COMPONENT REPAIR PROGRAM

The primary objective of the aeronautical component repair program is improved readiness through the return of all repairable components to the operating forces with the least expenditure of material, manpower, and money. The scope of the component repair program is virtually unlimited since it ranges in depth from minute adjustment to complete repair of selected components. The program encompasses those functions performed by the O-, I-, and D-levels of maintenance during the overhaul, repair, check, test, certification, modification, or manufacturing processes.

Procedures for complying with the documentation of the component repair program are covered in OPNAV Instruction 4790.2 (NAMP).

Repair requirements for organically repaired aeronautical components under the cognizance of NAVICP-Phil are managed under two programs. They are the level schedule program and the B08 cyclic repairable management program. Repairable components may be selected for the level schedule program based on the history of high volume of system demands and annual rework expenditures. The balance of organically repaired 7R and 6K COG components is managed under the B08 program.

B08 Cyclic Repairable Management program

Repair requirements for B08 items are computed weekly on a family basis and stratified into four distinct urgency-of-need levels. The levels of need are outlined in FASO Instruction 4440.98. The B08 program identifies a deficit of RFI items to the computed requirement and identifies this as a production requirement. The actual induction quantity that will be used to support this requirement is constrained by factors such as DRP capability, availability of NRFI items to be repaired, and the DRP capacity.

Level Scheduling Program

Level scheduling is similar to the B08 program except that the items covered under level scheduling are manually negotiated on a semiannual basis. This program sets the production levels at the naval aviation depots (NADEPs) for those items that are at critical stocking levels.

Foreign Object Damage (FOD) Program

FOD is damage to aeronautical equipment caused by an external object. Some examples of FOD are the ingestion of hardware or tools by a jet engine and tires cut by debris on the ramp, taxiway, or runway.

FOD to aircraft, engines, support equipment, and other aeronautical equipment is a costly problem, the importance of which cannot be overstated. FOD presents personnel and material hazards, consumes valuable maintenance man-hours, imposes additional

unscheduled workloads on both using and supporting activities, creates shortages, wastes dollars, and reduces operational readiness. A successful FOD prevention program depends on command support, personnel knowledge and awareness, and the degree of integration

into the total maintenance effort. Most FOD can be attributed to poor housekeeping, facility deterioration, improper maintenance practices, or carelessness. Therefore, an effective program that identifies, corrects, and eliminates causal factors is very important.

Tool Control Program

The tool control program provides a means to rapidly account for all tools after completing a maintenance task, thus reducing the potential for FOD. A valuable benefit to this program is reduced tool loss, which reduces tool replacement costs.

The primary objective of the tool control program is to improve flight safety by eliminating aircraft accidents, incidents, and associated equipment damage caused by lost or misplaced tools. Secondary objectives include the reduction of expenditures for additional outfitting and replacement of missing, defective, or pilfered tools; the reduction of man-hours for maintenance task completion; and a general improvement in the quality of aviation maintenance.

The tool control program must provide instant inventory capability through internally configured tool containers, with each tool in individually tailored locations designed to highlight a missing tool.

The Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV), through the aircraft controlling custodians (ACCs), is responsible for the implementation and management of the tool control program. Any request for deviation from established instructions must be addressed to the cognizant ACC via the chain of command. The material control officer coordinates the tool control program on the local level and is responsible for the procurement and issue control of all tools.

Requirements for tool containers, controlling numbers, identification by etching on each tool, and special accounting procedures are identified in OPNAV Instruction 4790.2 (NAMP).

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) Control/Prevention Program

The ESD Program is the transfer of electrostatic charge between bodies at different electrostatic potentials caused by direct contact or induced by art electrostatic field. All areas where ESD items are handled, including supply storage areas and maintenance/production work centers, must have ESD safe areas.

The avionics division officer is responsible for a comprehensive training program for supply and maintenance personnel and ensures compliance with the requirements outlined in the Electrostatic Discharge Control Handbook for Protection of Electrical and Electronic Parts, Assemblies and Equipment, DOD-HDBK-263, and the Electronic Assembly Repair, Standard Maintenance Practices Manual, NA 01-1A-23, work package 005 for all avionics personnel and others who come in contact with ESD sensitive _{assemblies/devices.} All printed circuit assemblies/ microcomponents are considered to be ESD sensitive while being handled, packaged, repaired, and transported. Guidance and direction for the identification, handling, and protection of ESD sensitive components should be followed according to NAVSUP Instruction 4030.46, and appropriate TYCOM instructions. Supply Afloat Packaging Procedures, NAVSUP P-484, details the proper methods and required materials used in packaging ESD sensitive components for storage and shipment.

Personnel safety cannot be overstressed in this program. In the past, technicians have always been isolated from electrical shock by nonconductive rubber mats. In ESD safe areas, these nonconductive mats have been replaced with conductive material/devices through which the technician is attached by a soft ground (a connection to ground through an impedance sufficiently high enough to limit current flow to safe levels for personnel), normally 5 milliamperes.

NOTE: Impedance is the opposition to current flow in an alternating current circuit.

Impedance needed for a soft ground is dependent upon the voltage levels that could be contacted by personnel near the ground. The practice of handling SRAs with power applied is strictly prohibited.

Strict compliance with these procedures must be followed by supply personnel who receive, store, ship, and issue ESD-sensitive components.