Tracking of Materials of Concern on the UH-60L

In this age of material declarations, many companies, including United Technologies Corporation (UTC) and its division Sikorsky, initially had little resources available to identify and track Materials of Concern (MOC). In 2001, Sikorsky compiled a list of Materials of Concern as part of the Design for Environment and Safety (DfES) process. This MOC list includes substances that are prohibited, restricted, or monitored in aircraft design, production, and maintenance. Materials of Concern are selected based on environmental, safety, or health impacts; customer restrictions; and regulatory considerations. To efficiently collect and track information, Sikorsky and UTC have developed the Hazardous Material Index (HMI) that numerically ranks specifications, parts, and aircraft subsystems based on number and type of MOC employed. The entire process of the HMI calculation is automated, and the MOC database can be searched with ease. It is now possible to see which specifications contain an MOC, which part numbers or helicopter sections are the most “green”, and which products are preferred from an environmental standpoint. Overall, the creation of the Hazardous Material Index and the database for automatic tracking of Materials of Concern increases Sikorsky’s potential for significantly reducing hazardous materials utilized in the production of helicopters.