The Nimrod Review - Official Documents

Previously four levels of maintenance
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Chapter 12 – History of RAF In-Service Support (1990-2009)
Prior to the E2E rationalisation, MOD aircraft maintenance was categorised into four depths and delivered by
four different types of organisation. The regime was essentially characterised as follows:
Depth A, 1st line.
Depth ‘A’ maintenance was the activity directly associated with the preparation for,
and recovery from, aircraft sorties. It included limited rectification and preventative maintenance and
was carried out by flight line personnel.
Depth B, 2nd line.
Depth ‘B’ maintenance was the majority of scheduled maintenance activity and
rectification associated with continued airworthiness. It was carried out on each flying station, normally
by uniformed personnel working exclusively for that station.
Depth C, 3rd line.
Depth ‘C’ maintenance was the very deep, or Major, servicing, carried out by the
MOD’s Maintenance Units (MU). Such activities occurred only a few times during an aircraft’s life and
they were often used to sweep up other, significant repair or upgrade/update programmes.
Depth D, 4th line.
Depth ‘D’ maintenance was activity beyond the normal capability of the MOD lines of
maintenance and was carried out by Industry. It was normally associated with significant modification
activity, such as mid-life updates.
Although the level of complexity and effort associated with Depths ‘B’-‘D’ varied, much of the work, particularly
disassembly and reassembly, was common. Also, unsurprisingly, many of the necessary skills and equipment
were to be found in every organisation carrying out such work and the reduced overall volumes of activity
associated with the post-Cold War draw-down of the Services made this uneconomic. In order to increase
efficiency in the deeper lines of maintenance, relatively high numbers of aircraft were ‘floor-loaded’, particularly
in fast-jet fleets and helicopters. Although this kept the workforce at 3rd and 4th line fully employed, it was at
the expense of front line aircraft availability.
End-to-End Study in 2003
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A joint MOD and McKinsey study on logistics also took place focusing on from ‘foxhole to factory’ including
the then DPA, DLO and Front Line Commanders. 10 The End to End Study (E2E) reported in 2003, making 52
recommendations. Hard ‘stretch’ targets were introduced for cost savings. There were three objectives: (a)
configuration of logistics support for the most likely operational scenarios; (b) concentrating support facilities at
the logistic centre of gravity; and (c) ‘streamlining’ the supply chain, i.e. synchronising all logistics efforts with
the final output and applying ‘lean’ techniques. E2E recommended streamlining the four depths and four lines
of maintenance so that there were two levels of maintenance, ‘Forward’ and ‘Depth’. ‘Forward’ support is the
immediate logistics support required by the operational commander to enable him to complete the operational
task. ‘Forward’ equates roughly to the previous 1st line and is most naturally located alongside flying activity, i.e.
on base. ‘Depth’ support encompasses all static, non-deployable elements and some capabilities that may need
to be deployed in support of Forward Support elements on specific operations. ‘Depth’ equates to the previous
latter three maintenance lines, 2nd , 3rd and 4th lines, and is most commonly located on a flying station, but can
be ‘rolled back’ to a former MU. ‘Depth’ maintenance began increasingly to be carried out by Industry under
‘Partnered’ arrangements. Most aviation ‘Depth’ organisations now consist of ‘joint’ civilian and military teams.
I consider E2E in further detail in Chapter 13.
‘Lean’ and ‘Leaning’
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A key activity at this time, associated with, and complementary, to the implementation of the End-to-End
programme, was the introduction of ‘lean’ production techniques to the aircraft maintenance business. Lean
is a well-accepted business improvement methodology which has been widely deployed in the manufacturing
industry and which seeks to identify and remove wasteful activity, freeing up capacity and resources. The
programme was initially very successful within the MOD but, unfortunately, subsequently became something of
a perceived panacea for realising savings that had already been made in support budgets. The term ‘leaning’ also
became regarded as a euphemism for cuts and regardless of one’s view of the early benefits of the programme,
there is now widespread cynicism among the workforce concerning its true benefits. I consider Leaning in
further detail in Chapter 13.
10 See the letter of proposal dated 18 November 2002 from McKinsey on streamlining End to End Air and Land Logistics.
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