FOD walks work

  • Published
  • By Ms. Elsa Martinez
  • 433 AW
LACKLAND AFB, Texas --  The brisk autumn air invigorated more than 40 Alamo Wing troops as they slowly, but surely, trod their way across the 433rd Airlift Wing's C-5 parking ramp for their Monday morning FOD walk.

Now a weekly activity, and a mandatory event for all Airmen assigned to the 433rd Maintenance Group, these walks pay off as less and less foreign matter is found.

Foreign Object Damage, or FOD, occurs when small objects like pebbles, nuts and bolts , are left on the aircraft parking ramp. Those foreign objects can then be sucked into the intake of a running aircraft.

"It's worse with fighter jets, but if FOD remains in place when the C-5 engines fire up, those tiny objects may damage and nick engine blades," said Capt. John Neubecker, 433rd MXG operations officer, as he walked alongside fellow troops. "That damage repair can ultimately prove very costly, making FOD walks more cost-efficient."

As they ended their pilgrimage, FOD walkers handed their collections to Senior Master Sgt. Gary Jamvold, 433rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron day-shift section supervisor.  He gives the requisite safety briefings and ensures that FOD walks are done right.

"Doing it right means that all troops walk in an orderly fashion, cover the entire flight line, that all watches and rings come off, and also, that they know which airplanes are being blocked," he explained.

Master Sgt. Dan Strauser, quality-assurance inspector for 433 MXG and the group's FOD monitor, collects all FOD collected from each walk.

"We weigh, measure and analyze each week's collection. Lately we've collected only about one to one-and-a-half pounds of FOD, mostly cement where the ramp is coming apart due to age.  But very little is nuts and bolts, classic FOD," said Sergeant Strauser.

Upon analysis, FOD is thrown away after documenting and tracking the collected amount through QUANTTAS, the Quality Assurance Tracking and Analysis System.

"This program is used to track different trends in reported collections, document FOD reports, and record any damage if found," said Sergeant Strauser.

Interestingly, FOD incidents are reported only if valued at $20,000 or less.

"It's not that such damage is negligible," said Strauser, "but it's just not enough to report."

Col. Dale Andrews, 433rd Airlift Wing vice commander and FOD program manager, walked alongside the troops.  So did Lt. Col. William Rolocut, 433rd Operations Group commander and deputy program manager.

"FOD walks used to be exclusively a Maintenance domain and conducted once a week.  But as Ops Group commander, I also have input into that and would like to see wing-wide walks held monthly," he said.

Col. Andrews added, "One should not focus on the traditional idea of FOD, or those items actually found in the flight line area.

"There should be continual vigilance against items that are potential FOD, such as pens, pencils, jewelry, wires and screws inside of toolkits ... items on the floors of vehicles that might attach themselves to shoe soles. Eliminating potential FOD sources is the best defense against FOD events," he said.