It’s not exactly “Where’s Waldo”, but a similar searching game helps the US Air Force improve foreign object debris awareness.

Each month, senior aircraft maintenance personnel at participating installations place a small golden bolt along flightlines. The finder gets a prize and bragging rights for the month. And the game is having a huge impact on aircraft damage prevention.

According to a report published in late 2013, Travis Air Force Base in California went 22 quarters without a reportable FOD incident. In other words, the base went roughly five years without tallying up $50,000 in aircraft damage attributed to FOD.

FOD walks are a big reason for that success. On average, a squadron will have 20 Airman walk flightlines to search for and remove debris.
But walks aren’t the only method for discovering and removing FOD, and flightlines aren’t the only place where it is an issue. Maintenance facilities are also a hotbed for small metallic debris such as filings, nuts, washers, and bolts that can be picked up by footwear or tires and tracked out onto flightlines.

A magnetic sweeper is the perfect tool for removing damaging metal debris from runway cracks and grooves as well as maintenance areas. Designed specifically for the U.S. Air Force; our MKS4000 exceeds MIL Spec S-29174B, and is an efficient and thorough method for clearing large areas quickly.

Military purchasers: when shopping through GSA Advantage, our products are offered under GSA Schedule 78, Contract number is GS-06F-0046N.