1176497 - Complying with Oil Change Requirements for Internal Combustion Engines

The United States Air Force operates over 8,000 internal combustion (IC) engines supporting their missions at domestic installations. The diversity of the missions supported leads to a wide array of duties performed by the IC engines, and as a result, a wide array of specifications for these engines are required. Due to this variation across the IC engine inventory a robust preventative maintenance program, and the corresponding policy to support it, must be maintained across the Air Force. This preventative maintenance program must focus on standardization and uniformity. The policy outlines the maintenance and testing schedule for all engines in the Air Force inventory.
The focus on standardization in maintenance procedures poses a unique challenge in satisfying the variety of oil change requirements for IC engines. The oil change requirements for IC engines are outlined in 40 CFR 63, Subpart ZZZZ for older engines, and in 40 CFR 60, Subparts IIII and JJJJ for newer IC engines. The diversity of the Air Force IC engine inventory leads to significant exposure to both sets of requirements. The different requirements outline distinctly different schedules for maintenance activities, impacting the ability to establish a standardized schedule in policy. In addition to diversity in the schedule, fiscal concerns also have a direct impact on compliance procedures to satisfy the oil change requirements.
As part of this preparation, we will share the innovative solutions employed by the Air Force to meet this unique compliance challenge.