Precision Measurement Equipment Lab maintains standard for military precision

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Benjamin Raughton
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
Barksdale Air Force Base, La. --  With countless tools and test equipment used by Airmen every day, one shop is responsible for maintaining the standard of accuracy and calibration of the equipment.

The 2nd Maintenance Squadron Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory calibrates and maintains an inventory of more than 6,700 individual pieces of equipment for Team Barksdale.

By ensuring the most accurate tools and equipment on Barksdale, PMEL streamlines workflow and saves the Air Force money by having one centralized location on base.

"Having PMEL here saves everyone's work center from having to ship their equipment to a manufacturer or commercial lab," said Ken West, PMEL site manager. "Otherwise, they'd have to ship their [equipment], pay that individual and have it sent back. There would also be transportation costs."
While cutting costs to the Air Force, PMEL wouldn't be effective unless they kept track of thousands of pieces of equipment and paid careful attention to detail.

"Our mission is to ensure we have traceability for all the test equipment for any system or organization on base," West said. "Traceability means that when something is measured at one inch, it's exactly one inch. When you have things like aircraft parts, you have to make sure they're the right size to put them back together."

PMEL technicians have a two-week turnaround on every piece of equipment they're required to calibrate, but each technician's workload differs depending on the equipment and tools needed for calibration.

"Some items take only five minutes to calibrate," West said. "We have other items that a technician may have to work on for three days. They'll spend 24 hours of work time on it because of the technical complexities of the instrument."

PMEL calibrations must be precise so technicians can spot a difference in length to a micrometer and notice length changes in metallic objects depending on the weather. While these changes are invisible to the naked eye, Airmen use tools every day that involve measurements of length, torque, voltage and frequency. A discrepancy in measurement can cause severe problems.

"If the Identification Friend or Foe signal malfunctioned or if the jets electronic communications systems weren't performing accurately, a jet could possibly get shot down," said Greg Earp, 2nd MXS PMEL technician. "[On a lower scale,] at the commissary, if you paid for a pound of vegetables, you wouldn't want to receive less than what you paid for."

By providing a centralized location for calibration and quick turnaround, PMEL maintains the standard for military precision.