Aircraft Maintenance Organizational Structure Changes: An Antecedent Model

Air Force leadership has ordered the development of an Enterprise Resource Planning ERP system called the Expeditionary Combat Support System ECSS. When the system is implemented, many current jobs and positions will be streamlined, restructured, or removed, while some will certainly be created to handle the new requirements associated with ECSS. The structure of the Air Force is certain to change with the implementation of ECSS. The Air Force has used many maintenance organizational structures since its inception in 1947. This study analyzes past organizational structures to define key factors that affect organizational change. A case study methodology was applied to the following eight periods of maintenance-related organizational change Hobson Plan and the Period of Uncertainty 1947-1955, Centralized Maintenance 1956-1966, Vietnam and the Move toward Decentralization 1966-1972, Post-Vietnam Centralization 1972-1976, Production-Oriented Maintenance 1976-1978, Combat-Oriented Maintenance 1978-1991, Objective Wing Organization 1991-2002, and Combat Wing Organization 2002-2007. Strategic initiatives, information and maintenance-related technology advances, change and project management practices were evaluated for relational affect. The researcher found that the strongest relational variables leading to organizational structure change were force-size change, budget change, and major conflict occurrence or cessation.