Laboratory Policies

[NRA4Life]

You think you have it bad where you're at?  Check out this micro-managing policy recently implemented at Wyle Laboratories (contractor) at the Patrick AFB Florida Electronic PMEL.  Sounds like just the place you want to work doesn't it?  By the way, the contract is going up for bid at Patrick this year.  Obviously, the contractor is trying to milk all the $$ out of this contract in the last year with policies like this.  Feel free to comment, maybe it will get back to these morons.

" From: Martinez, John A
Sent: Friday, February 03, 2006 12:51 PM
Subject: Lab Production Policies
Importance: High

ALL,

Per our Crew Meeting last week, the following policies are to be implemented for Air Force TMDE - effective immediately: 

*  Calibration Specialists are authorized ONE HOUR to troubleshoot/repair an item of AF owned equipment, regardless of whether it is tracked in PAMS or MIS.
*  At the conclusion of that hour, the Lab Supervisor will have the authority to authorize ONE additional hour if it appears the troubleshooting/repair can be completed within that time frame. 
*  The Technician performing the troubleshooting/repair must request this time and receive approval PRIOR to continuing with the effort.
*  ALL expenditures of troubleshooting/repair time which would exceed that ONE additional hour must be authorized by the PMEL E Manager PRIOR to continuing with the repair.
*  ALL expenditures of troubleshooting/repair time beyond eight hours TOTAL require the PRIOR approval of the Laboratories Department Manager.
*  Effective immediately, Calibration Specialists are authorized ONE HOUR of adjustment time for an item of AF equipment, regardless of whether it is tracked in PAMS or MIS.
*  At the conclusion of that hour, the Lab Supervisor will have the authority to authorize ONE additional hour if it appears the adjustment can be completed within that time frame.   
*  The Technician performing the adjustment must request this time and receive approval PRIOR to continuing with the adjustment.
*  ALL expenditures of adjustment time which would exceed that ONE additional hour must be authorized by the PMEL E Manager PRIOR to continuing with the adjustment.
*  ALL expenditures of adjustment time beyond four hours TOTAL require the prior approval of the Laboratories Department Manager.   
*  For purposes of troubleshooting/repair authorization and adjustment authorization, the Laboratories Department Manager will be the designated alternate during the absence of the PMEL E manager.  The Laboratories Technical Manager will be the designated alternate during the absence of the Laboratories Department Manager.   

Appropriate changes to the CAL P's are being worked to reflect these policies.

John"

[Old-Navy]

OUCH...  I wouldn't even put up with that.

BTW..  didn't they USED to have the contract at Wright/Patt?

[Freezer]

You gotta be joking!!!!  I think a ritual "kissing the posterior" would be in order.

  What was the reason for this policy?

Not a chance of you guys being Union, is there?

[NRA4Life]

I think Raytheon had the contract at Wright/Patterson, Wyle used to have the AFPSL contract.

Patrick AFB PMEL is a union shop.  The reasoning behind it...I don't know...the management has always been a bunch of micro-managing under-my-thumb a**holes.

[Freezer]

And the union is cool with this change to SOP?

SOME of the unions have been good at keeping this sort of thing from happneing.  Obviously, not yours though?  Steward need a kick in the butt?

[NRA4Life]

The local IBEW has always been "in bed" with management, they are a bunch of spineless wonders...and I'm sure the Air Force hasn't gotten wind of the new policy, there's no way they'd buy into it.

This is just another micro-management policy is a long line of years and years of micro-managing B.S. policies.

As a good friend put it:
"Backlog is soaring, morale is circling the bowl, and this is just the latest in a series of micro-managing counterproductive bonehead moves..."

[flamy78]

I would sincerely hope that after an hour you get to NRTS it or force a limitation on the customer for them still sending in 30+ year old sh!t.

IOW - What do they do if they can't troubleshoot/fix/align the item in that time?

[NRA4Life]

It isn't only the 30+ yr. old junk, it's everything.  And as far as what will be done if the troubleshooting/alignment can't be accomplished within the time limit...we'll see...the policy was just implemented on this past Friday.

[docbyers]

Sounds like trying to increase egg production by strangling the chicken!

Sometimes I'm grateful to run a civilian shop.  I answer to my boss, the clients, and the FDA, and we're non-union.

[NRA4Life]

I guess using that analogy, you could say they are a bunch of chicken chokers.

[Hornet]

If it takes "Hours to troubleshoot" and "All day to align" you might want to think about making the Air Force your career. Taking all day on one piece of equipment doesn't lend to a secure job in the civilian sector.

Business is for profit. Past performance and cost is key in procurring and maintaining contracts. If there is no profit, there is no business.

[docbyers]

Hornet is right, of course, but one has to remember that the military is NOT a profit-motivated enterprise.  They go kill people for a living.  If the piece of equipment that allows them to do that safely and effectively takes all day to troubleshoot and tweak, then so be it.

Now, a civilian contractor is motivated by profit, but they have to consider the mission requirements of the organization they have a contract with.  They have to remember that they can crank out 50 Simpson 260AFP-1s a day, but only one TTU-205.  Did they contract by piece-work or labor hours?  Is their performance measured by how many pieces of TMDE they crank out a week/month/year, or by how well that TMDE worked when the customer fixed a bomb delivery system?

A PMEL contractor looks at a lab, says "OK, I have 10 people, that's 20,800 hours a year, average rate is $30 an hour, that's $624,000, plus overhead and profit- I'll bid $1MM for the year..."  I doubt they're losing money if a tech does a good job on a TTU-205...

I think capitalism works fine when Boeing sells the USAF a couple hundred fighter jets, but not so well for the shop that has to maintain them on a base somewhere...  It's a different set of paradigms when your client is the military, and not the local widget vendor...

[Freezer]

I agree with Docbyers! 

I'm guessing there is more at work here than just management messing with the employees.  There must be some other motivation. 

[Hornet]

I don't disagree in the least with Docbyers.

But do remember that the parts and equipment bought for the Air Force to do the job is manufactured by commercial sources. AFMETCAL would find most of the metrology programs at these sources deficient, if inspected to Air Force criteria.

So is the AFMETCAL program head & shoulders above commercial sources or are they trying to maintain an archaic kingdom?

I have lived as an Air Force PMEL Troop, an Air Force contractor, and a civilian metrologist. Civilian metrologist is bar none the best of the three.

[deerhunter]

I've got to disagree there.  I've been active duty PMEL, Air Force contract PMEL, and worked in a Civilian Commercial Lab and the Air Force has the best metrology program, bar none. 

Maybe if you consider the paperwork to be the most important part of a quality product, then maybe I would agree that commercial is "better".  If your traceability is not an issue, then yes, the commercial sector is better.  The Air Force has calibration procedures...while not the best...are a hell of a lot better than any commercial procedures I ever saw or COM DATA that I've used.

Just remember what "Sub-par" metrology program got you your start and experience to obtain your gravy-train job you have right now.

Getting back on the thread...the people running that Patrick AFB lab have to be absolute idiots.  How could anyone work under those micro-management conditions?