Rear Adm. Michael Hardee, Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers (COMFRC) and leadership from the six Fleet Readiness Centers (FRC) area commands exhibited at the annual Department of Defense Maintenance Symposium held at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando, Fla., Nov. 13 – 16.

The event featured speakers and over 160 exhibits showcasing emerging technologies and techniques in maintenance, logistics and materiel readiness transformation to support the symposium’s theme: “Aligning Maintenance and Sustainment to Warfighter Needs.”

Representing the U.S. Navy in the symposium’s military display space, FRC showcased its mission, products and services in an exhibit titled “Navy Fleet Readiness Centers: Producing Combat Readiness for Naval Aviation.” The interactive 20-by-30-foot space illustrated the FRC story with graphic panels, a video demonstration of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul, and a hands-on ‘before and after’ display of aircraft components repaired at FRCs. Additionally, the exhibit showcased continuous process improvement case studies as well as life-sized static displays of an actual F414 engine and an Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) pod model.

As part of this year’s expert panel, Hardee spoke on the topic of “Transforming Naval Aviation Maintenance to Support Warfighting Readiness” for an audience comprised of logisticians, engineers and maintenance managers from government and industry. “FRCs are moving selected depot maintenance activities closer to the warfighter to repair aircraft, engines, components and support equipment faster than ever," said Hardee. “Our artisans are now working shoulder to shoulder with intermediate-level technicians to produce to fleet-driven metrics. In doing so, we are increasing efficiency, agility and speed of our aircraft repair capabilities."

Hardee attributes FRC’s ability to reduce cost while improving readiness to AIRSpeed’s continuous process improvement tools: Lean, Six Sigma and Theory of Constraints. In concert with the integration of all off-flightline maintenance activities, AIRSpeed is the enabler for improving organizational effectiveness and efficiency as measured by the Naval Aviation Enterprise’s goal of producing aircraft ready-for-tasking at reduced cost. AIRSpeed tools are minimizing costly rework, decreasing turnaround times and reducing work in progress for Fleet Readiness Centers.
In recognition of FRC’s efforts to improve processes, FRC East at Cherry Point received the Joint Depot Maintenance Excellence Award, presented by the Joint Group on Depot Maintenance. The award recognizes FRC East’s efforts to significantly increase H-1 aircraft readiness by reducing cycle time and work in process to provide additional assets to the operating forces. As a result FRC East saved more than $25 million in current and future maintenance and overhaul costs.

About Fleet Readiness Centers
Established in October 2006 as part of the Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) law of 2005, FRCs integrate depot and continental U.S. (CONUS) intermediate aircraft maintenance activities into a single, shore-based, off-flightline command. With an 18,500-person workforce, FRCs produce over 500 airframes, 8,000 engines and 500,000 components annually at every fleet concentration in CONUS. By 2011, FRCs are slated to save the Navy $1.2 billion in repair costs while improving combat readiness.

For more information about Fleet Readiness Centers, visit www.cnaf.navy.mil/frc.