Clearing clutter leads to space, cost, time savings

  • Published
  • By Debbie Aragon
  • AFCEE Public Affairs
SAN ANTONIO, Texas --  Although going 'green' is a way of life for many engineers and environmentalists at the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment, it also can be incorporated into many other mission areas to save resources and increase efficiency.

That recently became all too clear to Deborah Mills, AFCEE primary security information assurance manager.

Because of her duties, Mills said she literally couldn't move around in her work space without hitting a box, binder or stack of paper containing mandatory information needed to keep the AFCEE mission going.

"(One day when arriving at work) I had a sudden realization," Mills said, "... I was working in a hoarder's environment."

After a fleeting thought that the clutter was a necessary evil and she'd have to "go with the flow," Mills said she thought about finding an alternate storage solution. With already cramped spaces all around her, she quickly realized that wasn't a viable answer either, as paperwork would continue to build up.

"Just a year ago, we supported a little over 700 personnel," Mills said, "and as of May 2012 that number sits at almost a 1,000."

That equates to at least 1,000 Lackland AFB common user virtual private network access disclaimer forms, 1,000 AFCEE user rules of behavior acknowledgement forms and 1,000 Air Force user agreement statements, she explained; not to mention forms from previous employees that are required to be maintained for some time.

With ever increasing piles of paperwork, Mills and her team needed to look at not only the lack of storage for the required documentation but also processes that were hindered by the paper trail.

The need to find a solution took on new urgency with personnel numbers expected to jump to approximately 2,200 employees with the establishment of a consolidation of civil engineer field operating agencies Oct. 1. That's the date when AFCEE, the Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency and the Air Force Real Property Agency will inactive and merge to become a single agency.

The "aha" solution to their paperwork dilemma didn't come right away for Mills and the AFCEE information technology support team but instead came when they actually took some time out of their already busy workdays to gather and analyze data on how much time and effort was being spent on maintaining paper documentation.

The team's solution was to go paperless, which saves trees and physical space. Processing documents electronically also saves time and expedites the IT process since electronic forms can be routed through offices in emails rather than being hand-carried.

Mills then set to work to determine the best way to scan all current hard-copy paperwork and sorting and categorizing it into databases.

Three hundred pounds of paper later, Mills and her coworkers are now beginning to enjoy a little more space in their work cubicles and their customers appreciate the ease of the electronic process to set up and maintain computer and email connectivity.

Previously, customers could expect to spend four to seven days in processing into the unit for computer access and email. With the new process, the average time to full computer activation is two to four days.

In addition to saving space in several work centers, allowing people to actually move without stumbling over piles of paperwork, Mills said the new process reduces manpower costs drastically.

"By going this route, the new process reduces the manpower cost per year from $254,000 to less than $45,000 while reducing man hours from 14,880 to 2,880," she said.

"I'm fortunate to work with a staff of professionals that is continually looking to improve our existing processes with a focus on providing better support to our customers," said Tammy O'Neill, organizational planning branch chief.

In addition to their commitment to improving business processes, O'Neill said they are also "consistently working to implement cutting-edge technologies to deliver further efficiencies."

Thanks to the efforts of Mills and the entire AFCEE IT team to streamline processes to meet current and future mission requirements, supply costs for the IT team are reduced as well from $34,000 to near zero.