RAF MILDENHALL, England -- Spurred by the U.S. Air Force Spark Tank 2020 competition, the 100th Maintenance Squadron submitted RIET, the ‘Ready-made, Integrated, Expeditor Truck,’ marking a first step toward the flight line of the future.
Spark Tank provides a force-wide, high-profile, public forum to encourage innovations from Airmen.
The 100th MXS relies on transit trucks to take maintainers from one aircraft to another. The truck provide a safe space from the elements, as well as space for them to organize their equipment.
“The name for our Spark Tank idea is the message,” said Master Sgt. Chris Pettingill, 100th MXS continuous process improvement and innovation manager. “The purpose of the RIET truck is to make our process more efficient. Ready-made, Integrated, Expeditor Truck means just that. When they touch RAF Mildenhall grounds, they’re ready.”
While newer vehicles are gradually coming into service, they do not have any amenities installed.
The RIET program aims to eventually have all new trucks fitted out with the necessary gear from new.
“Ready, for us, means our new trucks will come installed with the shelving our Airmen require, seating for them to be safe and comfortable throughout transit,” Pettingill added. “We will be able to stay up to date on the road and not rely on stationary computers. These are our goals; at the moment we simply have trucks with completely empty bays.”
Additionally, one of the expectations of the upgraded truck is to have an integrated system with internet connection throughout the fleet to fully transition into a digital flight line.
“Integration is how connectivity becomes vital. Although the base has service throughout the area, in some areas between aircraft there are some dead spots,” said Staff Sgt. Jarred Edwards, 100th Maintenance Squadron crew chief. “Connectivity is a key factor for all of the movement on base, why should the flight line be any different? This idea has been supported throughout the base, from top to bottom. We polled our guys, the ones that use this equipment day in and day out to see what they want and need to make their jobs better.”
Although the RIET program was not a finalist for the Spark Tank 2020 competition, the 100th MXS plans to continue to pursue the idea to bring the squadron into the future.
“The future is coming if we update our trucks or not,” said Pettingill, “I want us to be ready for the change.”