To make a stronger wing, first trim some fat

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Brian McGloin
  • 433rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Changes are afoot to improve the day to day functions of the 433rd Airlift Wing, making them more efficient while working faster and saving taxpayers' money.

The changes and updates are guided by the data- and process-driven principles of the Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century to streamline how things get done without negatively effectively the wing's mission capabilities.

Maj. Quinton Sasnett, 433rd Airlift Wing process manager, said identifying problems and seeing inefficiencies within operational areas in the wing showed where processes can be improved that not only affect base functions but also have positive effects Air Force wide.

The 433rd Maintenance Group was the first one to identify some issues, specifically the time and number of steps it took to get parts to aircraft awaiting repair. The two-hour process took about 49 steps, three different computer systems and as many different units, compared to other installations where the process takes about 10 to 12 minutes.
Sasnett said after an AFSO21 study, the process of getting parts to aircraft is much faster, even with the three-mile distance between the warehouse where the parts are stored to the flightline where the aircraft are waiting.

"So far the changes made have been very effective and have resulted in many of the parts being delivered on the order of about 20 minutes," he said. "Not too bad considering it is still a pretty labor intensive operation to move the parts from the training side of base to the flightline."

Sasnett said the mentality of "it's always worked, why change it?" is part of the problem and improving where we know we can improve, coming up with solutions and forwarding them to the wing commander -- going up the chain of command with ideas -- is the only way to make improvements.

"We can be our own worst enemies," Sasnett said of the institutional stubbornness and resistance to change, which can keep an organization functioning at its best.

Sasnett said in the civilian corporate world, some of the largest global companies have quality management teams and follow the idea that improving quality in a process, tailoring it for customer needs and eliminating waste reduces costs.

He said ideas that shape improvements don't just come from the top; they come from people who have intimate knowledge of how things work and where improvements can be made.

"This is the level of impact that the members of the units can have at this installation, not just the big brains from the Pentagon who are the ones providing these ideas, it is the senior airmen, staff sergeants and technical sergeants in the units as the subject matter experts who come up with the ideas to implement from AFSO21," he said.

Coming up with ideas is often the easy part. The difficulty can lie in implementing them, especially if a solution to a problem comes from a junior enlisted member or is a drastic change from tradition.

"However the ideas are not always an easy sell. Members have to do their homework, cost-benefit analysis is absolutely necessary," he said. "Finding ways to measure success and ensure that the investment was worth the cost is the type of thinking that the Air Force is trying to ensconce into the everyday mindset of the people."