Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Tech. Sgt. Timothy Kavanagh, noncommissioned officer-in-charge of product support for the Air Force Technical Applications Center, Patrick AFB, Fla., explains to Chief Master Sgt. Frank Batten, command chief of Air Combat Command, how he designed a crate to better ship, house and store AFTAC's precision seismic equipment that is used to monitor worldwide nuclear activity.  (U.S. Air Force photo by Susan A. Romano)Creative Prototype
                        
                        
                        Tech. Sgt. Timothy Kavanagh, noncommissioned officer in charge of product support for the Air Force Technical Applications Center, Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., explains to Chief Master Sgt. Frank Batten, Air Combat Command command chief, how he designed a crate to better ship, house and store AFTAC's precision seismic equipment that is used to monitor worldwide nuclear activity.  (U.S. Air Force photo by Susan A. Romano)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Transportation Management Office supports nuclear monitoring improvementsPublished Sept. 25, 2018
                    
                    By Susan A. Romano, AFTAC Public Affairs
            **PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) --**When members of the only Defense Department agency charged with monitoring nuclear treaties discovered shipped equipment was not being accurately accounted for at forward supply points, they took to the drawing board to devise a solution.
Airmen from the Air Force Technical Applications Center here were determined to solve negative inventory trends, so they sketched out a conceptual prototype the old-fashioned way – with pen and paper.
One aspect of the nuclear treaty monitoring center’s global mission is to gather seismic data to detect underground nuclear activity. The center uses seismometers positioned throughout the world to accomplish that mission. In order to perform routine maintenance on their precision equipment, AFTAC Airmen rely on what’s called a winch mast assembly that is used to install, troubleshoot, remove and replace seismometers that sit in boreholes up to 500 feet below the earth’s surface.
When the assembly, with its multiple parts and pieces, is hoisted out of the borehole, it’s either placed in storage, shipped back to Florida for maintenance, or repaired on site. Over time, many of the parts were being separated from the main assembly, which ultimately caused inventory, shipping and maintenance issues.
So a team of AFTAC logisticians got together to figure out how to solve the problem. Tom Lehnerz, chief materiel manager and a supply expert with the 709th Support Group’s logistics flight, spearheaded the effort. Once he and his team had a viable concept, they built a prototype, modified it a few times based on inputs from depot and field technicians, and came up with a workable solution.
“We noticed there was an issue with inventories of our tilt mass assembly and realized our equipment wasn’t being accurately accounted for at forward supply points. With some brain power, some trial-and-error tests, and a lot of ingenuity, the team developed a process that should result in a $20,000 cost savings for the Air Force,” said Lehnerz.
“A prototype is worth a thousand meetings,” said Tech. Sgt. Timothy Kavanagh, noncommissioned officer in charge of product support. “That’s why we opted to go straight to the drawing board to diagram out exactly what we needed. We worked closely with the 45th Space Wing’s woodworkers from their Transportation Management Office who deal with shipping crates on a daily basis to help us go from concept to reality."
According to David Paynter, 709th SPTG logistics flight manager, the crate the team developed will decrease maintenance preparation time by 50 percent, improve inventory accuracy of $40,000 worth of precision equipment and reduce annual inventory time by 50 percent.
“We received tremendously positive feedback from our remote seismic station operators at several of our overseas sites as well as from our technical schoolhouse in Texas after we completed field implementation,” said Paynter. “We showcased it to the commander and command chief of Air Combat Command when they visited AFTAC, and they seemed quite impressed with the team’s ingenuity and innovativeness. Any time we can save the Air Force money while simultaneously improving the process, it’s a job well done.”
To date, Lehnerz’ team has built 11 crates and nine of them have been shipped to AFTAC’s overseas operating locations.
“As we continue to collect and gather feedback from the detachment chiefs at the OLs, we will build additional assemblies to meet their needs,” said Lehnerz.Air Combat Command 



AFTAC 



ACC 



Prototype 



709th Support Group 



seismometers 



seismic data 



Transportation Management Office 



Airmen from the Air Force Technical Applications Center Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil