What on earth is a Sustainment Champion?????

[XVR RA RA RA]

The arch enemy of us Engineers.... The accountant.

Engineers could push technology to the limits building a supersonic airliner that can fly from London to New York in under 3 hours, whilst looking v.sexy. If it wasn't them accountants "leaning" everything.

 

[propersplitbrainme]

If you take sustainment at face value, if an 'improvement' isn't working it is not being sustained and should be subject to review and then whatever is the appropriate change process.

Good point. I thought one of the underpinning principles of CI was that the whole workforce needs to get involved and to make the changes they actually wanted to make. If it then needs a 'sustainment champion' to make sure the change continues to be implemented then that suggests to me that there wasn't a buy in from the work force in the first place.

 

[XVR RA RA RA]

Good point. I thought one of the underpinning principles of CI was that the whole workforce needs to get involved and to make the changes they actually wanted to make. If it then needs a 'sustainment champion' to make sure the change continues to be implemented then that suggests to me that there wasn't a buy in from the work force in the first place.

Can this happen if the workforce is made up of different positions with different agendas?

What the management want, may not necessary be what the engineers see as the best way forward. So the workforce can't buy into the same idea. (Unless it's forced upon them. Because let's face it, there's no carrot and a stick incentive anymore).

 

[Harry B'Stard]

What the management want, may not necessary be what the engineers see as the best way forward. So the workforce can't buy into the same idea. (Unless it's forced upon them. Because let's face it, there's no carrot and a stick incentive anymore).

You mean like "You will increase production, with reduced manning and support"?

As that is what I've seen happen in most 'Lean' events! DT_Xtremez_28:

HTB

 

[itchytriggerfingerwigger]

I'm one of those who also feels sick when faced with this utter P**h. If a process has been in place for any real length of time maybe it has evolved to a point where it works well. Why don't they just say they're here to cut manpower and call it progress so as to be unquestionable.

Just to fight the other side a little, hows does a process EVOLVE to a point where it works well without change?

 

[Realist78]

They went large on the CI front on XV(R) 4 years ago and after a short while of substantial changes, the WO (in a chat with me (with coffee for a change)), simply asked whether all this effort had put one extra serviceable jet on the line? Not a fecking chance said I.

 

[Rigga]

Your WO may not have seen more jets on the Line - it depends what the event was for (you didn't say) But...
Did all that effort improve the reliability of the jet?
Did you increase a jets ability to perform properly when needed?
Were the records more correct than before?
Was the Hangar tidier?
Did the guys working there feel better?

There are many other benefits than just jets on the Line - and you may have hit one without realising it.

 

[Realist78]

Your WO may not have seen more jets on the Line - it depends what the event was for (you didn't say) But...
Did all that effort improve the reliability of the jet?
Did you increase a jets ability to perform properly when needed?
Were the records more correct than before?
Was the Hangar tidier?
Did the guys working there feel better?

There are many other benefits than just jets on the Line - and you may have hit one without realising it.

First of all, it wasn't 'an' event, it was upping the whole CI focus etc including several events. In answer to your questions -

Tornado, no.
No.
Maybe.
Yes.
Not a jot.

The biggest load of @rse I have seen from people involved in CI etc is trying to develop a Sqn shift pattern that is an improvement on the tried and trusted over decades model, only to see it spectacularly fail, it's that way for a reason. In this instance, folks have been doing CI, without knowing it, for years.

 

[Rigga]

In this instance, folks have been doing CI, without knowing it, for years.

I disagree - It is not just "In this instance". Folk have been doing CI without realising it since the RAF was invented.

But some numpty has invented "new" words and "new tools" (that do the same old thing) that have grabbed some badly-needed-elsewhere Budget space and made people like us dance to it.

Yes, even I have LEAN inflicted on me now. Oh, how I hate LEAN, etc.


And my good mate (not one of the bad ones) says that the xv-school wasn't the best place to do maintenance back then...?

 

[Max]

Just to fight the other side a little, hows does a process EVOLVE to a point where it works well without change?

Because as has been mentioned in a post just before this one. CI is not a new thing only having a dedicated team and a fancy name are.

Things have evolved with changes brought about by a need to change by the people carrying out the process not by people who don't understand the process but think their position makes them right without recourse to questioning who have done a F*cking course dreamt up by some idiot in an office somewhere.

 

[OnTheWindDown]

Answer

Answer

The rather grand title of 'sustainment champion' is, like all QCIT related posts, utter bollocks. If the RAF applied the principles of LEAN correctly (i.e. getting the job done right first time through better management - and yes it really is that simple) there wouldn't be any need for IQAs, SQAs, LQAs or even QCITs. Instead, we are expected embrace an alien culture of buzzwords and bull**** borrowed from the corporate world, which seems to be as effective as a handbrake on a canoe. Worse still, we now have large teams of so called 'experts' on every base (to be fair, the 1 week course is rather long-winded), only too willing to justify their existence by wasting even more of our precious time and resources. What a farce.

 

[tigster]

yes theres the rub "better management"!!!!!!!!!!! occifer corps siht em shoot the cnuts and hopefully save this fine institution oops too late "time to die " and retire.

 

[Gord]

I once knew a Scottish lad, Stu' Lamb, ex RAF who later became the supervisor of our structures/sheet metal shop at a now defunct airline, who when working on the shop floor, once had a run in with some time and motion wallahs the company had brought in in order to improve our performance.

These tw@ts would stand next to you or behind you and study your work habits then make suggestions, most of which were utter bollocks, on how you could save time etc.

This lad became so exasperated at having this feckin shadow follow his every movement that he eventually turned to him and said "Do you know what this is?" holding up his 4x rivet gun in front of the guys face.

"yes"

"Do you see how it drives these 1/4" Monel rivets down?"

"Yes"

"Do you know what would happen if I put it against you forehead and pulled the trigger? Cos you're about to find out if you don't feck off and get the hell away from me."

Needless to say, a smatter of excrement hit the ventilation system over that but the time and motion tw@ts buggered off and never returned.

After he became supervisor a couple of years later, there was an attempt to bring in another team of these morons, he refused to allow them access to our shop. Once again there were questions raised regarding his decision but in true Scottish form Stu' explained just what he thought of their value and once again they vanished from sight.

Good lad was Stu', unfortunately now no longer with us.