Leadership is big business in 402nd Maintenance Wing Published Jan. 25, 2008 78th ABW/PA Robins Air Force Base, GA -- Lt. Col. John Bryan, Team Robins Public Affairs director, recently sat down with Brig. Gen. Mark Atkinson, 402nd Maintenance Wing commander. Their discussion centered on the wing's priorities for 2008, and the direction it needed to go in to get there. Q. It's been an interesting first six months for you and the wing, since you took command June 15, 2007. With the Air Force Materiel Command LSET inspection in September 2007 and subsequent "marginal" rating, to the public commentaries in Local AFGE 987's paper, The Union Advocate, to tighter budget restraints for fiscal 2008 and beyond, where does the 402nd MXW go from here? A. This job is a dream come true for an aircraft maintainer and it most certainly has been an interesting first six plus months. But, it has been exciting and inspiring at the same time. Calendar year 2007 was a tremendous year for this wing in many ways. The LSET inspection results were not what we had worked for, but they highlighted many areas where we can now continue to focus our energy--particularly safety practices and the need for every individual to put workplace safety at the top of their personal agenda. Some of our key aircraft production numbers were outstanding--- organic aircraft due date performance ended the year at 97 percent, and not mission capable hours were down from 381,000 hours to 307,000. So, despite some of the bad press we actually had a good year in many ways. I'm proud to be a part of it all and to have the opportunity to work with such talented people. Q. Now, you mentioned the LSET inspection, and I understand you're working hard at a re-inspection on certain areas for next month. What's different this time and why do you think the MXW will be ready? A. The LSET team came in and validated concerns expressed by our local quality assurance program inspectors. When you read the report there is one common signal throughout; the need for individuals to take personal responsibility for wearing personal protective equipment and to follow prescribed safety practices. This wing has almost 8,000 hard-working patriots who come to work each day wanting to do their best for America and to support the war fighter. But there are many moving parts and sometimes the smallest details overlooked can be the most costly or dangerous. I believe in our VPP, or Voluntary Protection Program--which ties directly to our overall safety efforts. In fact, we spend about a million dollars a year providing Personal Protective Equipment for our folks, because safety really is my biggest concern. Time and again the LSET emphasized many safety issues, so we're really putting some time and effort into it for the re-inspection and beyond. In the end, I'm confident this wing will not only improve its overall rating, but continue to improve across the board in regards to our overall business practices. Ultimately, it's about competing in a tough marketplace. Q. You've mentioned before the need to make changes in the wing--not just for the LSET re-inspection but to stay competitive. How have you done that? A. Leadership is not always a popularity contest. I'm a chief operating officer if you will, of a $1.4B "company" with more workers than many large corporations have. One of our biggest expenses every year is our labor budget. I'm encouraging folks to know the impact they have on our operations and put forth their best effort at being productive, showing up for work on time, and to understand the cost to the organization when our return on labor investment does not match our expenses. We recently estimated that in one area alone the cost of people showing up late for work exceeded $18K every 15 minutes. That's real money we spent but got nothing in return. Every year, we start out with about $10M in workman's compensation expenses be-cause folks got hurt on the job -- and it makes us 27 out of 40 large centers in the Department of Defense in regards to lost workdays--we don't want to be on the list at all. I've challenged people to look outside their comfort zones, and to earn their paychecks everyday! I have also asked for inputs from our teams, and from the local union as well. After all, I don't have the copyright on 'good ideas'. So when a good recommendation does come along, I fight diligently to make it happen. Q. Let's talk about being competitive. Specifically, how do WR-ALC and the wing stack up to the competition and what must we do to be the best? A. I've always said we want to be "the provider of choice", which means more workload coming to Robins and certainly more great paying jobs for Middle Ga. But, it's a competitive world out there and we must continue to put cost control measures in place---lower our labor costs, stay within our overtime budget and put real scrutiny on our contracts. We have to operate just like any business on the outside of the Robins ALC fence operates and we must compete favorably in the marketplace. We have to demonstrate we are the best provider in terms of safety, efficiency, cost and quality support for the warfighter. We're changing some of the ways we've done business in the past. Q. Do you have any closing comments? A. I'm truly amazed at the hard-working professionals I see around this wing everyday. And, I want people to have great careers, enjoy their time serving our country, love coming to work at this ALC everyday, and leave at the end of the day knowing they made a difference by their efforts today. With all of us working together, the maintenance wing will become the manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul provider of choice for our warfighters.