Behind the scenes: PMEL flight

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman David Owsianka
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  This is the third in a five-story series focusing on sections within the 374th Maintenance Squadron and how they keep the C-130 Hercules flying.

On an average day across the base, pipes are fixed, equipment is analyzed and wrenches are turned countless times. All these things are made possible by a group of Airmen working behind the scenes to make sure other base personnel can accurately perform their jobs.

Members of the 374th Maintenance Squadron Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory Flight provide calibration support for more than 4,000 pieces of equipment valued at $6.7 million, across 76 work centers.

The PMEL mission is to provide test, measurement and diagnostic equipment calibration services to support their customers' mission in a timely manner guaranteeing TMDE reliability, accuracy, and traceability to the Department of Defense and/or nationally recognized standards.

"We provide calibration before base personnel can use equipment to complete their mission," said Tech Sgt. Joshua Morris, 374 MXS PMEL NCO in charge. "If people don't bring in their equipment, then they can't know for sure that the equipment they are using is doing what it's supposed to do."

The process of calibrating and repairing test equipment starts with the PMEL Automated Management System. The production control section utilizes PAMS to track the daily schedule of each piece of equipment.

"It's important for us to have accurate readings for all of the equipment used across the base to ensure we can complete our mission with tools that have precise measurements," said Senior Airman Michael Johnson 374 MXS PMEL technician.

After equipment arrives at the shop, technicians review the equipment to ensure they are identified correctly and then perform an initial safety inspection.

Next, they retrieve the appropriate technical order and start the calibration procedure. The procedure provides Airmen with specific steps to calibrate a piece of equipment to ensure it's accurate, reliable, safe and traceable to standards maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Quality assurance evaluators then have a responsibility to sample outgoing equipment. A total of three percent of all equipment certified by PMEL receives an end-of-line inspection.

Once the equipment is successfully repaired or calibrated, it is returned to the scheduling section to await customer pick-up before being returned to the flightline or another organization.

"Our shop directly supports nearly every maintenance action relating to the C-130s here," Johnson said. "We make sure that every tool needed to make a quantitative measurement to ensure safety and reliability of the equipment provides accurate data."

The PMEL flight ensures that every aircraft has the required tools to make a quantitative measurement and to safely perform inspections and repairs. Calibrating tools for safe and accurate maintenance helps Yokota support the Air Force's mission to fly, fight and win.