Establishing C-5 TNMCM standards.(Selected Reading)(total not mission capable maintenance )(Report)

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Introduction

This article details the process for calculating and establishing Air Force aircraft total not mission capable maintenance (TNMCM) standards. It is impossible to discuss the TNMCM rates and standards without including discussions of the mission capable (MC) and the total not mission capable supply (TNMCS) rates and standards. These three rates are dependent upon one another. Because the rates are percentages of total unit-possessed time, one rate cannot increase or decrease without impacting the other two. The Air Force standards applied to these metrics are interrelated as well. As discussed in this article, the TNMCM and TNMCS standards depend on the MC standard. Thus, the formulation of the MC standard is the foundation for the TNMCS and TNMCM standards.

The 2003 CORONA directed that Air Force-wide standards for MC, TNMCM, and TNMCS be established. While directed toward TNMCM, the research detailed in this article also revealed that the MC standard is the foundation for calculating the other two metric standards. As the process exists currently, the Air Force MC standards are based on requirements which are determined in one of three ways:

* The flying hour or flying schedule requirement

* Contract logistics support (CLS) contract

* Another requirement based on major command (MAJCOM) input determined by the designed operational capability (DOC) statement, readiness study, or any operational requirement the MAJCOM may use

In the case of the Air Force's C-5 Galaxy, Air Mobility Command (AMC) provides the active duty fleet MC standard to the Air Staff based on the Mobility Requirements Study (MRS). However, the standard is not actually calculated in the MRS, it is an assumption used in the MRS.

This is not the case for the separate Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and Air National Guard (ANG) fleet C-5 MC standards. Those two values are calculated at the Air Staff level. The AFRC MC standard is calculated from utilization rate, attrition, turn pattern, annual fly days, spares, aircraft held down for scheduled maintenance, and primary aerospace vehicles authorized. The ANG MC standard equation uses variables portraying daily operations and maintenance (O&M) flying hours, aircraft taskings per flying day over and above O&M flying, average number of aircraft required for standard flying operations each day, required daily spares, and the forecasted number of unit possessed aircraft over the year.

Background

This article is the third in a three-part series based on Air Force Logistics Management Agency (AFLMA) project number LM200625500, the C-5 TNMCM Study H. At the request of the Air Force Materiel Command Director of Logistics (AFMC/A4), an AFLMA study team conducted an analysis in 2006-2007 of TNMCM performance with the C-5 aircraft as the focus. The C-5 TNMCM Study 11 included five objectives. One of those objectives was to analyze the process for calculating and establishing aircraft TNMCM standards. This article details the analysis conducted in support of that particular study objective.

Maintenance Metric Definitions

Air Force Instruction (AFI) 21-101, Aircraft Equipment and Maintenance Management, defines the MC, TNMCS, and TNMCM metrics and their uses. For additional insight on the use of these metrics see Metrics Handbook for Maintenance Leaders.

Mission Capable (MC) Rate

Though a lagging indicator, the MC rate is perhaps the best known yardstick for measuring a unit's performance. It is the percentage of possessed hours for aircraft that are fully mission capable (FMC) or partially mission capable (PMC) for specific measurement periods (such as monthly or annually). (1)

MC (%)= FMC Hours + PMC Hours/Possessed Hours x 100%

Total Not Mission Capable Maintenance (TNMCM) Rate

Though a lagging indicator, the TNMCM rate is perhaps the most common and useful metric for determining if maintenance is being performed quickly and accurately. It is the average percentage of possessed aircraft (calculated monthly or annually) that are unable to meet primary assigned missions for maintenance reasons (excluding aircraft in B-Type possession identifier code status). Any aircraft that is unable to meet any of its wartime missions is considered not mission capable. The TNMCM is the amount of time aircraft are in NMCM plus not mission capable both (NMCB) status. (2)

TNMCM (%)-NMCMHrs +NMCBHrs/Possessed Hours x 100%

Total Not Mission Capable Supply (TNMCS) Rate

Though this lagging metric may seem a logistics readiness squadron responsibility because it is principally driven by availability of spare parts, it is often directly indicative of maintenance practices. For instance, maintenance can keep the rate lower by consolidating feasible cannibalization actions to as few aircraft as practical. This monthly (annual) metric is the average percentage of possessed aircraft that are unable to meet primary missions for supply reasons. The TNMCS rate is the time aircraft are in not mission capable supply (NMCS) plus not mission capable both maintenance and supply (NMCB) status. TNMCS is based on the number of airframes out for mission capable (MICAP) parts that prevent the airframes from performing their mission (NMCS is not the number of parts that are MICAP). (3)

TNMCS (%) = NMCS Hrs + NMCB Hrs x 100%/Possessed Hours

Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 C-5 Fleet Standards and Standards Calculations

As previously mentioned, during a 2003 CORONA, the Air Force Chief of Staff (CSAF) directed the establishment of Air Force-wide standards for the MC, TNMCS, and TNMCM metrics. Headquarters (HQ) Air Force Instalations and Logistics (now AF/A4) was named the office of primary responsibility (OPR). Their charter was to develop Air Force standards rooted in operational requirements and resources dedicated to each weapon system or mission design series (MDS). They subsequently developed calculation methodologies for calculating MC, TNMCS, and TNMCM standards. However, as of the time of the original study research, the study team found no official publication documenting the methodology for calculating these maintenance metric standards. Consequently, OPRs at the HQ Air Force and MAJCOM levels provided the study team with the definitions for the calculation methodologies that produced the C5 fleet maintenance standards used in FY 2007. Table 1 summarizes the 2007 C-5 standard percentage rates for the MC, TNMCS and TNMCM metrics. An explanation of each method for deriving the standards follows.

MC Standard

The MC standard provides the foundation for calculating the other maintenance metric standards. According to HQ Air Force, Directorate of Maintenance, Weapons Systems Division, Sustainment Branch (AF/A4MY) personnel, the MC standards are based on requirements. The MC standard represents the …