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Reserve commanders get a look at Lean

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Lou Burton
  • 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla. --  Twenty-eight commanders from 10th Air Force participated in a two-day seminar on the Lean system, a managerial process designed to help identify waste, at Homestead Air Reserve Base and Miami Children's Hospital,  Aug. 10-11.

The seminar topic was on point with where the U.S. military is headed; by 2016 the U.S. Military has to cut $100 billion in efficiencies and $28 billion of that cut has to be made by the Air Force.

That message was reiterated in a video the group viewed from General Norton A. Schwartz, Air Force chief of staff, and helped enforce the theme that the Air Force has to make cuts.

"We are going from 200 to 80 folks at 10th Air Force," said Maj. Gen. Frank J. Padilla, commander of 10th Air Force. "We have to look at leaner more efficient ways of doing our business. I need all of our folks to examine our processes and make changes in the way we do business because our wings are going to change."

"This training is important for examining our processes," the general continued. "You can either be a gloom and doom messenger, or you can embrace the concept. This class can provide the tools to help us do just that."

James Cody, Director of Aerospace and Defense Programs at the University of Tennessee and course instructor explained; "Leans overall objective is to examine any process and determine if there is any waste and how it can be minimized."

The class also offered a truly hands on approach for seeing how effective the Lean system can be by taking a tour of the Miami-Dade Children's Hospital, who has put the system to use.

"The Lean system has been a valuable asset to our organization. It has contributed to $500,000 in recurring savings, $1 million in avoidable capital expenditures, and a $1 million onetime savings in 2009," said Ms. Aleida Gavallas, Lean process leader at the Miami-Dade Children's Hospital.

"The value of the Lean system is that it doesn't rely on just one person or group, it takes input from the entire process and identifies any problems," said Ms. Elizabeth Lopez, Virology Supervisor at Miami-Dade Children's Hospital.

In the midst of the training session, General Padilla and Colonel Donald R. Lindberg, 482nd Fighter Wing commander, took time to meet some of the child patients, pass out gifts and a personal invitation to the 2010 Wings Over Homestead Air Show, which will take place Nov. 6-7.