Source: United States Navy
More than 40 artisans with Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE) were deployed to Naval Air Station (NAS) Kingsville, TX, during a year-long effort to assist Rolls-Royce in meeting the Fleet demand of 145 Ready-For-Issue (RFI) F405 engines powering the T-45 Goshawk.
“FRC Southeast is rich with personnel who are dedicated and ready to go the extra mile when called upon,” said FRCSE Commanding Officer Captain Grady Duffey. “When Rolls-Royce experienced production issues that threatened engine through-put, many of our members were quick to volunteer. Some artisans spent months at NAS Kingsville away from their families, helping to get things back on track. We couldn’t be more proud of our augmentation team and the herculean effort it took to reach the RFI target.”
When Rolls-Royce began experiencing problems with cracks in low-pressure turbine blades in 2019, they suffered severe setbacks. Despite implementing a recovery plan, the company still fell behind.
The issue forced Rolls-Royce to conduct inspections at shorter intervals, ultimately causing a ripple effect that negatively affected turnaround times, workloads and operational aircraft. Longer lead times for materials and staffing issues related to COVID-19, created the perfect storm for extended delays.
By March 2021, the company was sitting at 128 RFI engines and sinking.
“We were asked to get involved by COMFRC and Vice Adm. Peters in March 2021,” said FRCSE MRO Business Office Engines Lead James Bock. “The shortfall was due to a 2019 engineering issue that caused shorter intervals between removals resulting in a backlog of engines. Because of the urgency, we were able to execute the initial Commercial Service Agreement in less than one week and get personnel onsite in record time.”
The T-45 is a vital training aircraft for Navy and Marine Corps pilots. As Rolls-Royce fell behind, it directly impacted the Fleet’s ability to maintain these aircraft, ultimately leading to a push from Commander, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Vice Adm. Dean Peters to reach 145 RFI engines by January 2022.
Seventeen engines might not seem daunting, but the turbine blade removals reduced the on-wing time from 2,000 to 1,050 hours, crippling the amount of time the F405 could be operational and ultimately doubling the workload.
It was clear that the folks with Rolls-Royce needed help, and the professionals from FRCSE were eager to step up at the request of the Naval Aviation Enterprise, PMA-273, and Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers.
“This particular partnership was different than any we’ve done in the past because we sent people to the commercial site for support instead of conducting labor at our facility,” said Bock. “We had 43 people deployed and 15 personnel locally supporting the effort. The main FRCSE effort was conducted at NAS Kingsville, but the overall effort included both NAS Kingsville and NAS Meridian, MS.”
While recruiting FRCSE personnel to step up and assist wasn’t difficult, getting caught up and organized was a tall order. The complexity of the scope of work had to be executed in phases and also required assistance from Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE), which primarily supported the efforts in Meridian, MS.
Phase one of this effort took less than two months and was all about taking stock of materials, paper-pushing and creating an organized plan of attack.
Once completed, it was time to kick off phase two, all about manpower, skillsets and labor, which required two augmented efforts to support F405 production, as well as other efforts like Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI) and assembly and disassembly.
Finally, phase three utilized an exit strategy. Because the company had suffered significant workforce losses, FRC Southeast wanted to ensure it gave Rolls-Royce plenty of time to hire, train and get through probationary periods. Command personnel began departing in late March 2022 when they were certain Rolls-Royce had enough skilled staffing to maintain production.
“FRC personnel brought in new concepts that Rolls Royce has been able to learn from and incorporate,” said Bock. “This includes efficient cell set up, faster and more effective ways of cleaning and inspecting parts and even standardizing logs and records processes. This effort is a great example of how quickly FRCSE can react and work collectively to exemplify our mission as an unparalleled aviation maintenance solutions provider that epitomizes flight line readiness.”
With plenty of workload back home, FRCSE operates engine production lines supporting five other engine programs. While the Goshawk’s F405 isn’t a completely unfamiliar engine, it has never been supported by command personnel – that meant tapping into the OEM’s expertise to get FRCSE’s artisans up-to-speed.
“While our personnel didn’t have any F405 experience, they routinely work on these types of power plants, so it didn’t take long for the team to have the F405 mastered,” said FRCSE Supervisory Planner and Estimator Barron Clark. “The mechanics of jet engines are typically very similar for the most part, so the majority of the learning curve was Rolls-Royce nomenclature, process, tooling and other company-specific procedures.”
As of May 5, not long after all FRCSE personnel finalized the last steps of phase three and hopped on their planes to head home, Roll-Royce reported that they had successfully reached their 145 RFI target.
While the achievement was celebrated at both Rolls-Royce and FRCSE, the most significant accomplishment wasn’t hitting the target, but instead was developing a productive partnership that subsequently resulted in more available trainer aircraft to support Fleet demand.
“The effort put forth by the entire FRCSE team during this time period was extraordinary and really helped in a critical time of need,” said Rolls-Royce Head of Operations Coby True. “We truly appreciate the quick action and partnership formed to make this happen.”
About Fleet Readiness Center Southeast
Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE) is Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia’s largest maintenance, repair, overhaul and technical services provider, employing approximately 5,000 civilian, military and contract workers. With annual revenue exceeding $1 billion, the organization serves as an integral part of the greater U.S. Navy, Naval Air Systems Command, and Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers by maintaining the combat airpower for America’s military forces.