MARINE CORPS LOGISTIC BASE BARSTOW, Calif. -- At the Principle End Item Branch of Production Plant Barstow, Marine Depot Maintenance Command they are expanding workload to include foreign-owned equipment again at the Yermo Annex aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif.
In addition to their usual workload of M88 Armored Recovery Vehicles, Assault Amphibious Vehicles, Light Armored Vehicles, M777 Howitzers and Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Cougars for the United States Marine Corps, the division is also working on LAVs and M88s which belong to Foreign Military Sales.
“There is a division which works on Foreign Military Sales, and we’ve done work on vehicles and equipment for Foreign Military Sales in the past, as well as Taiwan, and other countries,” said Dan Peterson, PEI Branch head. “They may not have a Depot at their locations, or perhaps not one the size of ours and as well-equipped and staffed as ours, so rather than stand one up in their country, they ship the equipment here and pay us to rebuild it.”
The additional equipment also blends with current workflow, causing no disruption, but generates revenue. Regardless of whose equipment it is, the process is the same so the transition is seamless. The department has approximately 120 artisans on staff who are well trained and educated on specific areas of operation. For instance, in the M777 Howitzer section, they hire and train skilled people who will ensure that parameters meet with micro-precision.
“If an M777 is a mil off here, then in 10 miles, where the round lands, it can be ten miles off and that can be disastrous,” said Mike Brown, supervisor of the M777 section. His background and education are in artillery for the U.S. Army, with a degree in engineering. “Many of my people have engineering educations and training of some sort.”
When a new person is brought onboard, Brown said they ensure that the new person trains for months under the direction of experienced and skilled personnel to ensure that they have what it takes to meet the demands of the job.
“There is a lot of pressure to make sure this is right, and it has to be spot on in the field,” Brown said. “Their attention to detail is remarkable.”
All of the equipment and vehicles go through the same basic process for repair and rebuild. The artisans disassemble the equipment, rebuild it, blast it, paint it, and repair anything broken, explained Peterson.
“In the end, we send Code A-rated products back to the warfighters,” Peterson said. “Code A means it is like new, and they can count on the vehicles or M777s to work as they should in the field.”
Using a Lean Six Sigma, Continuing Process Improvement methods, the PEI Branch ensures that they are continuously evaluating their methods and improving their processes to make things flow efficiently and safely. During part of that CPI process, they opted for a centralized disassembly area outside of the main shop, where equipment that’s taken off of vehicles is tagged, organized and stored by type and necessity.
“By centralizing the disassembly area, we made it easier for everyone to access what they need when they need it,” Peterson said. “Our processes, our skilled labor, and our well-equipped and maintained facilities have made us the Depot of choice for many of these products.”
Whether they are steaming, blasting, painting, working on electrical or welding, the artisans maintain a focus on their end goal, regardless of who owns the equipment and that is getting quality products to the warfighters in the field.
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