New management tool helping Reserve units figure out which self-assessment checklists to use

Published May 28, 2013
By Lt. Col. Lisa M. Craig
Air Force Reserve Command Inspector General's Office

Citizen Airman/June 2013 -- For units throughout the Air Force, an important part of the process of preparing for an inspection is the self-assessment. Units spend a great deal of time and effort evaluating their various processes and procedures to make sure they are in compliance with regulations and requirements, and demonstrate they are ready to perform their mission.

One of the biggest problems units face in determining how to best assess their compliance through self-assessment is figuring out what checklists to use. Air Force Reserve Command is doing something to address this continuing problem and identify specific checklists that everyone can use to prepare for an inspection.

During an Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century event, AFRC inspector general officials developed an idea for a standardized tool that everyone within the command can use to assess their level of compliance. Since that time, the Checklist Identification Management Tool has continued to evolve beyond the test phase to the point that it is gaining widespread acceptance.

The underlying philosophy and stated purpose of the project is "build, validate and institute in a customized, specific way with buy-in and accountability from and for all elements of the AFRC enterprise," said Col. Carlos Halcomb, chief of the Inspection Division with the IG office and former inspector general at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. He leads the team spearheading CIMT implementation.

"The current iteration of this tool can be likened to the Wright Flyer of the checklist identification process," he said.

After the AFS021 event got the ball rolling, the next step in CIMT development involved getting each of the directorates at AFRC headquarters to provide specific, detailed information to units throughout the command to help determine and identify existing checklists. Then, late last year, individual functional checklist managers went through all of the identified checklists to determine which ones apply to which types of units and mission sets. In addition, they validated questions and references on their checklists.
These checklists form the foundation of CIMT.

Next, the CIMT was ready for testing. The inspector general's office selected six test units based on the variety of their mission sets. In addition, the office made sure the test included both tenant and host units as well as classic and active associate units. The six were the 23rd Combat Communications Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, Calif.; 482nd Fighter Wing, Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla.; 916th Air Refueling Wing, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.; 419th FW, Hill AFB, Utah; 555th RED HORSE Squadron, Nellis AFB, Nev.; and 315th Airlift Wing, Joint Base Charleston, S.C.

Each of the six organizations took the CIMT and parsed the information out to their subordinate units for validation. They were looking to answer several key questions, including: Did each of the units agree that they should be held responsible for the identified set of checklists? Were there checklists missing? Were checklists identified that the unit did not believe it should assess? For any suggested changes, units were asked to provide a brief rationale.

In addition, the test units were asked to provide feedback, both positive and negative, on the tool itself, including layout and ease of use. The test lasted six weeks, and the overall response was positive.

"Thank you all for allowing us to be in on the beta test," said Lt. Col. Donna McNabb-Riley of the 315th AW. "We loved it and really put forth honest and thorough responses in return."

"The CIMT product sparked a lot of discussions in the unit," said Maj. Richard Wallace of the 23rd CBCS. "I found the tool beneficial and easy to use."

"On average, each of our 20 units added 15 new checklists to their Management Internal Control Toolset self-inspection dashboard prescribed by CIMT," said Capt. Kimberly Champagne of the 315th. "That's 15 checklists that we did not know we were supposed to be running. Adding the new checklists brought a lot of confidence in the tool. Now the units can run a successful self-assessment program without wondering if they are missing something."

After the test phase was completed, the functional checklist managers in each of the AFRC directorates reviewed all of the unit checklists selections and inputs. After this final validation step, units now know exactly what programs AFRC inspectors will assess to determine compliance based on the governing directives.

Revalidation of CIMT should only occur after a full compliance cycle is complete, an existing unit is re-missioned, a new unit is activated or a significant change in Air Force instruction requirements.

Now the task is to implement CIMT across AFRC's 80-plus wings, direct reporting units, geographically separated units and detachments. The command IG is looking at using existing SharePoint technologies to take CIMT from a single unit-driven spreadsheet to a more dynamic online push/pull capability.

Explaining how units might use this online tool, Capt. Sharon Spudic, one of AFRC's Self-Assessment Program managers, said it would be helpful to "think of it in terms of a sporting event tournament bracket in reverse. Units will select answers to a series of questions as they drill down to a 'generic' set of checklists. From that they will customize which of those actually apply to their unit. Functional checklist managers will validate and confirm these selections."

Spudic said that using a "crawl, walk, run analogy, the building and initial test phase of the tool was crawl; SharePoint implementation and deployment throughout AFRC is walk; and full utilization and integration of this tool into MICT is run."

"It may be a long while until we run, but the advancement of this tool within AFRC should provide the Air Force enterprise a basis to build similar models for other commands and grow this concept to its full potential," she said.

"From the Wright Flyer to the space shuttle ... where does CIMT have to potential to take us?" Halcomb said.

Check it Out: New management tool helping Reserve units figure out which self-assessment checklists to use