DETROIT ARSENAL, Mich. -- In a ceremony held July 25 at the Pentagon, TACOM received two Lean Six Sigma Excellence Awards Program (LEAP) awards, one at the organizational level and one at the individual project team level.
The organizational level award was based on the overall results of Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) projects completed in FY17.
The TACOM CPI program focuses on projects that provide both operational and financial benefit. CPI practitioners at TACOM Headquarters, Anniston Army Depot, Rock Island Arsenal Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center, Sierra Army Depot, Red River Army Depot, Watervliet Arsenal as well as PEO Ground Combat Systems, PEO Soldier, and PEO Combat Support & Combat Service Support completed roughly 125 CPI projects in FY17. The projects focused on improving Readiness, Carryover, Performance to Promise, Depot Forecasting, Supply Availability, Material Availability, Divestiture, Backorders, Safety/Morale, and Quality of Life, and resulted in financial benefit of $208 Million, which was 151 percent of the TACOM assigned AMC goal.
"DA only gives one Subordinate Organizational Deployment Award per fiscal year," said Gary Husted Jr, TACOM CPI deputy deployment director. "So for TACOM to be selected for our effort gives great credit to everyone that participated in process or product improvements in FY17. Continuous Process Improvement isn't something that just a few CPI team members do, it requires people all over TACOM looking for and reporting, improvement opportunities. Every TACOM employee should be searching for ways to reduce or eliminate waste, streamline processes, or identifying more cost effective products and material to use, ensuring the defined requirements are still satisfied, in order for TACOM to be successful."
The team award was for a project that reduced the Time to Release a Safety of use Message (SOUM) from nearly 60 days to less than 10 days. This project impacts the Army's readiness and Soldier safety. When a risk involving TACOM managed equipment is identified that could cause a fatality or major injury, a SOUM is developed and released to the field. The long lead time to complete this process was putting our Soldiers and civilians at great risk. This issue was of high importance to the TACOM and AMC Commanders which resulted in immediate support.
"The SOUM improvement effort was the most critical project that we worked in TACOM in FY17," said Mary Isrow, SOUM project lead. "It was so important that we addressed the unacceptably long lead time to develop and release a SOUM because it directly impacts our Soldier's safety and Army readiness. We received great support from the TACOM CG, DCG, ILSC Executive Director, and PEO's and amazing contribution from the core and extended team which enabled us to reduce the lead time to a timeframe that we can all be proud of at TACOM."
Other team members were: Steve Carroll, Jason Duncan, Patrick Kelley, and Margaret Wagner.
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