“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”

Benjamin Franklin may have said this centuries ago, but it still holds true today, and one flight in the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex makes sure it takes its planning to the next level.

Robert Hall, 558th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Planning Flight chief, said his flight ensures all tactical planning is done precisely by preparing all essential repair documents to aircraft undergoing Planned/Scheduled Depot Level Maintenance (P/SDLM) at Robins.

 “We recommend maintenance task updates to strategic industrial engineer technician maintenance planner functions, as required,” he said. “We do this by ensuring all maintenance work requests (MWR), which are unpredictable, are charged to the correct work specification code and reconciled at job order number closure. This planning and support are achieved and tracked by the tail number of each aircraft.”

Hall said his team worked hard last year.

“Last year we approved over 10,000 MWRs and reviewed 40-plus workload offers for new workload or incoming unplanned depot-level maintenance requirements,” he said. “We had zero quality assurance findings for that year. We ensure all the MWR work specifications are correct to ensure our customers are getting what they ask for by ensuring work being performed is properly funded.”

Hall said their main task is tactical planning for the 402nd Aircraft Maintenance Group.

“That involves making sure that all the Air Force Sustainment Center engineering requests are completed and planned by disposition instructions given,” he said. “We approve MWRs ensuring they are written correctly; all technical data is correct and all codes are correct on the document.

 “We also provide the drawings for all corrosion control facilities, consisting of over 300 drawings a year, which all require printing, stamping and dating on each document. We maintain all the hazmat license for all the corrosion facilities within 402nd AMXG and work with process engineering for new processes,” he continued.

The 558th AMXS Planning Flight does strategic and operational planning for C-17 aircraft that will undergo P/SDLM at Robins.

“We plan all the maintenance workload for the Corrosion requirements for C-17 aircraft developing work packages for technical data updates and changes, chair production planning team meetings and ensure work is supportable whether it be licenses to obtain hazmat or needed equipment for preforming the tasks,” he said. “We provide the drawings making sure all is printed out and documented for every tail number for the de-paint and paint portion of those processes.”

Also, part of the planning process is identifying problems and solutions. Hall said they use A3, an eight-step problem solving process.

“This involves validating the problem, identifying performance gaps, setting an improvement target, determining root cause, and developing counter measures to prevent re-occurrence,” he said. “Where if you have mishaps, then we'll have an A3 document with engineering production or flight production. So, when we sit in our meetings, we go through, and we put our input into what kind of engineering processes we may need, which may include process orders or nonconforming technical assistance request, via an Air Force Sustainment Center engineering request form.”

Anthony Ely, 558th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Planning Flight industrial engineer technician, said this type of planning is important to success of sustainment.

“The F-15, C-130, C-17 and C-5 aircraft schedulers input MWRs for a specific task or specific aircraft, and then it comes to planning,” he said. “That's when we look at it and do our research on it. We make sure it's got everything it needs on it, like the correct hours, have correct and current technical data on any engineering request, and we make sure there is not any out-of-date information is on it. We're proofreading it before it gets sent out to a technician. So, when they go out there, they got what they need to do the job.”

Ely said he the enjoys being behind the scenes supporting the sustainment mission.

“There's a pride factor involved in that,” he said. “It makes you have sense of purpose when you come to work and know you were involved with the end result.

Hall said he is proud to work for the 558th AMXS Planning Flight.

“I couldn't ask for better people,” he said. “I couldn't do what I do if it wasn't for the job they do. They make me who I am.”