Medical personnel learn AFSO21 efficiency method Published Nov. 20, 2013 By Airman Megan Friedl 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- The 375th Medical Group hosted the Air Force Medical Service's first Lean Healthcare AFSO21 Green Belt Course at Scott Sept. 23-26. Historically, in the wing there are three to four green belt courses taught throughout the year. At this recent green belt course, there were nine attendees who were all from the medical group. This was the first time for the Air Force that the medical group staff were the only attendees. Nick Cardozo, 375th Medical Group Quality Services and Risk Management chief, said, "This course was important for staff to go away from their regular duties to come together to learn these skills for future successes." Master Sgt. Donald McCoy, 375th Air Mobility Wing, AFSO21 process manager, said, "Students found tremendous value in being able to walk the process, speak to those who work it, run cell design/redesign statistics, and re-engineer the process to mitigate and eliminate waste." The students learned complex problem solving skills and ran a large statistical analysis on a case study that was recently an initiative in the Pediatrics Clinic. This course helped them learn an eight-step problem solving model to identify waste and learn associated AFSO21 tools in three core continuous process improvement methodologies, which are Lean, Six Sigma and Theory of Constraints. "We try to be better in the military by optimizing processes," said McCoy, an AFSO21 black belt certified instructor. Based off valid data, the attendees made good quality decisions, which is the intent of the course, said Cardozo. "The medical group is now postured to work more efficiently; eliminating waste and working smarter," he said.