LEAN On Me

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. K.L. Kimbrell
  • 931st ARG Public Affairs
McConnell Air Force Base, Kan. --  An Air Force Reservist here is helping lead Air Force Smart Operations 21 (AFSO 21) rapid improvement events.

Capt. Doug Crow of the 931st Air Refueling Group assists Mr. Kim Dixon, a contractor hired to assist Air Mobility Command with AFSO 21 implementation, in heading up teams of Airmen that review processes and functions, analyze them and eliminate wasted time, resources and manpower. 

Capt. Crow, formerly employed by Cessna Finance Corporation as a Six Sigma expert, saw a senior leadership message and it led him to do some research. 

"I saw Secretary Wynne's letter to Airmen on AFSO 21," said the Captain. "I googled it and found out it was their term for "lean"." 

(Lean is a process improvement methodology that eliminates waste across an enterprise, such as excess time and non-value-added steps.) 

Not long after a call was put out by Air Force Reserve Command to attain unit AFSO 21 points of contact and have them come to Robins Air Force Base, Ga., for training. 

"I emailed Col. Childs (then acting 931st ARG commander) and told him that I would be interested in going," said Capt. Crow. "He agreed, so off I went." 

While at Robins AFB, Ga., the captain met the AFRC AFSO 21 staff. 

"I told them that if they needed any help getting this (AFSO 21) started or running any lean events that I would like to assist," he said. 

Capt. Crow was tasked to assist the AFRC staff with the development of the concepts of operations for the command's AFSO 21 program. 

"While I was there working on the concept of operations, Col. Sitrin (Director of AFRC AFSO 21) asked me if I would be willing to lead an event for them. After speaking with the team lead that is responsible for the overall process, I agreed," said Capt. Crow. 

There are three levels of expertise associated with AFSO 21. 

"On April 14, I received confirmation that I was certified as the second level two expert within AFRC," said the captain. 

The captains participation is appreciated.

"Bottom line - we are delighted with his (Capt. Crow's) involvement. One Air Force, Same Fight on continuously improving the way we do business and deliver combat capability," said Col. Eric Sitrin, Director of AFSO 21, AFRC.
 
From there, things just sort of took off back home in Kansas when Capt. Crow met Mr. Dixon and started working on a series rapid improvement events with the 22nd Air Refueling Wing associated with isochronal phase inspections. 

The current event, focusing on the preparation for the isochronal inspection, began long before the process improvement team was assembled. 

"Each event takes four to six weeks to plan, the actual event (RIE) is usually scheduled for five days, and implementation usually takes 30 to 90 days," said Mr. Dixon. 

After applying the initiative to the isochronal preparation process it was determined that the Air Force would save 127 hours of labor per inspection and more than a mile of distance traveled once the new procedures are installed. 

There will be two more RIEs in the upcoming weeks focusing on the isochronal phase inspection process. 

AFSO 21 is a total force effort. 

"Teaming with active duty and the Air National Guard, particularly where we have direct associations such as McConnell is an outstanding means to maximize our commitment to continuous process improvement," said Lt. Col. Jeff Clayton of the AFRC AFSO 21 team.