Knowledge operation managers lead the way

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. La Meisha Davis
  • 59th Medical Support Squadron
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) --  Air Force senior leaders in the Knowledge Operations Management career field recently recognized KOM personnel at Wilford Hall Medical Center for their outstanding work in realigning information managers under one central office.

Prior to 2008, the 59th Medical Wing KOMs were called information managers. Similar to other organizations, their career field was consolidated with personnelists. Their primary duties were centered on a different career field while only completing one of their core functions, records management. Now, with the new workforce restructure, KOMs perform their primary job functions and support the entire medical wing.

KOMs provide assistance with workflow management, records management, content management, official mail communications and training in their career field. Their support is provided to approximately 6,600 customers, spanning across seven groups and 26 squadrons.

"The KOMs have their own Microsoft Office SharePoint server located in Wilford Hall Medical Center and they are very creative and thriving while maximizing the use of emerging technology to provide exceptional service to the 59th Medical Wing," said Chief Master Sgt. Johnny Green, the Air Education and Training Command functional manager for the KOM career field.

In 2009, the Client Systems and KOM Workforce Restructure Strategy directed the entire Air Force to centralize and consolidate KOMs. While most units were undergoing the KOM restructure, the 59th MDW was well ahead of the game and already benefiting from the strategic reorganization.

Some of the success stories experienced here include enhanced standardized business processes, cross-utilization training and job rotations allowing professional growth and development by rotating in the core areas of the career field. Additionally, KOM personnel used their former career field skill sets to manage video teleconferencing centers and become more prepared for deployments.

"It shows where the 3D0 career field is heading and the 59th MDW is at the tip of the spear," Chief Green said.

The KOMs are the first line of support for all SharePoint issues. In January 2010, they assisted with the migration to the advanced SharePoint Enterprise version; moving more than 200 sites, updating 6,000 users, creating more than 300 security groups, and transferring more than 15,000 documents. They have become proficient at creating workflows, managing permissions, and constantly enhancing the look, feel and functionality of the WHMC intranet. The KOMs are responsible for trouble ticket issues related to SharePoint and use a SharePoint interface to relay updates and information through e-mail.

Among the most impressive projects the KOMs direct at WHMC is the Evaluations Management System. The EMS process reduces the workload associated with the electronic routing of performance reports and decorations. The KOMs created their own version of electronic evaluation processing in 2008 that helped save an average of one hour per report. Many of the lessons learned two years ago has shaped the way they use AETC's SharePoint solution today.

The KOM records management team provides support to all 59th MDW units and serves as the liaison between Lackland AFB's base records management and the 59th MDW functional area records managers. Trained and qualified KOMs perform functional area record manager duties. They corrected a five-year lapse in records management in preparation for the wing's 2009 Unit Compliance Inspection.

The activity distribution office at WHMC provides an ideal experience to strengthen skills and knowledge of mail room procedures. The 59th MDW members process nearly 29,000 incoming and outgoing packages and letters every month. The KOMs created a local tracking database in SharePoint to account for packages and instantly notify customers of packages to be picked up. In addition, they established local instructions to outline the duties and responsibilities of the ADO to properly manage the large amounts of mail.

"WHMC's support of the Air Force KOM Workforce Restructure Strategy was vital to the KOM's innovation and use of emerging technology to efficiently and effectively support the wing," said Chief Master Sgt. Clifford Massey, the Joint Basing San Antonio KOM functional manager.

"It's a testimony to what our KOM personnel can achieve with leadership support and the opportunity to perform our core duties and responsibilities," Chief Massey added.

(Senior Airman Antiqua Kelley, 59th Medical Support Squadron, contributed to this story)