in support of HVM (High Velocity Maintenance) and has already saved $2.1M in direct maintenance costs via early detection of problems. The Engine project has increased throughput at test cell from 7 engines/week to over 18 engines per week with savings totaling over $1.1M. B-52 and NDI are in the early stages of implementation with strong ROI expected.
Marine Corp
The Marine Corp is in the process of establishing a project supported by both depots, but physically located in Barstow. The project will focus on the initial E&I inspection for either a HMMWV or Bradley. Once proven at the depot, the technology will be piloted in the second phase in Kuwait. The goal is to perform a pre-induction to enable the depots to better prepare for the RESET workload to ensure parts are available and issues like corrosion are properly handled. This has the potential to significantly reduce time at depot. Both Albany and Barstow and have been active in the Army pilots and have already committed to sharing their results.
Level 2 Benefits:
Based on the pilot results, and then multiplied to the number of assets at each depot, the results are conservative since more savings are expected on the more complex weapon systems. This produces an estimated savings of over $35M annually.
Level 3 Potential:
Based on an extrapolation of the Level 2 Benefits across the Army and Air Force would produce an estimated savings of over $100M annually.

6. Realized Savings to Date: $7.4M
No-mask conforming anodes (replacing tedious and time consuming hand masking of parts to be plated and subsequent removal of highly toxic masking materials after plating) is considered one of the more successful CTMA projects in recent times. Project won two prestigious DoD awards in 2010 and 2011.
Both hard chrome and nickel plating is a relatively slow process involving extensive labor (to mask and unmask parts) and disposal of toxic chemicals. The result is loss of plating capacity and weapons systems availability.
A new tooling approach eliminating the need for time consuming masking prior to plating and highly-toxic materials that need to be disposed of after plating were eliminated. Among the innovations are a new type of silicone insert that can be used to mask intricate cavities and a unique out of tank plating process developed during the process.
CTMA Investment (Nickel) - $150K; Industry Cost Share - $340K
Realized Savings to Date: $7.4M
Advanced Tooling for Chrome and Nickel Plating Savings of $7.4M and 35-50% process improvement
DoD Benefits
Application by Armed Services*:
Level 1 Benefits:
At CCAD and FRC Southwest a total immediate savings from all pilots is $2.2M.
CTMA Sponsored:
Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD) helicopter rotor blade tip assembly
FRC Southwest rotodome gearbox housing
Potential:
All DoD facilities that carry out nickel plating operations.
Also applicable to hard chrome plated parts (as proven in previous CTMA project).
* Most recent nickel tooling project shown. Other hard chrome applications were successfully developed in earlier project phases.
Advanced No-Mask Conforming Anodes Tooling
For Hard Chrome and Nickel
No-mask conforming anodes (replacing tedious and time consuming hand masking of parts to be plated and subsequent removal of highly toxic maskant after plating) is considered one of the more successful CTMA projects in recent times. It has been the recipient of the 2010 Defense Manufacturing Excellence Award and was chosen as the 2011 DoD Maintenance Symposium Great Ideas winner. This multi-phase project that has just recently come to a close. It has shown significant savings for several hard chrome plating applications (earlier phases) and most recently, nickel plating operations (latest phase).
New tooling is projected to cut current process cycle time for selected components from 10 days to five.
Projected savings (based on pilots at CCAD and FRC Southwest):
95% reduction in pre-plating time
45% reduction in plating time
50% increase in plating tank capacity, improving overall throughput
$2.2M in immediate annual savings from the pilots alone (all phases).
The team estimates that if No-Mask Conforming Anodes were deployed across the DoD, the next three years alone would realize over $50M in savings with an overall process time improvement of at least 35%.
The most recent nickel plating project, while based on no-mask tooling developed for hard chrome plating applications, did require some needed enhancements for nickel plating. Two intricate components were chosen for experimentation at CCAD and FRC Southwest – a helicopter rotor blade tip assembly and a rotordome gearbox housing respectively. Among the innovations being developed is a new type of silicone insert that can be used to mask intricate cavities. By eliminating time consuming, error prone masking operations needed on critical aircraft components prior to nickel plating, substantial benefits as highlighted above are projected.
ANALYSIS:
(Source: J. Smith and R. Bolton-CCAD, G. Griffin-FRC Southwest, G. Cushnie-CAI Resources, W. Chenevert-NCMS)
Level 1 Benefits:
For the most recent phase (nickel plating ), at CCAD, the potential to repair the tip cap assembly will result in an estimated annual savings of $720K. At FRC Southwest, an expected 50% savings or $320K annually will result from the rotordome gearbox housing reduced masking and repair time. Total immediate savings from all pilots is $2.2M.
Level 2 Benefits:
Total savings since the inception of the project have accrued to $7.4M at CCAD and FRC Southwest. Additionally, other depots have picked up the technology and have ordered similar tooling for their applications. Total current annual savings is projected to be $5.9M across all seven depots with metal finishing operations.
Level 3 Potential:
The team estimates that if No-Mask Conforming Anodes were deployed across the DoD (seven depots), the next three years alone would realize over $50M in savings with an overall process time improvement of between 35-50% for those components requiring masking.
Level 2 Benefits:
Total savings since project inception have accrued to $7.4M at CCAD and FRC Southwest. Other depots have picked up the technology and ordered similar tooling. Total current annual savings is $5.9M across all seven depots with metal finishing.
Level 3 Potential:
If No-Mask Conforming Anodes were deployed across the DoD , over $50M over three years in savings with an overall process time improvement of between 35-50% for those components requiring masking could be realized.
Winner of 2010 Defense Manufacturing Excellence Award
and 2011 DoD Maintenance Symposium “Great Ideas” Award