IDEA earns 100th AMXS maintainer $10,000

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE MILDENHALL, England --  A bit of thought and a lot of knowledge helped a technical sergeant from the 100th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron net $10,000 through the Innovative Development through Employee Awareness program and will now save the Air Force more than $132,000 per year.

Tech. Sgt. Blake Cushing, from Gardiner, Maine, made an observation during his daily duties tthat streamlined an age-old process.

All U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotankers require an inspection every 900 flight-hours, during which aircraft hydraulic technicians change the aircraft hydraulic return filters. During this process, the reservoirs (there are two on each KC-135) are drained, and 36 quarts of hydraulic fluid/oil is replaced during each inspection.

KC-135 reservoirs have always been drained in the past because it was thought that when they were drained, all the oil came out.

Cushing realized that this was not necessary when replacing the filters, because the reservoir has a vacuum on it and only allows a minimal amount of hydraulic fluid to flow when the reservoir was not emptied.

"When I looked at the hydraulic schematics, it seemed to make sense, so I thought I'd give it a try," said Cushing. "The theory is similar to when you have a (drinking) straw full of water and plug one end with your finger; the water stays in the straw."

The 100th AMXS flightline expeditor said when he discovered his theory worked, he submitted an Air Force Technical Order Form 22 for a technical change request, recommending that the reservoir no longer be drained.

Five months later, his idea was approved.

Cushing explained that an annual saving was calculated by dividing the annual number of KC-135 flying hours (236,847) by 900 (for the 900-hour inspection), multiplied by the cost of the 9 gallons of specialized fluid ($352.08).

In addition to the savings in cost for the hydraulic fluid, there will also be a reduction in man-hours spent changing out the oil.

"In addition to the monetary dividends of this idea, the inhalation and exposure dangers associated with hazardous hydraulic fluid are significantly reduced," said Cushing.

He said there will be less hazardous waste as the amount of hydraulic fluid used will be reduced, because it wouldn't need to be constantly changed out, and that in itself brings major savings.

"Tech. Sergeant Cushing is the first person at RAF Mildenhall since 1999 to receive a $10,000 check," said Tynisha Williams, 100th Force Support Squadron base IDEA program manager.

The Air Force IDEA program is an incentive program which promotes improvement and resource savings, through ideas submitted by military and civilian employees. It aims to solicit members to show the Air Force ways of doing things faster, cheaper, quicker and better, while paying them to do so, said Williams.

The IDEA program is open to all active-duty Airmen and Department of Defense employees who are paid from Air Force-appropriated funds.

Cushing's supervisor, Senior Master Sgt. Dennis Soave, 100th AMXS Quality Assurance superintendent, has high praise for his Airman, and his money-saving idea.

"Tech. Sergeant Cushing is the type of NCO that never ceases to amaze me, day in and day out," he said. "His extreme professionalism is automatic, and his initiative and drive are without equal.

"When he first explained the process change to me that he wanted to implement, I couldn't believe how simple of a process it was; but instantly knew he was onto something far bigger than what we were seeing," Soave said.