Title: Red is good
Description: Over the last 20 years, the US Air Force has seen a 40 percent reduction in the size of its air fleet, while the average age of that inventory has gone from eight years in 1973 to 24 years in 2008. The negative trend is expected to continue to a projected average age of 26.5 years by 2012. On any given day, 14 percent of the remaining fleet (about 800 aircraft) is either grounded or operating with age-related flight restrictions. Since the end of Operation Desert Storm, the Air Force has maintained an average rate of 2.3 million flight hours per year with a fleet that is much smaller and older than the one fielded during the first Gulf War.  Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF) have put further stress on the fleet; thus aircraft will reach their projected service life much sooner than planned or budgeted for.  Within this challenging environment of flat or decreasing budgets, limited manpower, and a rapidly aging air fleet, the Air Force sought a way to transform its culture not only to survive, but to remain the world's premier force in the domains of air, space, and cyberspace. The Air Force transformation initiative, called Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century (AFSO21), was begun after considering only the effects desired, not the organizational-level changes required to successfully implement the transformation. The desired effects of AFSO21 are (1) increasing Airman productivity, (2) improving readiness and availability of critical equipment, (3) increasing responsiveness and agility, (4) sustaining and improving operational safety and reliability, and (5) increasing energy efficiency. This paper focuses on the cultural changes required to achieve the desired effects of AFSO21, based on the relentless pursuit of continuous process improvement. ... In a Red Is Good culture, problems are viewed as great opportunities to improve rather than failures or threats. ... This investigation will be framed by three research questions: (1) Can focused metrics precede cultural change?; (2) Does the Air Force, specifically the aircraft maintenance community, currently support a Red Is Good culture?; and (3) If so, is the aircraft maintenance community a bona fide learning organization that can achieve the greatest impact possible from continuous process-improvement initiatives?
Subjects: Management, Maintenance and repair, Process control, Toyota Jidōsha Kabushiki Kaisha, Production management, Operational readiness (Military science), Military Airplanes
Places: United States