'6S' leads to AMC success

  • Published
  • By Laura McAndrews
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS) --  Air Mobility Command Airmen recently spent a day focused on using the "6S" method to reduce clutter, inefficient processes, waste and more in their work spaces.

6S is a six-step process that stands for safety, sort, straighten, shine, standardize and sustain.

"Through the 6S method, Airmen learn to see misplaced materials, equipment and information, and find the optimal setup that reduces waiting time, inefficient handling and waste," said AMC Lean expert Rod Hersom.

6S is a tool of the Lean initiative being used by the Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century. Going "lean" is a way to remove waste and save money and time while improving quality.

"Many people think this is just about cleaning up their desk or workbench," Mr. Hersom said. "But it's really much more than that. It's about organizing it to be more effective, and keeping it up."

At Travis Air Force Base, Calif., the 615th Contingency Response Wing and 60th Air Mobility Wing share a 3,400-square-foot warehouse. Using the 6S method they were able to remove 40 tons of unused equipment, recycle four truckloads of metal and aluminum, and find new homes for 117 pieces of furniture. The end result was almost 2,000 square feet of newly available space.

"The oldest item found was a picture dated from 1983, and the most interesting item found was a 4-feet-by-8-feet piece of aluminum with B-29 nose-art painted on it," said Steve Oien, 60th AMW AFSO21 program manager. "The nose art was delivered to the Travis Museum; they were delighted to have it."

The 6S process "got people to get rid of junk," said Staff Sgt. Heather Groom, 19th Medical Group Commander Support Staff noncommissioned officer in charge, Little Rock AFB, Ark. "Now the office is more organized which aides the personnel to do jobs more quickly."

Shops around the command purged themselves of unneeded items and moved frequently used office supplies to more central locations to provide quick and easy access for employees.

They even changed floor plans to make employee paths more efficient.

The McGuire AFB, N.J., pharmacy, once full of crowded hallways and supply rooms, underwent the 6S process. What wasn't removed was labeled and organized into place.

The process also saved time at Little Rock AFB. 

"It will cut down on the 'hunting for parts' that always comes with the inspection and packing of parachutes," said Maj. Jason Havel, 19th Operational Support Squadron Aircrew Flight Equipment flight commander.

Each of the Airmen dormitories at McGuire AFB, N.J., has a supply closet. According to Tech. Sgt. Angela Bergerstock, 87th Civil Engineer Squadron unaccompanied housing manager NCO in charge, the closets were completely out of control with no organizational system in place.

The Airmen implemented the 6S process on the closets. It's now easy for those doing supply inventories to figure out what's there and what's needed. There's even a checklist to keep it organized.

"This process was hugely helpful to the dorm residents," Sergeant Bergerstock said.

Dover AFB, Del., had 76 volunteers using the method on a warehouse that was inefficient and cluttered. They were able to create more than 5,000 square feet of storage space.

"This is amazing," said Laura Chupp from the Airmen and Family Readiness Center. "I can't believe all of the inventory is going to fit in half the space."

Headquarters Air Mobility Command used the 6S process on a virtual level. A Virtual Habits for Highly Effective Staff Officer seminar was held, in which nearly 500 personnel learned how to organize computer files and remove unnecessary items. The goal is to cut down on wasted time hunting down information needed for the mission.

In a survey, one participant noted, "This was a great overview of just a small representation of the power of the software available for our use."

"I have already implemented three main items demonstrated from the training," another survey participant said. "I have saved about 45 minutes a day and have reorganized my branch's files. Now we all know how and where to find things."

The training information and templates used in the seminar were stored in a common Staff Work Survival Kit SharePoint site so staff members can reference the techniques when they need them. The information is also posted via professional training videos on the director of staff's shared site.

The 437th Maintenance Squadron at Charleston AFB, S.C., virtualized the process, as well.

"MXS leadership made it a priority to clean up their share drive which contained more than 100GB of information," Bob Langston 437MXG AFSO21 program manager said. "Over 70 folders were reduced down to only 11."

This makes the system quicker and easier for their team to use.

"A lot of folks just don't realize that 6S applies to business and admin processes as well as manufacturing process," Mr. Langston said.

AMC Airmen also helped the environment in the process of 6S.

Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., had more than 400 personnel clean out folders, binders and cabinets and take their unneeded documents to a nearby shredder truck, saving about 400 man hours of using office shredders. It's estimated that the base sent more than 9,100 pounds of paper to the recyclers.

And Fairchild wasn't the only base shredding things up. At Little Rock AFB, Sergeant Groom said, "the paper shredding program was highly praised and we will look at extending it."

All in all, AMC recycled 88,000 pounds of paper, the equivalent to saving more than 790 trees.

Fairchild's 92nd Air Refueling Wing, the Washington Air National Guard, Air Education and Training Command's 336th Training Group, and Reserve components made a "Total Force" effort.

They traded unneeded equipment and furniture, they then recycled and disposed of the remainder.

AMC as a whole was able to destroy and recycle more than 500 CDs to free up valuable storage space and limit the amount of potentially sensitive information hanging around.

Saving green wasn't just for the environment this year, more than $362,500 was saved in the process.

The 621st Aerospace Ground Equipment section, at McGuire AFB, participated in the 6S process. While organizing and straightening their division, they found 23 pieces of AGE they weren't using and could thereby return to Air Force stocks, a collection worth more than $235,000.

According to Senior Airman Bekah Pry, 87th Air Base Wing public affairs specialist, Tech. Sgt. Randy Pembleton, McGuire's 305th Maintenance Group quality assurance inspector, took part is using the 6S process on one of their maintenance hangers. They discovered more than 300 unused items worth $120,000.

"This is a continuous improvement issue, but it's a great start," Sergeant Pembleton said. "We hope it will expand to other areas."

The Little Rock AFB, Ark., Life Support Flight discovered more than 800 extra parts in their stock while Airmen at Travis AFB were able to find 117 pieces of currently unused furniture. These are items that can now be used in new base projects as well as to reduce orders for equipment already unknowingly available.

Sergeant Groom said at Little Rock "$7,500 of office supplies were reclaimed."

With all the hard work that was done Airmen around the command should feel proud of their accomplishments said Col. Mark McLean, chief of Air Mobility Command AFSO21.

"By completing this event, we have instilled more pride in ownership to our folks," said Master Sergeant David Jones, 22nd MXS Aircraft Generation Equipment shop, McConnell AFB, Kan. "This is now shown in the cleanliness and organization of our shop on a day to day basis. We anticipate this new found pride will carry over into our maintenance and inspections."

"With a clean and neat appearance, my Airmen will have more confidence in their work," Major Havel said.

"At AMC, we really like this 6S technique," said Colonel McLean.

AMC plans to hold 6S days throughout the year, said Colonel McLean. "And we'll share our success in this proven technique with others in the (Department of Defense).

"This process has the benefit of providing tangible improvements to the workspace," added the colonel. "But more importantly, it teaches people how to look for wasted time and effort and do something about it." 

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