Maintenance holds first quarterly safety meeting

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Rachel Martinez
  • 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  The 35th Maintenance Group recently implemented quarterly safety meetings. The first meeting was held Feb. 29.

The meetings are intended for maintenance leadership to examine past, current and future maintenance trends, incidents and proactive measures to ensure they remain an outstanding maintenance team.

The idea for the maintenance meetings stemmed from the pilot's quarterly flight safety meetings.

"The pilots get together to discuss trends, specific events and mishaps in an environment that promotes cross tell of potential problems to heighten everyone's awareness," explained Capt. Christopher Tooman, 35th Maintenance Squadron operations officer. "Senior maintenance leaders, in our case the maintenance officers and chief master sergeants, typically attend these meetings. Col. Cedric George (35th MXG commander) wanted to structure a similar meeting aimed at maintenance leadership - maintenance officers and senior NCOs - highlighting items of interest to the maintenance community to help promote the cross tell across the maintenance group."

Topics of discussion for the first meeting included Air Force and Misawa mishap trends, fatigue and an analysis of safety incidents.

The meeting was significant not only because it was the first, but because the Air Force Chief of Safety, Maj. Gen. Wendell Griffin, was in attendance. General Griffin was given an opportunity to address the audience.

"I was asked to provide a few words of wisdom; well, I'll give you three -- leadership, risk management and wingmen," he said. "Safety is all about leadership. If leadership focuses on it, then it will get better. Safety is one of those things that tends to fall off the scope. We need make sure is stays on the scope.

"I want to tell you that this wingman program is here to stay," continued General Griffin. "Everybody should have a wingman. It is an important part of our culture and it's an important part of safety. It's all about preventing mishaps and saving lives everyday."

Before wrapping up the meeting, Captain Tooman noted that leadership is open to any suggestions to make the maintenance safety meetings more beneficial.