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CPI training focuses on increasing efficiency, innovation

  • Published
  • By Darrius Parker
  • HQ AFMC/PA

Air Force Materiel Command held the second annual Continuous Process Improvement training Sept. 24-25, providing practitioners command-wide the opportunity to network with their peers and enhance skills.

The event, hosted by Chris Boring, a Master Process Officer at AFMC, featured guest speakers, including Brou Gautier, Chief, Air Force Continuous Process Improvement Division, and breakout sessions focused on specific challenges and process improvement strategies.

 “It is our responsibility to fully implement and sustain a culture of CPI in our organizations,” said Boring. “Every Airman is encouraged to seek out and eliminate obstacles that impede readiness and effectiveness, while remaining valiant for opportunities for improvement to increase efficiency.”

A key focus at this event was the future of innovation and continuous improvement in the Air Force. According to Boring, commanders should strive to maximize the productivity of every asset through innovation across both business and warfighting processes.

“Through innovation, practitioners augment our execution of the National Defense Strategy by identifying new ways to solve problems for our Airmen. Innovation is not always creating something new; sometimes it is just finding a new way to work a current process,” said Boring.  

Another topic at the event was growth through mentorship. Investing in people creates an environment that promotes growth through relationships. This produces better working environments.

The practitioners learned about their potential growth and networked with others to voice their concerns in future endeavors for CPI and AFMC.

“The event provided me with an opportunity to get to know many of our expert facilitators from around the Command.  I have already started to reach out to prospective mentors who I believe will help me to learn and apply CPI tools,” said Capt. Evan Hanson.

This attendees also gained insight on the future of CPI and ways that they can implement innovative tools and resources in their process improvement activities.

 “During the event I was able to not only build connections with other CPI practitioners but also learned different ways to apply CPI from their level of expertise,” said Air Force Sustainment Center practitioner Mary Lou Moore. “This event will help me feel more confident during my CPI events, knowing that there are valuable resources available to fit my specific requirements.”

For more information on the AFMC Continued Process Improvement Program, a video can be found on the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service website. In the video, Jeremy Medaugh details exactly what CPI does for AFMC and the Air Force.

“We are the problem solvers of the Air Force,” says Medaugh. “We first come in to identify what the problem is so we can set the improvement targets. Once we move on to the root cause of the problem, that is when we work on counter measures to alleviate that problem.”

CPI specializes in working different methodologies to solve problems for the Air Force while reducing unnecessary processes to increase efficiency. To learn more about the AFMC program, contact AFMC/CPI at AFMC.CPI.MPO@us.af.mil.