72nd ABW has AFSO21 successes Published Sept. 24, 2009 By Juan Flores 72nd Air Base Wing Plans and Programs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Commitment to improvement within the 72nd Air Base Wing is not new, but with Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century, or AFSO21, the wing had the tools and commitment to utilize continuous process improvement throughout its organizations and has seen the rewards. The tools provided by AFSO21 have helped members of the wing eliminate wasted time and resources in their daily jobs. Two notable examples are a reduction in time and money spent processing the installation's electric bill and an increase in safety and an improved response time for firefighters combating blazes in large buildings. The Civil Engineering Directorate reviewed the process of paying Tinker's electric bill. They found that over a two-year period, Tinker paid $253,000 in late fees to Oklahoma Gas and Electric. Using AFSO21 tools, they identified problems in the process and found the breakdowns. One of the problem areas was that the electric bill was delivered to the base using standard mail. This took several days to arrive at the correct location. Another problem was that the electric bill was "pushed" through the system by going through several locations, which delayed the hand-off to the Civil Engineer Directorate Utilities Office and Defense Finance and Accounting Service. By the time the bill was reviewed and approved, the due date was past and Tinker was required to pay a late fee. After working through AFSO21 problem-solving steps, the team put the following fixes in place. They created a "pull" process, where Tinker could pull the electric bill directly from the OG&E website and they also assigned primary and secondary responsibilities that reduced the number of hands on the bill before it was paid. The bill was paid immediately, and reviewed later. If errors were found, they were credited in the next month's bill. By looking at the process and making it more efficient, Tinker was able to use the excess money they had been paying in late fees for other things. A more recent example of an AFSO21 success is the process for attacking a fire in a large facility. In Bldg. 3001, and the new Tinker Aerospace Complex, the traditional method of responding to a fire was to drag hoses from the fire truck parked outside, and deploy them inside the building. This process was lengthy and caused excessive stress on fire fighters who had to drag the heavy hoses long distances. Deploying hoses in a large facility took firefighters and average of 8 minutes and 45 seconds. Such a lengthy process stands in the way of the goal of first-attack fire response, which is preventing fire spread, injury, or death to occupants. After problem-solving steps were taken, an improved process of connecting pre-loaded hose packs to a standpipe connection in the facility was implemented. This allowed firefighters to get to the fire faster, limiting damage. The new process reduced attack time to 3 minutes and 34 seconds. It is also important to note the degree of stress placed on the firefighter's hearts. During the previous process, the average amount of time where firefighter's heart rate was above 160 beats per minute was 4 minutes, 3 seconds. In the improved phase, firefighters' heart rates above 160 beats per minute dropped to 53 seconds. Two years ago the 72nd ABW achieved a goal of participating and completing 11 AFSO21 events. This past year the goal was 13 events, a goal that will soon be reached. AFSO21 is a common-sense way for any organization to look at jobs they perform and find a way to perform them more efficiently.