CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
As Unit Compliance Inspection teams depart a base following detailed inspections designed to ensure effective operations and competent use of resources and programs, they leave a trail of improvements for units to make in order to continue meeting mission requirements safely and efficiently.
After areas needing improvements are identified, the Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century team steps in, which is exactly what happened here with the Family Care Program.
During the UCI in May the 315th Airlift Wing Family Care Program was identified as a major finding in which every unit needed improvements, according to Maj. Chris Kirkland, AFSO21 process manager for the 315th Airlift Wing.
"We mapped out the current process and identified from there where the process was broken," said Major Kirkland. "Our goal is to make programs and processes more efficient and effective."
The Family Care Program is a plan which specifies caregivers and provides guidance in terms of care for family members in case of an emergency and is specific to single parents, dual military couples and service members with dependents who require aid due to special circumstances, said Capt. Wayne Leneau, 315th Military Personnel Flight commander.
"The [team] stated 23 percent of our plans contained administrative errors with forms, powers of attorney, annual certifications, etc.," said Captain Leneau. "We learned that there were a few areas of the program that could be streamlined and we also identified areas where we needed to make adjustments or provide more assistance."
The improvement process started with a group of subject matter experts, who gathered for three straight days. During the meetings the experts went line by line through the UCI findings as well as the program itself and put corrective action and counter measure plans in place.
"We actually leaned out the process," said Major Kirkland. "We improved the current checklists, provided up-to-date training for point of contacts and cut the paperwork from six pages to four."
The team will measure improvements through the use of a matrix and expect improvements of 50 percent by January. Additionally, functional area experts will visit to re-evaluate compliance.
"AFSO21 helped us create a solid and workable solution to the items identified," said Capt. Leneau. "It also provided a means for us to measure and track our progress with goals and follow-up dates."
Though an area of need was identified and improvements made for the wing's program, greater impact outside of the Charleston AFB may occur in the near future.
"Out of this we identified an enterprise event," said Major Kirkland. "It could benefit the entire Air Force."