ID card process at Beale undergoes rapid improvement

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Sarah Brown
  • 9th Reconnaissance Wing Public Affairs
BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) --  In an effort to shorten customer wait time at the 9th Mission Support Group common access card/identification card section, Beale personnelists conducted a Rapid Improvement Event May 18-21.

With the help of Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century specialists from Air Combat Command, the section evaluated the current CAC/ID card process to determine where improvements could be made.

"We're (what is called a "most efficient organization"), so we have to meet performance thresholds," explained Gloria Reinhard, 9th MSG level-one facilitator. "These thresholds were implemented before homeland security rules required more stringent controls such as needing two forms of ID to get a new card. We need to change the performance thresholds to be more realistic because of the new requirements that have been levied."

The current CAC/ ID card office standard is to greet customers within five minutes, and have the customer's needs met within 15 minutes, but currently that threshold is not being met. The machine that makes new ID cards takes more than 15 minutes to create and print.

The four-day RIE was conducted by representatives from the support division, the ACC team and two recent customers. Every step of the ID card process, from the time the customer signed in to the time he or she had the finished product in hand was broken down and examined.

"We'll look at what problems are associated with the various steps and which ones are within the control of the team to make changes," said Mrs. Reinhard. "First, we identify the current state. Then we design the future state, or what we want the process to look like.

"The current state for the CAC process had 31 steps," she said. "The team then decides which steps are value added to the customer, which are non-value added and which are non-value added but required. The future state for the CAC process is now 15 steps. The steps for the future state of the ID card process is 14 steps vs 28 in the current state. Next, we develop an implementation plan because not everything can be improved immediately."

Overall, this RIE is designed to make the CAC/ID card process a smoother, easier one for customers.

"Our goal is to provide customer walk-in service and support in a timely manner, so what we're essentially looking at are the things we can do to make the process easier for our customers," said Mrs. Reinhard.

A number of results from the RIE will met this goal. Scanning the required two forms of identification at the same time will reduce the step by half. Also, verifying eligibility prior to verifying personal information improves process efficiency. The team's recommendation to revise the sign-in tool will better prepare the customer being served and will collect metrics for management.

Beale people have been involved in a number of RIE's; the civilian personnel office staff recently improved some of their processes, which were recognized by ACC officials as a "Best Practice" step.