AFSC Goals Series No. 3: Nothing less than the best Published June 25, 2013 By Brandice J. O'Brien Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FOCE BASE, Okla. -- Editor's note: This is the fourth story in a six-article series about the AFSC Strategic Plan, goals and correlating objectives. Air Force Sustainment Center leadership wants the unit to "be a reliable, agile and responsive organization focused on achieving art of the possible" and will accept nothing less than the best. Also known as the third goal of the AFSC Strategic Plan, there are six correlating objectives. They are: 1) Improve order response time by 1 percent by 2015, 2) Integrated workload strategy and plan in place, 3) Improve accuracy and integration of supply chain and maintenance plans, 4) 50 percent of work centers achieve Art of the Possible results, 5) 100 percent first pass quality performance and 6) All platforms to meet existing flow day requirements by fiscal year end and subsequently to meet approved Art of the Possible flow day reductions by Oct. 1, 2017. "This goal is very much centered around the warfighter and how we make sure from the supply chain and depot maintenance support aspect we support the warfighter," said United Kingdom royal air force Wing Commander Jonathan Durke at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Assigned to the Logistics Directorate, he is working with the strategic planning team on the development, maturation and socialization of the AFSC Goals and Objectives. "Our business is to support the warfighter," the commander said. "There are clearly areas here that need to be focused on how to drive greater efficiencies and we were very keen to make sure you could see both the supply chain and maintenance piece within this goal. "The targets are challenging and will make for significant accomplishments," the commander said. "Each and every objective has unique challenges, yet they have the same levels of difficulty." Achieving the first objective, led by Steven Alsup, 448th Supply Chain Management Wing director, will result in the resolution of tens of thousands of demands and backorders. Additionally, it should strengthen the relationship between the supply chain and maintenance teams. The second and third objectives are allies as they refer to the Repair Requirements and Depot Determination, or R2D2, process, which is designed to improve workload planning and execution. Both objectives are overseen by the AFSC Logistics Directorate. "It's really about maximizing resources and controlling what we can control," said Janet Johnson, AFSC Logistics Strategic Planning Branch chief and lead at Tinker. "There are changes to inputs such as flying hours that are fed from headquarters that cause us to react. We want to focus on the aspects that we can get our arms around and gain accuracy within our own supply chain and maintenance planning and execution efforts." The fourth objective, also managed by the logistics directorate, is all about achieving the "Art of the Possible." The AFSC-coined terminology is about reaching beyond today's limitations to grasp previously unimagined heights of performance. It is about challenging each other to recognize opportunities, eliminate constraints, improve processes and optimize resources to achieve world-record results. It isn't about working harder, cutting corners or jeopardizing workplace safety; but about expanding our vision of what is truly possible and refusing to settle for marginal improvements. Led by Brig. Gen. Gene Kirkland, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex commander, the fifth objective is about quality. Improved quality ensures resources - money and supplies - are not wasted. The sixth objective, reducing the number of production flow days across the aircraft platforms, is overseen by the AFSC vice commander, and will show how well the organization is progressing. If the flow days are reduced, it is a direct reflection of coordination between the supply chain and production efforts, Commander Durke said. "If we decrease flow days, we get more items through the depot maintenance and will be more cost effective as well," he said. By working each objective individually and collectively, the center should achieve its goal to become "be a reliable, agile and responsive organization focused on achieving art of the possible."