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‘Green belt’ AFSO21 training aims to eliminate waste

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Helping the Air Force save money and finding better ways of improving processes is the core of current Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century Green Belt classes held at RAF Mildenhall.

Hosted by the 100th Air Refueling Wing's Continuous Process Improvement office, the week-long class teaches students how to use process-improvement tools to collect and analyze data, and facilitate teams in problem solving activities.

"It's a methodology that combines waste elimination and statistical analysis to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of processes," said Capt. Mark Watson, 100th Operations Group training officer and instructor pilot, and recently certified AFSO21 Green Belt from Rockwall, Texas.

Essentially, it's a cultural mindset of seeing and eliminating process waste, according to Master Sgt. Scott Eidson, 100th ARW CPI office superintendent from Odessa, Texas.

"When I talk to Airmen at the First Term Airmen's Center, I tell them that the waste we're looking for is different than what they've learned in basic training with regards to fraud, waste and abuse," he said. "Process improvement centers around the elimination of the things that make you inefficient; if you find waste in a process, it's not punative - you're not going to get in trouble - it's the way you do things that we want to improve.

"I also tell them about the eight forms of waste and let them know those are the things we need them looking for," Eidson said, adding that the eight forms of waste can be remembered by the acronym 'DOWNTIME.'

D = Defects
O = Overproduction
W = Waiting
N = Non-standard work (overprocessing)
T= Transportation
I = Intellect
M = Motion
E = Excess inventory

"There's a direct link between process improvement and innovation. The Air Force has recently published a new vision statement that says it's 'Powered by Airmen, Fueled by Innovation.' So we have to ask ourselves, what does it mean to be innovative?" remarked Eidson.

"If you ask 100 people what innovation means, you'll get 100 different answers, and most will point to a new product, or new techno gadget as an example. As it turns out, that's only one category of innovation! There are at least nine others, which means we're missing out on 90 percent of the other ways our Airmen can be innovative!" he exclaimed. "In terms of our mission, it means being mindful of, and removing the waste from our processes, or identifying new ways to network. Or maybe we augment our various missions with complimentary services that only Square D Airmen can provide. That's when you call in your 'Green Belts' - when the answer to the problem isn't known; when the commander and the subject-matter experts involved in that process know the parts of it, but they don't quite know how to fix the problem. We set the environment for Airmen to innovate. 

"That's when you call us - we're masters of that problem-solving model," he added.

The Green Belt certification is valuable training and considered very desirable by employers. In the industrial workplace, Eidson said it can mean an increase of $25,000 to $30,000 per year on a resume, and having the Black Belt certification could result in a six-figure salary.

Those with a Black Belt lead problem-solving projects as well as train and coach project teams.

Class participants of the week-long course are selected by their leadership. They must have their five-level completed at a minimum, be experienced in their career field, and can be either enlisted, officer or civilian.

"We'll teach anybody, but understand that just going to the class doesn't actually certify you as a Green Belt," explained Eidson. "It's a learn-by-doing model."

There are five stages to complete before certification can be gained:

1. Attend the week-long course.
2. Teach an awareness block on an AFSO21 course (can be done at the Professional Development Center or workcenter).
3. Observe an AFSO21 event.
4. Co-lead an AFSO21 event.
5. Lead an AFSO21 event. This event must then be certified through U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

The next Green Belt training is scheduled for May 12 to 16, 2015. For more information, call the CPI office at DSN 238-4873 or commercial at 01638-544873.