AFSO21 encourages units to improve by searching within Published May 4, 2010 By Staff Sgt. Jason Lake 18th Wing Public Affairs KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- A renowned Japanese industrial engineer who helped bring the country's auto industry to its peak in the 1980s once said "The most dangerous kind of waste is the waste we do not recognize." Those are words Rudy Gutierrez lives by as he helps units take a step back and "look inward" in order to streamline programs and processes. "As the Air Force gets smaller, it's critical that Airmen find more common sense approaches for getting rid of wasteful processes," explained Mr. Gutierrez, who works at Kadena's Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century office. "Unfortunately in recent years there have been significant personnel reductions throughout the service, but Airmen are doing the same amount of work as before using legacy work processes." The retired senior master sergeant urges Airmen to take a "critical eye toward their job" and the daily processes within their work centers. "Sometimes we just don't realize how much waste is inherent in a process until we step back and look at it," Mr. Gutierrez said. "Waste such as waiting, transportation and motion ... just targeting those areas alone will significantly reduce time, usually by as much as 45 percent. The initial investment up front in effort to look at a process will pay off in the end with a smoother, more efficient and effective way of doing business that returns time back to Airmen." Kadena's latest AFSO21 success story involves the 909th Air Refueling Squadron. Eight experts representing various sections of the squadron worked with Kadena's AFSO21 office over a two month time span after the unit officials noticed a drop in KC-135 Stratotanker mission capability rates and an uptick in mission scheduling deviations. Additionally, squadron leaders noticed that many Airmen in the unit were logging longer work days while trying to meet mission requirements as the only aerial refueling squadron in the Far East. "Our scheduling process was too dynamic," explained Maj. Michael Kallai, 18th Operations Group director of staff who was one of the experts that represented the 300 Airmen in the 909th ARS, 718th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and 909th Aircraft Maintenance Unit during AFSO21's eight-step problem solving process. "One of the goals was to save time so Airmen could get the job done and go home." After several months of critical analysis, problem solving, and plan implementation, 909th ARS officials have noticed some dramatic improvements. Mission scheduling delays and turnaround times have improved by nearly 30 percent since the unit evaluated its processes. Unit officials also estimate that a standardized aircraft configuration they developed during the process has saved more than 1,800 man-hours in the past six months. Lt. Col. Corey Wormack, former 909th ARS director of operations, who participated in the AFSO21 assessment, said a huge factor to their success was incorporating the NCOs and company grade officers "who do the hard work" day-in and day-out. "As units look to streamline processes, it's important to let the people who found the issues come up with the solutions because they are the ones who will know what is practical," he said. "It's important to get people talking in a structured environment because people talk about making things better all the time, but it's different to actually sit down with leadership and have a discussion." Colonel Wormack said AFSO21 discussions between leadership and subordinates afford units the opportunity to examine how they fall within the strategic alignment and deployment construct for the base. "It's important for our young Airmen and lieutenants to understand how their everyday tasks fit into the bigger picture," he said. Since the AFSO21 office opened its doors in 2007, more than 25 units at Kadena have participated in the eight-step problem solving process - including the 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron. The unit's chemical warfare defense ensemble storage and distribution process was awarded the 2009 Chief of Staff of the Air Force Team Excellence Award for increasing its accountability/serviceability rating last year by 60 percent and saving more than $270,000. In addition to the eight-step process that takes anywhere from weeks to months before implementation, Kadena's AFSO21 office also has abbreviated processes like "Just Do It" and "Rapid Improvement Events" that take about a week. For more information on these processes, or to schedule an AFSO21 unit appointment, call 634-3166.