PDA

View Full Version : Military hardware servicability stickers, codes and how to read them if buying ex-mil



Blknight.aus
8th June 2007, 07:14 PM
Not sure if this is the right place to put this but any ops is ok to move it to a more suitable place

In my thread about "when the other car ISNT the crumple zone" I mentioned a how to on how to read the serviceability code on a useability sticker.

2678

For those of you who have never seen one, thats the green sticker in the bottom of the windshield, sort of like a rego sticker...

These are put on ALL military equipment after a tech inspection or service and hold some handy info If you know what your looking for...

The important bits are the ARN, NSN, Kms/date, usability code and fault statement.

ARN= Army Registered Number (how that works for RAAF and NAVY Gear has got me beat)
NSN= Nato Stock Number but can also be an equipment supply number
expiry HRS/KMS/Date is there to let you know when this sticker will expire
Useability code, this title changes from sticker to sticker but will have a freaky code in it that this post will endevour to explain
Fault statement, whats wrong with it and what cant it do or what cant you do with it.

I choose to start the lesson now.

These puppies come in 4 colours (3 are stickers one is a tag)

Greenthese mean Its usable but may have some minor faults that will typically be operator maintenance.

Yellowthese are Restricted use stickers, it means that the item has faults that can cause dangerous conditions if the instuctions supplied with the sticker or the fault statement are not complied with.

Red these are the dead stickers dont use it bad things will happen.

and finally

a white tag with a red stipe, these are usually put on by operators to let others know of a potential problem that is yet to be inspected that could require a red or yellow sticker



In civvie street if your looking at purchasing EX mil hardware you should never see a green one you will mainly see yellow and red.
you may see some stuff with a green sticker and a white tag with a red stripe.

assuming the obvious and youve checked that the ARN and equipment details of the sticker marry up to what its attached to the next thing to check is the expiry date/hrs/Kms to let you know how current the sticker is.

then read the fault description it will be brief and wont cover a lot of little things, like flat tyres. On a restricted use sticker (yellow) it will list the largest and most obvious faults and have instuctions with them. on a Do not use sticker (red) it will state what is stopping it from being used.

After all that is the servicability code and they consist of 4 parts like the example in the thread title...

XX/Z/12/9 the WTF I assume you all know about..

so heres how to read it...

XX this is the serviciability code there are 5 of these

FF= Fully Functional, there is nothing stopping this thing from doing its job
TWY, Task worthy, It'll do its job but it has some outstanding maintenance issues that need to be addressed
RU=Restricted Use, it'll work but theres some limits to be aware of
BWY= Battle worthy I wouldnt use it unless my life depended upon it and someone was shooting at me
XX=Dont use it.


most of them are self explanitory excpet TWY, TWY is usually used if there are outstanding Mods or lots of operator mainentance that need to be done so long as they dont effect safety.

The next bit the Z is the highest level of maintenance that is required to do the work that needs to be done. they are

- = none you'll only ever see this after ff
OM = operator maintenance, you wont see this as if its bad enough to be mentioned on a sticker then the maintenance will need to be supervised
x = unit repair agency - front line support
y = medium support level, rear echelon type work
z = base repair essentially return it to the manufacturer for repair


In essence
an X task in and of itself should take less than 2 hours to complete and generally wont require specialist tools think servicing, changing alternators, brake pads, glass, lights. but you can have a total of over 2 hours if you have more than one X level repair task

A Y task can take almost any amount of time but is still major component changing specialist tools may be required. think changing brake rotors, water pumps, engines.

A Z task is essentially a rebuild of an effected item, for instance rebuilding the engine after its been removed..

The first number 12 in this case indicates the total number of hours to return the item to FF status, not including any operator maintenance tasks or non priority/safety related modifications

the last number is the number of hours required to return the item to NOM, (No Outstanding Maintenance) and deals with the non priority mods and operator maintenance.

Just occasionnaly a bit of kit will be relased to auction that is in better nick than its made out to be, usually by guys with low ethical standards. I call them wrecker stickers.

There are some obvious things to look for

FF code on a red sticker, date applied part of the sticker set in the future, nothing in the last digit of the code (use a -) mismatched NSN's or ARN's a fault code that doesnt reflect the sticker colour/functionality.

If you see a green sticker and it makes sense to the item and it has a white tag with a red stripe its been put on by a Storeman usualy because the item has exceeded its life and does not need to be inspected by a repair agency prior to disposal.

now the layout of the stickers has changed over the years but reading the XX/z/12/9 hasnt.

Hope this helps you all when you get round to finding ex mil stuff at aucitons.

ladas
8th June 2007, 07:17 PM
Dave, just tell me what drugs you are on..................I would like some

Blknight.aus
8th June 2007, 07:27 PM
you dont want to know ladas, this is me off of drugs, Im not allowed to have them in the military...

The reason its here (as stated) is cause I know that theres some stuff thats going to the auction houses soon, some of it is seriously FUBAR and I wouldnt sell it to a yota driver, some of it is actually Ok but due to the age of the equipment is "beyond One Time Repair Limit" so will be going out on a cost cutting measure..

an example of what I mean...

A 2.5 kva genset that is 10 years old has a OTRL of just 2 hours. The book time for a major service on one of these is 2 hours. a repaint also takes 2 hours.

so if you got a genset that needed repainting that was 10 years old and needed a service it would be sold off. It could have only done 100 hours work in that 10 years and other than a little rust and needing an oil change, valve check and the fuel tank flushing could be next door to perfect.

and the sticker would be Red and have a code along the lines of

XX/y/2/2

If I saw that on a genset sticker and the sticker matched the item it was on Id buy it....

This will all be more useful IF i can get hold of the planning manhours sheet for various jobs and post it up..

Since our Medium and base repair agencies are now Civvies this info is no longer restricted, the stickers they go on are restricted once filled out and applied to hardware that is still in service.

sniegy
8th June 2007, 07:44 PM
Thanks Blknight.aus,
That was an interesting read, Thankyou for the info.
My dad was in the Army & did tours to Japan, Korea & Vietnam.
So a lot of the Army stuff interests me.
Again thanks.;)

Quiggers
8th June 2007, 08:09 PM
Geez, I hope you never leave our military service dept, Dave, or we'll all be, umm, just can't find the word for it..... vulnerable... umm, rooted?

Does this also apply to F111s and F18s? Be interesting to see these stickers on Collins subs....:D

GQ

Blknight.aus
8th June 2007, 08:11 PM
theyre on them.... But they dont put them on the windshields of the f111's

they reside in the maintenance log books if there is no practical place to put them.

Phoenix
12th June 2007, 10:00 AM
Mmm, I must remember to save that for REMLR use later. I've still got the red tage from the canopy that WileE gave me, it was knackered, torn along most of it's length, but the sides were in fantastic condition.

Blknight.aus
12th June 2007, 02:26 PM
ask nice and for all those who want them I'll snavel a roll of the stickers and write up servicability codes, Im sure IF I look hard enough I can probabley lay my hands on some of the ones relevant to the time period of some of the gear out there.