AFSO21 course to shed light on process

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. David Toms
  • AFSO21/LEAN Transformation Manager
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Today's Air Force faces many unique challenges - The Global War on Terrorism, evolving mission requirements, manpower and resource constraints and aging weapon systems - all contribute to our need to improve the way we conduct business and to maximize our valuable resources.

Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century will help us align our Air Force to a culture of Continuous Process Improvement with a standardized, disciplined approach to achieve optimal results. To better understand the process, an AFSO21 Awareness Course is offered on a continual basis to help instill "Lean Thinking" into all our organizations and processes. The next class is scheduled for May 11 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. in the auditorium of Bldg. 832.

AFSO21 is a journey the Air Force is undergoing to promote continuous improvement in the quality of services and products we provide to the war fighter. With dwindling manpower and resources, we must use AFSO21 improvement efforts to help meet mission objectives by giving our customers precisely what they need, when they need it, and as efficiently and economically as possible... it just makes sense to do so.

The transformation is underway here at Sheppard. With the creation of our Balanced Scorecard, wing AFSO21 executive council, and its working group, we are moving forward to maximize resources and focus efforts toward value-added activities and procedures. To do so we must create a culture that promotes and pursues continuous process improvement as a daily activity. The USAF AFSO21 Awareness Course is a tool that we will use to help achieve that goal.

The AFSO21 Awareness Course was developed to introduce the concepts of Lean Management, Six Sigma, Theory of Constrains and Process Re-Engineering to Air Force members. It is a familiarization course that focuses on why and how we must look at the way we process work.

The curriculum outlines the five governing principles of Lean and the eight categories of waste. By concentrating on standardizing and improving procedures we can teach people to work more efficiently within the boundaries of a standardized process that is efficient and delivers desired results.

For more information or to reserve a seat in the May 11 class, call MSgt. David Toms at 676-2895. Also, be sure to check out the AFSO21 CoP link on our Sheppard home page on the Air Force Portal.