AFSO21 places value on work

  • Published
  • By John Ingle
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

How many times has that little phrase been spoken as the Air Force looks to do business smarter in a world of limited resources? Probably too often.

But, Dave Toms, the 82nd Training Wing's Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century transformation manager, said change is a necessity in today's Air Force because there aren't unlimited resources. With decreases in manning and the desire to modernize weapons and aircraft, the best way to continue the mission and meet the needs of the Air Force is to free up resources and apply them to what is value-added.

"The way we're doing business has to change," he said. "We can't continue to pay for modernization efforts through personnel cuts. That means we must come up with more creative and efficient ways to do our value-added work."

When it comes to solving problems, supervisors too often focus on people instead of the process. Employees can be trained, retrained and corrected, he said. However, if the process that allowed the problem in the first place isn't addressed, then different results shouldn't be expected.

Where does the problem lie: with the process, or the person?

"If I had to communicate one thing to managers and supervisors it would be people are not the problem, they are the solution" he said. "A lot of the time we focus our efforts on fixing people and then stick them back into a broken process. What we should be concentrating on is giving them a process in which they can excel."

Sheppard began that very thing early this year with the formation of an AFSO21 Process Improvement Team to implement changes in processes. An example is the "rapid discharge" of Airmen.

Mr. Toms said because the working group was able to decrease the days it took to discharge an Airman from 30 days to 21, Sheppard will save the Air Force about $760,000 in one year. The working group has continued to validate the action plan to make sure the process stays on track.

The change in process didn't happen over night, nor did it happen by itself. Mr. Toms said it took people willing to look, with an open mind, at a new process that removed the waste and then making that change happen.

Part of that process, he said, is realizing that 80-90 percent of all processes have some form of waste: defects, over processing, over producing, excess inventory, transportation, safety, motion and waiting. Getting rid of the wasteful process components is what improves that specific procedure.

An example of that comes from the 82nd TRW Plans and Programs office. A proposed process change would decrease the number of days it takes to get a wing plan coordinated and approved from 180 days to 25 days. Mr. Toms explained that administrative assistants across the base receive the same, raw documents and make the same corrections, creating redundancies in the process. By reducing the number of reviews, the process is shortened and ultimately more efficient. This frees up those same resources to concentrate on other value-added activities.

Not only would that improve the process, but it would also take a burden off an already overwhelmed career field.

"That's a diminishing resource," he said of the administrative career field. "We're losing a lot of our 3AOs."

Commanders at all levels would be able to better utilize those administrative assistants on value-added processes.

Maj. Brian Murphy, the assistant director of operations at the 80th Operations Support Squadron, was a member on the working group that developed the new plan. He said what impressed him about the group was the number of subject matter experts who intricately knew the work being done and were part of the decision-making process to improve the current procedures.

The major said so long as the SMEs continue to be part of the improvement process, AFSO21 should be successful.

"As long as it's a genuine reduction in waste, and as long as we call in the SMEs, we'll be fine," he said.

AFSO21 isn't just about changing processes, Mr. Toms said. It's also about changing the culture and mindset of the way work is done. Employees are historically asked to work harder, longer and faster to get the job done. If they know the desired end results of the customer, the process can be fixed to meet that need.

"We create a lot of extra work because we think we know what the customer wants," he said. "Ask first, then deliver the product. A simple question to ask customers is if they are willing to wait for or pay for the service. If they are willing to pay for something or wait to receive it, then that is a good indication it is of value to them"

For those not quite sure about AFSO21 or wanting more information, there's an answer for that, too. Mr. Toms has taught more than 800 Sheppard personnel an AFSO21 Awareness Course to educate them on the movement and how they can get involved.

He admitted a few show up a little on the pessimistic side. But, by the time they leave, he said he hopes he changed their mindset toward AFSO21 and they can see the obvious potential.

"My goal is to overcome any cynicism that may be lingering out there from previous efforts and to move Team Sheppard toward a mindset of continuous process improvement," he said. "The truth is most people who attend AFSO21 classes have little difficulty seeing waste in their current work processes. They are also keenly aware of all the obstacles we face in the near future...especially the reductions in manpower."

Mr. Toms said if he can create an optimistic view of AFSO21, diminish the effects of upcoming manpower cuts and facilitate AFSO21 teams towards new and creative ways to accomplish value-added work, then he's done his job. He said the majority of students in his classes are optimistic and understand why the AFSO21 methodology is needed in today's Air Force.

For more information or to schedule an AFSO21 course you can call Mr. Toms at 676-6676.