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Air Force Smart Operations

  • Published
  • By Col. Al Hunt
  • 375th Air Mobility Commander
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  A few years ago, the Air Force really began a concerted effort to streamline business practices, transforming not only Air Force operations but also its core processes. We know this effort as Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st century, or AFSO21. It addresses a few fundamental questions - which work processes are value added and how do they contribute to mission accomplishment?
The basic principle of AFSO21 is the careful examination of work processes and their benefits to the end goal. In a time of high operations tempo, budget constraints, limited resources and manpower shortages, every step in an organization's overall work must be relevant and productive. Any step that does not lead the organization to tangible, successful results needs to be discontinued or altered to better align with the organization's goals.
As the wing commander, senior leaders in the wing and I have promoted a culture of leveraging technology, ingenuity and manpower, underlining the importance of AFSO21. We encourage Airmen from the most junior enlisted member to the senior officer in every organization to critically and strategically analyze the work they perform and ask themselves if there are better, more efficient ways to obtain the desired results. We also encourage Airmen to crosstalk with technical experts outside of their career field to look for the latest tools in technology.
This change in mindset of weighing every action's cost and benefit has already led to great improvements for JTF Scott personnel.
When I first arrived more than two years ago, the process for sponsoring visitors onto base was an arduous as well as a labor and time intensive task. Now, capitalizing on technology, the process takes a few minutes of the sponsor's time. By simply logging onto a secure website and submitting a request to the visitor's center, the information is instantly available to the 375th Security Forces Squadron personnel and the pass is readily available when the visitor arrives.
The AFSO21 philosophy also led to process improvement in the 375th Logistics Readiness Squadron. Before the AFSO21 event, creating pallets would require several movements back and forth across the warehouse for supplies. Now, with AFSO 21 process changes in place, supplies have been reorganized to limit the amount of movements needed to construct pallets. The process changes resulted in getting the product out quicker, while making better use of the Airman's time and energy.
This is the target goal of AFSO21 -- examining what we do and how we can do it better, faster and smarter. AFSO21 can and should be applied to every work process. It is a shift in thinking that applies to all Airmen regardless of rank or position.
This week, I encourage you to take a hard look at everything you do. Organize your daily to do list into steps, and then pull apart each step. Ask yourself if each step is value added. If you have ideas of how to improve production, elevate those ideas through your chain of command.
In today's environment, we still rely heavily on paper and pens. Why?!? Better yet, think about the cost and impact on an organization. Ask yourself who needs the information, when do they need it, what are they going to do with it when they get it, and is there a better way to get it to them.
Printers, cartridges, paper, copiers, pens, file cabinets, waste baskets, recycle bins, etc... you get the idea. It all costs money and takes away from other resources in a resource constrained environment. In addition, file cabinets, recycle bins, etc., take valuable floor space in workspaces that are already tight.
If an instruction or regulation is driving us to this way of doing business, propose changes. An AFSO21 event is an investment in time and often yields exponential payoffs in time and money saved.
Leveraging technology, ingenuity, and manpower will become our forte for years to come in our Air Force. AFSO21 provides every Airman the opportunity to take an active role in creating this long-lasting change for the better.
Thanks to all the JTF Scott personnel for all they do every day!