Youngstown maintainers pioneer safer inspection system Published Aug. 28, 2014 By Eric M. White 910th Airlift Wing Public Affairs YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio -- This week, Maintenance Squadron personnel are conducting their second Isochronal inspection using a new dock stand system. They're busily going from station to station, tracking work on ruggedized tablet computers. A Master Sgt. pulls fuel nozzles on the aircraft's number three engine to replace the nozzles with new, clean parts, while a pair of Airmen change out a tire below and another team of Airmen inspect fuel compartments from atop the aircraft wing. Once every 540 days, each of Youngstown Air Reserve Station's nine C-130H Hercules aircraft undergoes the detailed inspection. Members of the 910th Maintenance Squadron strip down the aircraft following detailed procedural checklists. The purpose of the inspection is to ensure the aircraft are safe to fly, and now, maintainers at Youngstown have a safer system for conducting the inspections. Senior Master Sgt. John Schmolly, and aerospace maintenance superintendent, runs the heavy maintenance section for the 910th Maintenance Squadron. "Each specialty has their own particular carded items to inspect," said Schmolly. "For example the engines have the fuel nozzles to pull. As far as the crew chiefs, we jacked the aircraft and performed main landing gear inspections and inspected the shoes and the tracks for wear. It's a whole vast array of inspections from flight controls to landing gear, engines, avionics, comm. Nav. Aero repair. It's a place where everybody comes together and does one major inspection on the aircraft." The new stand system is designed to make the work safer and more efficient. Youngstown ARS is the first Air Force Reserve Command installation to incorporate the system beyond its prototype phase. "The benefit of these stands is that we can safely perform the maintenance," said Schmolly. "It covers a lot more of the fall protection which is an OSHA-driven requirement." The dock stand system is a complex array of mobile maintenance stands, designed fit around a C-130 aircraft specifically for performing isochronal inspections. The stands allow maintainers to keep tool storage containers near their work-sites, offers convenient electrical connections and most importantly safeguards workers by offering safety rails near any elevated work areas. Col. David Post commands the 910th Maintenance Group and sees the stands as a valuable asset for his personnel. "The most important thing is that it's safer for our workers," said Post. "The stands put the tools, power, air and adequate lighting right where they are needed within easy access. This makes it easier for our Airmen to produce safe, reliable and mission ready aircraft." The new system cost approximately $1.5 million. Other bases are expected to follow suit in acquiring the system.