MXG setting AFSO21 example for Ellsworth

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Josh Moshier
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  Work smarter, not harder, and you'll complete your mission-essential tasks despite the manning and money cuts around you. 

That, in a nutshell, is what Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century is all about, and at Ellsworth, the 28th Maintenance Group is setting the standard. 

In October 2006, the 28th MXG created the 28th MXG AFSO21 Office, and the group is already reaping the rewards of its existence. 

"AFSO21 is all about removing non-value added steps from the process," said Col. Debra Shattuck, 28th MXG commander. "One of our first (rapid improvement events) was to streamline (aerospace ground equipment) delivery and servicing. We've already seen improvement in value-added work time for our mechanics. Before the RIE, crew chiefs lost approximately one hour of value-added work time transporting and refilling oil and hydraulic carts if they ran out while they were using them. Now, crew chiefs simply call over the radio for a serviced cart, and one is delivered to their spot within minutes." 

Captain James Danik, 28th MXG AFSO21 program officer; and Master Sgt. Shane Meister and Tech. Sgt. Joseph Willett, 28th MXG AFSO21 facilitators, have been tasked to lead the AFSO21 charge and are the focal points for related ideas and improvements within the group. 

With the assistance of two civilian experts provided by Air Combat Command and the support of other subject matter experts, they've helped the maintenance group achieve several successes as a direct result of AFSO21 operations. 

"One of the first things we did was create an electronic database, which is basically a device to ensure no one's voice falls by the wayside," said Captain Danik. "Currently, we have 80 initiatives in the database. The 28th MXG has either worked, submitted a waiver request to ACC, or just gone ahead and implemented 22 of them." 

To date, the group has completed three formal AFSO21 events including the AGE delivery and servicing RIE, a support section RIE and a sortie generation value stream mapping analysis. Each event included SMEs from the group, and the sortie generation VSMA included SMEs from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas; Minot AFB, N.D.; and Whiteman AFB, Mo. The result was an implementation plan to improve upon non-value added areas identified during the three events. 

Per Colonel Shattuck's direction, "Our goals are pretty much three-fold," said Captain Danik. "Improve sortie effectiveness rates, increase and sustain mission capable rates at or above ACC standards, and increase our technicians' touch time by eliminating non-value added tasks." 

Technicians on the flightline have benefited from the majority of the improvements being addressed by the AFSO21 office. At the same time AFSO21 initiatives were being worked, the 28th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron progressed toward a single aircraft maintenance unit concept, which will have an even larger impact on maintainers. For the AFSO21 office, the focus is shifting to areas that have more of an impact to all 28th MXG personnel. 

"A surgeon would never walk away from his patient in the middle of surgery," Captain Danik said. "Our technicians are basically surgeons for the B-1 - we don't want them to have to walk away from their patient to change out their tools or anything else."
The captain said the biggest hurdle facing AFSO21 transformation is changing the mindset of, "We've always done it this way, so why change now?" 

"When I first heard about AFSO21, I thought, 'Here we go again; another fad, check the box and call it good approach,'" he said. "The difference between AFSO21 and previous approaches that weren't successful is the method. For instance, Total Quality Management (also known as Quality Air Force), which was employed in the 1990s, tried a cookie-cutter or one-size-fits-all approach. AFSO21 is different in that it gives us the tools to make change and the flexibility to do it the way we see fit." 

The 28th MXG AFSO21 Office is also doing its part as a member of the 28th Bomb Wing team. The group has scheduled a facilitator trainer from ACC to visit Ellsworth in April to train 30 base members to facilitate Lean events, an AFSO21 concept focused on eliminating waste and another term used for RIE, in their organizations. The training has been offered to members in all groups. 

"The most important thing for AFSO21 success here is leadership support and worker buy-in," the captain said. 

Leadership support is not a question at the 28th MXG. 

"We in the 28th Maintenance Group are strongly committed to AFSO21 because we know it works," said Colonel Shattuck. "All of our officers and work center supervisors have attended AFSO21/Lean training, and we've developed an AFSO21/Lean introductory course for all group personnel. We're confident we'll see many positive results from these efforts."