Inspection Process Management

The objective of this proposal is to develop inspection techniques that standardize both the inspection process and any defect data captured as part of the inspection. The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (OC-ALC) current processes are manual, paper based solutions that vary greatly based on the background and expertise of the person performing the inspection. Developing a reliable, repeatable inspection process both reduces the inspection time (flow days) and improves the quality of the final product. Unlike many other depot processes, inspections require that the personnel be well versed in all areas of the system. This represents a huge training challenge that will also be addressed as part of the research. To address the unique needs of the MRO environment, we propose to develop an inspection management system that can be quickly and easily customized to handle the many different inspection types. It will simplify the current inspections and serve as a knowledge management aid to reduce training. The standardized data collection techniques will enable detailed root cause and trend analysis as well as correlation analysis to forecast issues before they become critical and impact the system. BENEFIT: By standardizing the inspection processes and defect data captured, our tools will minimize inspection time while improving the overall quality of the product. Our tools will also reduce training time and provide the inspector all necessary technical material at the point of inspection. The standardized defect data will eliminate the extensive data mining currently required, and enable detailed root cause and trend analysis. This will allow issues to be identified early in the cycle and minimize the impact on the overall system. This toolset has wide appeal and can be used throughout the DoD and private sector.