TOBYHANNA ARMY DEPOT, Pa. -New processes developed by depot employees will produce savings of more than $1 million and shave hundreds of hours off repair cycle time.

Four personnel earned Green Belt certification for their work on separate projects that improved processes on and off the installation. Process Improvement Specialists Clark Ross, Matthew Kalinowski, Keith Weinschenk and Information Technology Specialist Ralph Stola worked with dozens of team members to implement Lean Six Sigma methodologies to solve corporate problems.

"Completing a Green Belt project is a big deal," said Brad Jones, director of the Productivity Improvement and Innovation (PII) Directorate. "Not only have the graduates passed a rigorous test, but they've shown they have the dedication and drive to tackle and solve big problems for Tobyhanna."

Lean Six Sigma is the Army's continuous improvement methodology. Green Belt is a level of achievement given to employees certifying their level of training and expertise in Lean Six Sigma. Candidates manage and lead individual process improvement projects and are provided guidance and mentoring by a Black Belt.

"Green Belt candidates are aggressive in the best sense of the word," said Robert Young, electronics engineer and Master Black Belt.

To participate in the 80-hour training course, employees must be nominated to lead a project. Normally, division chiefs identify areas of concern, then define the problem, business impact and goals.

Candidates apply techniques learned in training to their assigned project, Young said, adding that project time lines vary based on the complexity of the problem.

Green Belts work on their projects while learning problem solving techniques such as the DMAIC method-Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control. The team defines the problem, measures it to establish the true state of affairs, analyzes and looks for potential root causes, proposes potential solutions and provides proof the solutions were tested, according to Young.

"If solutions work, they're incorporated in an improved process," he said. "Sponsors must approve work at each phase of the project. Once the project is completed to the sponsor's satisfaction, the outline is forwarded for Green Belt Certification."

Stola solution

Stola and his team found a way to eliminate the need to track down false positives, saving the depot about $1.3 million over six years.

"We started out looking at the apple and ended up redesigning the orchard," said Stola, who is assigned to the Information Management Directorate (DOIM).

Stola explained that a false positive "is when you think you have security vulnerabilities in the network infrastructure and intranet, but, in fact, you don't."

DOIM employees were spending a lot of time monitoring, identifying and remediating Information Assurance Vulnerability Alerts (IAVAs) each month. According to Stola, IAVAs are impossible to predict, but by using several months' worth of data, the team was able to identify trends. The team also realized that the IAVA remediation process had never been mapped out. There was nothing that stated how to determine vulnerabilities or remediate them, he said.

"Through the Lean process, we looked for a way to eliminate some of the false positive results, as well as standardize procedures, while still doing a thorough job of protecting the network," said Joseph Tomasello, information technology specialist and Green Belt team member.

The Green Belt project recommendations were to install an Implement Network Access Control (device) which would eliminate most of the alerts, improve accountability of the software used to detect vulnerabilities in the network and implement a user authentication server.

Stola said he felt a great sense of satisfaction completing the project. "It's rewarding to get a group of subject matter experts together to refine a process that makes the company more efficient," he said.

Weinschenk solution

Weinschenk was the first at the depot to become Green Belt certified using the results of two Rapid Improvement Events (RIEs) instead of the standard project.

"Program officials came up with the new template to use RIEs to meet Green Belt requirements," said Weinschenk. "My job, as facilitator, is to give the team the tools, knowledge to come up with the best solution to their problem." Weinschenk is works for the PII directorate.

During the first RIE, his team reduced process cycle time by 33 percent and saved roughly $39,000 by streamlining the evaluation and inventory (E and I) process for the AN/ASM-146 and 147 Electronic Shop Van.

"We standardized the process," Weinschenk said. "The team eliminated waste and non value-added steps so the shops would be able to repair the shelter without exceeding the time and money allotted for the job."

The second RIE focused on standardizing the Lean action register process. Weinschenk explained that the goal was to standardize the process, reduce the number of actions being extended and any additional costs.

The team was able to save about $100,000 by reducing the number of extensions by half and the process cycle time went from 60 to 30 minutes.

"This was a great learning experience," he said. "As a Lean facilitator, the Green Belt (DMAIC) process is going to help me on a daily basis. As long as you know the tools, the data, and have a supportive team, you could solve practically any problem."

Kalinowski solution

A mission process improvement specialist earned his certification by participating in a Black Belt project. Matthew Kalinowski was able to duplicate the results of an RIE at two Forward Repair Activity (FRA) locations-Fort Lewis, Wash. and Fort Hood, Texas. The potential savings is $600,000 per unit (26 shelters) and a 40 percent reduction in repair cycle time. Kalinowski works for the Command, Control and Computer/Avionics Directorate.

The project was titled Lean Six Sigma Command Post System Integration (CPSI) Reset Improve Throughput. Simply put, Kalinowski was tasked to improve Reset processes at Fort Lewis. He explained that the project goal was to find a way to complete the Reset faster so the shelters could be returned to the warfighter by ship instead of aircraft, which would save money.

"I needed to contribute 10 percent to the completion of a Black Belt project being conducted by someone else," Kalinowski said. "At Fort Lewis, team members were able to come up with an efficient and effective one-way production process flow. We were able to replicate the processes at Fort Hood." He added that what used to take 45 days now takes 15. In addition, the extra floor space created by the new process lets Fort Lewis work on more shelters.

Ross solution

Ross's Green Belt team reduced the repair cycle time on a power supply unit by 39.7 percent after implementing standard practices for employees to follow.

The team also wrote the procedures so that they could be used on other types of power supply units. Ross is a mission process improvement specialist for the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Directorate.

According to the project charter, test cycle time per unit was excessive and officials thought that if the test cycle time were reduced, there was a strong possibility that the overall cost would go down too. There was also a possibility of increased work load if new procedures were implemented.

Once the pilot plan was applied on the shop floor, the team started to see a difference immediately, he explained. Average processing time dropped from 38 hours to 23 hours with a projected savings of $19,930 for fiscal year 2010.

"I'm so impressed with what the team was able to accomplish," Ross said.

To earn their certificate, Green Belts must demonstrate sufficient use of all the Lean tools and meet the goals set out in the charter, Young said.

"A successful Green Belt has to be capable of independent work," he said. "They are enthusiastic, focused and self-motivated. A majority of the problems, once solved, seem simple. They just needed someone to step up and do the work-drive it to conclusion."

Tobyhanna Army Depot is the Defense Department's largest center for the repair, overhaul and fabrication of a wide variety of electronics systems and components, from tactical field radios to the ground terminals for the defense satellite communications network. Tobyhanna's missions support all branches of the Armed Forces.

About 5,600 personnel are employed at Tobyhanna, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania.

Tobyhanna Army Depot is part of the U.S. Army CECOM Life Cycle Management Command. Headquartered at Fort Monmouth, N.J., the command's mission is to research, develop, acquire, field and sustain communications, command, control computer, intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors capabilities for the Armed Forces.