SECAF discusses 'culture shift' toward continuous process improvement

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LANSDOWNE, Va. (AFPN) --  Speaking to more than 500 military members and civilians representing all services, as well as interagency and international partners, during the Department of Defense Continuous Process Improvement Symposium May 13, Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne emphasized Department of Defense officials are embracing a "culture shift."

The Air Force name for continuous process improvement is Air Force Smart Operations 21, Secretary Wynne said.  The AFSO21 program is a disciplined, structured method provided to the total force, including active, Air Guard, Reserve and civilian members, to enhance quality of work life, quality of life and readiness.

Secretary Wynne and Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. T. Michael Moseley are "absolutely committed" to creating an Air Force culture that eliminates waste, shares best practices and reduces cycle times for delivering combat capability, the secretary said. Air Force leaders are leaning forward to adopt process improvements in nearly every functional area, and the effects are being felt at bases worldwide.

"[CPI] is working ... and people are indeed listening," Secretary Wynne said.

He offered several examples of rapid improvement events, or RIEs, happening across the Air Force. At Aviano Air Base, Italy, flight line maintainers for fighter squadrons revamped their work processes to find efficiencies, resulting in more predictable work schedules.

"By changing how we provide flight line maintenance, some of our Airmen now go home to their families a little bit earlier each day," he said. "This means that their families are probably happier. And when you have a happier family life, you have a happier Airman.

"If we do not take care of our people, then we are not taking care of our mission. This is where quality of work life intersects with quality of life," he added.

Secretary Wynne also noted that officials at David Grant Medical Center at Travis AFB, Calif., have changed how they schedule operating rooms, reducing backlogs for surgeries and improving access to medical care for military members and their families.

Secretary Wynne said Air Force officials are applying AFSO21 principles to improve situational awareness and precision strike provided by unmanned aerial systems in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said Airmen continually surprise him with new and innovative ways to extract more effectiveness from UAS orbits.

Secretary Wynne challenged DOD leaders of all ranks to empower their people.

"I have always felt that it is the goal of leaders to remove barriers to progress," he said. "We are seeing leadership that wants [their people] to identify barriers to better performance. They are going to work to remove those barriers."

Secretary Wynne said he and General Moseley are "leaning on Air Force senior leaders, including wing commanders, to produce results," enabling junior Airmen to effect change in their organizations.

"Wing and unit commanders are relying on their people to bring them the good ideas," he said. "I don't see any other way for them to accomplish what we have tasked them to do. All of our wing commanders are required to report on rapid improvement events at their bases, and they are in search of RIEs that can facilitate change."

Secretary Wynne also challenged the CPI community to consider how localized learning on one base can become enterprise learning across the entire Air Force and even DOD.

"If you get a breakthrough on one base, then you can share that best practice across other bases. We need you, as CPI experts, to figure out how to do this," he said.

The Fiscal 2008 National Defense Authorization Act has directed DOD and its subordinate departments to establish chief management officers. In the near future, there will be a discussion among Air Force senior leaders about how to connect the chief management officer concept with the existing AFSO 21 Process Council, Secretary Wynne said.

The chief management officers are mandated by Congress and will establish strategic management plans that describe performance goals and evaluate effectiveness and efficiency of DOD's business operations.

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