Vol. 63, No. 39 March Field, Calif. October 1, 1999

Your source for 452nd Air Mobility Wing and March Air Reserve Base

IN THE NEWS

Public Affairs

A team comprised of 10 reservists and civilians competed against 21 other Air Force teams and won the 1999 Chief of Staff Team Excellence Award during a ceremony presided by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Ryan. Ryan presented the trophy on Sept. 14 in Washington D.C. during the annual Air Force Association National Convention.

The team's presentation on air pollution reduction from ground equipment was judged by a team of five general officers as well as by a technical review team of team excellence experts.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Ryan (left) visits with team members, Lt.Col. Ed Crouse (center) and SMSgt. Greg Grose at the team's booth during the AFA International Technology Exposition.

 

"It's very clear to me in every case I saw today as I visited (the award nominees) that their improvements directly impact and improve their core competencies and mission essential tasks," Ryan said during the ceremony."

Following is an abstract describing the approach, execution and results of the award winning project.

In the mid-1990's, March Air Force Base was in trouble. South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) regulations were forcing annual reductions in air emissions from the base. Without changes, the base would violate this cap by 1996. When March realigned to an Air Reserve Base, the reduced emissions delayed that to 1998, but it did not solve the problem.

Through Pareto analysis, it very quickly became clear that the primary polluter at March ARB was the -86 generator (a diesel generator used to supply aircraft power while on the ramp). This single type of equipment was responsible for half of the base's emissions. Since the base is located in the worst air quality region in the Nation, it is required to comply with the country's most stringent air quality regulations, making March ARB the tip of the spear for this type of initiative.

Without anyone to benchmark from, the Team brainstormed possible solutions, developed criteria to evaluate them, and eventually chose the four most promising to implement.

These initiatives were: 1) reduce usage of the equipment through education; 2) purchase battery powered floodlights to reduce generator usage for internal aircraft lights; 3) switch the generators from diesel to JP-8; and 4) change to a new fuel injector type. It was believed that, through these initiatives, it would be possible to reduce pollution from the -86 generator by 30%.

The results of these four initiatives were far greater than had been anticipated. Due to the injector change, the emissions from the -86 generator were reduced by 70%. In addition, the flightline maintainers report that the new floodlights increase their ability to work inside the aircraft. The total cost of these initiatives for the base, including man-hours and equipment, was $20,900. Under a new DOD policy, military installations are allowed to sell emission reduction credits. The emission reduction credits generated through 2007, when the -86 is schedule to start being phased out, can earn revenues of $266,000 at March ARB alone. This is a 1,270% return on that initial investment.

With air quality standards continuing to get stricter nationwide, the potential for revenue generation across the Air Force is enormous.