AFSO 21 initiatives improve work processes at Travis

  • Published
  • By Nick DeCicco
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Given the aim of Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century, the ultimate goal of its trainers at Travis doesn't seem unusual.

After all, what better way to demonstrate the effectiveness of the program?

"We're trying to work ourselves out of AFSO 21 training jobs," said Capt. Scott Knerr, 22nd Airlift Squadron.

The objective isn't unreasonable. The aim of AFSO 21 is to inspire a mindset in all Airmen to think and act about improving their work processes and operating environment in order to improve efficiency.

In 2006, the Air Force began to implement AFSO 21. It is the Air Force's continuous process improvement model adapted from other improvement methods such as Lean, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints and the Toyota Production System. The vision of AFSO 21 is to create an organizational culture whereby all Airmen and civilians are actively identifying and eliminating wasteful work steps.

For example, if a printer would be better suited on the opposite side of the building because it saves the most people walking distance there, relocating it is an AFSO 21-type procedure.

But that's only a very simple, small-scale example. A larger one would be the decision made this year at Travis not to have someone manning the petroleum, oil and lubricants' fuel pump 24 hours per day as it was unnecessary during a six-to eight-hour window at night. Changing the schedule - and the Air Force Instruction requiring its manning- was just part of the process. A team analyzed the process, built a sound business case for changing the process, and after gaining approval, reduced the manning requirement.

Another example comes from the Travis flightline, where access to aircraft was necessary for any number of training reasons, from fire department training sessions to static displays of planes. With a non-standard scheduling system for these events, there were a significant number of instances where additional aircraft were used for unscheduled training. A team analyzed the process and set up an event calendar providing all organizations with visibility on when aircraft were available for their use. The results of the team and its calendar resulted in cutting the number of times planes were used for unscheduled training from 112 the first six months of 2007, to 14 over the same period of time in 2008, an 87.5 percent reduction, providing more aircraft availability for missions.

Even long-standing rules in AFIs can be changed with AFSO 21, provided there's a logical reason; a good business case for the alteration.

"People can't just decide to do things differently because they don't like the AFI," said Capt. Sheldon Knudsen, 60th Maintenance Group. "The data has to justify the change being requested." 

An additional factor to this is that once the change is announced, the new mode of procedure is the protocol to which everyone is held, regardless of what the AFI may state. 

Broad improvement goals for AFSO 21 filter down from the Pentagon to Air Mobility Command and the 18th Air Force, who in turn develop specific enterprise improvement priorities. These priorities are funneled down to the wing level, where the wings, in turn, develop their own annual improvement priorities, said Steve Oien, a civilian in the AFSO 21 office.

Though the organizational chart works in the traditional direction -- from leadership to workers -- Captains Knerr and Knudsen emphasized that AFSO 21 empowers everyone working on the base.

"It's not a directive," Captain Knerr said. "It's a top to bottom and bottom to top effort."

Training also is on the plate for the AFSO 21 office. Travis operates as a training station for numerous Air Force Bases on the West Coast, training AFSO 21 facilitators, guiding teams through improvement processes and teaching the "Observe, Orient, Decide, Act" plan, or OODA Loop, said Mr. Oien. There are many opportunities for continuing education with a week-long Level-one facilitator class conducted at the AFSO 21 office as well as Level-two training, which is held at the University of Tennessee.

Perhaps the biggest misconception about AFSO 21 is people perceiving it as an extension of the Total Quality Management improvement strategy from the 1990s, as well as seeing the AFSO 21 facilitators as bean-counting bogeymen.

"We're here to help people reduce waste, save them some time and save money," Captain Knerr said. "We do things smarter and more efficiently to improve the quality of life. ... This is empowering Airmen and civilians to make a difference throughout the Air Force." 

For more information, contact the AFSO 21 office at 424-4581 or visit the AFSO 21 page located on the 60th AMW SharePoint Web site.