The welding technicians at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker AFB, Okla., offer the perfect example of how to lean down a process, according to ALC commander Maj. Gen. Loren Reno. He says the welders conceived and received approval for a new three-hour process to replace one that took three-days and had a lower success rate. The old way was successful only seven percent of the time, while the new method achieves 100 percent success, said Reno. In fact, he added, “This process is so good that the company that manufactures the engine asked our people to show them how they do it.” According to Wade Wolfe, transformation, integration, and process improvements division chief at the ALC, “We have phenomenal people at Tinker, it’s just that we have some processes that need improvement.” (Tinker report by Brandice Armstrong)
The Air Force has dispatched an element of its Natural Disaster Recovery Team to Guam in the wake of Super Typhoon Mawar, which has caused widespread damage on the island and at Andersen Air Force Base. The team will assess the damage and put together a recovery cost estimate for…