Speed, quality, safety, focus of 76th MXW’s transformation efforts Published March 14, 2011 By Marti D. Ribeiro 76th Maintenance Wing Transformation Office TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Combat operations in multiple locations have put a strain on U.S. Air Force resources. One of those resources is the 76th Maintenance Wing at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, which provides scheduled and preventive depot maintenance for the KC-135 Stratotanker, B-52 Stratofortress, B-1 Lancer and the E-3 Sentry. These aircraft have been vital to the Global War on Terror, so the ALC's ability to produce high-quality products with speed and efficiency is paramount. "We have focused on speed, quality and safety during the past year," said Maj. Gen. Bruce Litchfield, 76th MXW commander. "Our country has been at war for more than 20 years and we've increased our output here at the Center by 20 percent. As the years have passed, we've been required to get products out the door faster." While speed is important, quality is even more important. "Anything leaving the ALC today could be in the fight tomorrow. Our Airmen's lives could depend on our aircraft, and those very aircraft could possibility change the course of a battle or the entire war," General Litchfield said. "What we produce has to work the first time for the warfighter." But according to the commander, the maintenance wing can't forget safety when increasing speed and quality. "Our people are our most prized resource," he said. "Their experience, capability and knowledge are what keep us moving in the right direction. We can't lose our people, even for one day." The big push is for the maintenance wing to increase speed, quality and safety through transformation via continuous process improvements. The transformation process has seen its successes through the years, but according to the general, the maintenance wing still has some work to do. "We've excelled at improving some areas, but there is still a lot of watching, wandering and walking going on," he said. "We must eliminate the opportunity for excuses; we still have a long way to go." According to the maintenance wing commander, one of the biggest obstacles in the transformation process is people's inability to believe they can make a difference. "People don't trust that we can make it better - that needs to change."He also points out that the ALC hasn't been very effective at benchmarking its successes. The ALC has proven the power of continuous process improvement in several areas, but we don't seem to have the ability to transport that success into other areas of the center. "We've failed to pick up those practices and export them to other areas and see results," he said. Each area has had to learn about process improvement and transform each individual process. "We need to pick up the pace and use the best practices from other weapons systems, instead of having to re-invent the wheel each time."The only way this center will be able to keep its head above water is if we transform, he said. "We're facing changing requirements and increasing workloads, and transformation is the only way we're going to meet future demands while continuing to be a world-class maintenance operation."The demands are only going to increase, aircraft are only going to get older and the challenges are only going to become more complicated. "The disciplined CPI effort is what's going to keep this a world-class Center and prevent mission failure," General Litchfield said. "I'm very proud of what we've accomplished as a team and look forward to great things as we stay the course for process improvement."