THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 6, 1994 TAG: 9407060343
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KRYS STEFANSKY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Just following orders is not how the military gets the job done anymore, at least not since the debut of ``total quality leadership.''
The Navy and the Coast Guard say statistic-based decision-making is changing and improving nearly every aspect of their work. It is saving millions of dollars and thousands of work hours. It is eliminating paperwork, improving job safety and creating greater job satisfaction.
The philosophy behind total quality leadership - that a worker closest to the job knows best how to improve it - is rooted in a method introduced in post-war Japan in the 1950s by the late American business guru W. Edwards Deming.
``TQL'' includes members from all levels of an organization in the decision-making process.
Sometimes TQL saves neither time nor money, but, say advocates, it improves results. Eighteen months ago, for example, Coast Guard Capt. Mike Pierson led a Coast Guard team that prepared a booklet on sexual harassment.
``We had all pay grades, from seaman up to captain and civilian. . . . We had all perspectives. That was what made it so great,'' said Pierson, chief of readiness and reserve and civil rights officer for the 5th Coast Guard District, which extends from central Pennsylvania to southern North Carolina. The pamphlet has received praise from other districts and the Coast Guard headquarters in Washington.
The Navy - with 1.2 million people - is the single largest organization that has ever attempted to implement such a program, said Capt. Dana Roberts, TQL director for the Atlantic Fleet's commander in chief. The shore establishment - systems command, supply and medical organizations - began using TQL in the early 1980s. In the past four years, TQL has infiltrated every aspect of the service, including the operational Navy, its ships, submarines and aircraft. Every command has a TQL adviser or coordinator. In aviation squadrons, TQL can be an additional responsibility. Larger commands may devote one staff member full-time to TQL or hire civilian TQL advisers.
Even with these experts in place, switching to TQL hasn't been painless. ``We've seen some senior people over the last few years that have balked at bringing change in,'' Roberts said. ``The old way worked, some felt, and would keep working.''
But, said Roberts, TQL is especially valuable as the military downsizes.
One major example is the nuclear refueling and overhaul of the carrier Enterprise. The three-year overhaul, at a cost of $1.5 billion, was accomplished at Newport News Shipbuilding with fewer people and a savings of $6.5 million.
It started when workers decided that the ``red tag'' system - used to identify ship areas where work is in progress - was both cumbersome and a safety hazard. Under that system, it could take 11 days for tags to be hung out after work documents were filled out. Such delays often meant workers were unable to keep up with their work load.
After TQL sessions in which workers were involved, a computer replaced manual paperwork. The 11 days were reduced to three and a 60-person division was reduced to 36 workers.
TQL - also known as TQM, for total quality management - has been just as enthusiastically embraced by the Coast Guard.
It was used to reduce the paperwork and administrative burdens of rescue crews and stations, said Cmdr. Daniel Mussatti, chief of reserve training in the 5th Coast Guard District. Quality management teams met once or twice monthly for six months to analyze data collected by crews in the field.
``We found that paperwork was being done for which the purpose had expired. The culture of the station had kept it alive,'' Mussatti said. ``Once we did away with and simplified the work, we saved thousands of staff hours that they could devote to training instead of pushing paper.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/Staff
Some Norfolk Naval Base departments hope to get rid of paperwork by
next year. Cmdr. George Howard, left, and Capt. John Gorman consult
with Robert Bollenbacher and Bob LaBrecque of Delfin Systems in
Virginia Beach.
by CNB