Tops in Quality

his year's winners in the President's Quality Award Program are helping debunk the myth that the public sector can't go head-to-head with private industry in terms of quality and performance. The program is the public-sector equivalent of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, given annually to top-performing private companies.

The PQA program, managed by the Office of Personnel Management, honors agencies that operate like well-oiled machines: efficient, productive and cost-effective. Applicants are reviewed in a three-phase process: a written application review, an on-site visit and a final evaluation by a panel of judges. The criteria are tough. This year no organization won the program's top honor, the Presidential Award for Quality. But nine agencies were honored for their success in quality customer service and continuous improvement. The winners:

AWARD FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

62nd Airlift Wing McChord Air Force Base, Washington
Annual budget: $137 million; Total employees: 6,459

With U.S. armed forces involved in a variety of military and humanitarian operations, the 62nd Airlift Wing has a critical mission: deploying military personnel and equipment to trouble spots around the world. In order to provide better service to other military units, the 62nd Airlift Wing has made improving its own operations a priority.

The organization started with the quality of life of its own personnel. Substandard housing units were replaced with 90 new homes. Dorm rooms were converted into visiting airman quarters that saved energy, space and money. A new computer system allows flight crews to access e-mail and keep in touch with their families.

The 62nd Airlift Wing also made several administrative improvements. For example, it transferred printed reports to online formats, saving 70 percent in paper costs. The in-flight refueling process was streamlined by reducing the number of required component parts. Switching to a charge-card based system of purchasing supplies on an as-needed basis, instead of stockpiling goods, eliminated excess warehouse space. Technicians were cross-trained to perform each other's jobs in preparation for manpower cuts. Hangars were modified to accommodate new planes as part of the Air Force's largest-ever military construction program. The Airlift Wing repainted corroding planes, saving $400,000 in the process.

National Security Agency/Central Security Service, Fort Meade, Md.
Annual budget: Classified; Total employees: Classified

Officials at the National Security Agency/Central Security Service keep quiet about the impact of their work on world affairs. But their actions speak for them.

By protecting our nation's most important secrets and ensuring the United States knows more than its adversaries, the agency prevents terrorist attacks, information warfare and other crises. NSA is the nation's cryptologic organization, charged with making and breaking codes. The CSS component of the agency was established in 1972 to unify cryptologic efforts in the Defense Department. NSA/CSS is also one of the most important centers of foreign language analysis and research in the government.

NSA/CSS employees have worked hard at improving the agency's internal operations since 1988. For example, the agency cut the time it takes to deliver vital information to the President or the National Security Council to less than 10 minutes. The agency is secretive by nature, but it has responded to public interest by creating a Web site that answers commonly asked questions about operations. Agency officials also created a program that encourages employees to share ideas for improving processes, policies and quality of work life.

Several improvements already have been implemented. For example, NSA/CSS cut $3.1 million a year in utility costs by minimizing energy consumption per gross square foot of office space. The agency has also implemented paper, metal, aluminum and electronics recycling programs. A partnership with American Express has increased traveling employees' customer satisfaction by 92 percent.

374th Airlift Wing Yokota Air Base, Japan
Annual budget: $67 million; Total employees: 5,014

The 374th Airlift Wing is the only airlift wing in the Far East, providing transportation for people and supplies to Defense Department agencies throughout the Pacific Theater. The organization has been able to perform its mission more effectively over the last six years, delivering the right thing to the right place at the right time, because officials have dedicated themselves to continuous quality improvement.

For example, by salvaging hardware from decommissioned power systems and reusing it in other units, the 374th Airlift Wing saved the Air Force more than $80,000. The organization has been recognized for its outstanding flight safety record and for its efficient engine repair center. Junior officers are being groomed for senior leadership positions through a new "officer shadowing" program. Through the organization's family readiness program, family members of deployed crews are contacted within 48 hours of deployment. The program helps reassure family and allows service members to focus on their missions, knowing their families are being informed.

In addition to improving flight operations, the 374th Airlift Wing has implemented quality improvements that benefit the local community. Several visitor control points, for example, were consolidated into one, reducing visitor pass issuance time from eight minutes to three minutes. The Fuji Flyer, a base newspaper, provides an open forum for community issues while a new "Security Manager's Bulletin" keeps personnel up to date on security issues. Among outreach efforts that have improved community relations, the base created a historic walking tour for local Japanese residents.

ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg , Fort Bragg, N.C.
Annual budget: $450 million; Total employees: 54,050

Fort Bragg, which provides housing and training for U.S. contingency forces, undertook a redesign that eliminated more than 300 jobs and closed excess facilities. The Army is now recommending the redesign process to all defense agencies. The installation saved $1.5 million in six months through improvements to its telephone service. Managers, previously not held accountable for telephone bills, are now charged on a fee-for-service basis. Fort Bragg also consolidated its community outreach efforts, designating one staff person to lead all activities.

Watervliet Arsenal, Watervliet, N.Y.
Annual budget: $50 million; Total employees: 875

Watervliet, the oldest continuously active arsenal in the United States, developed an automated data mart for personnel information that allows online access to employee records. The organization reduced procurement headaches by using credit cards for purchases under $2,500 and developed a way to rate contractors on their past performance to gain control over vendor quality. Watervliet officials encouraged employee suggestions for improvement ideas via regularly submitted requests-for-change and identified potential new sources of work by establishing a dedicated marketing office.

MERIT AWARD

Headquarters Fort Carson, Fort Carson, Colo.
Annual budget: $248 million; Total employees: 4,277

In its wide-ranging quality improvement effort, Fort Carson trained junior mechanics on advanced diagnostics and repair of tanks, saving $66.8 million since 1996. The organization developed a transmission test box that allows testing without having to remove transmissions from vehicles-yielding $236,000 in annual savings. The base is in the process of privatizing all current and future housing, modernizing existing housing units and constructing new ones. Other achievements include starting a program to recycle hazardous materials by centralizing their storage and distribution, cutting the time it takes to process finance documents and improving communications with a new system that identifies vehicles with the call signs of their assigned drivers.

Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, Ala. Annual budget: $52.8 million; Total employees: 600

The Army Engineering and Support Center provides a wide array of technically complex services around the world, including the design and construction of facilities for the missile defense programs and chemical demilitarization facilities in the United States and Russia. The center was honored for becoming vastly more efficient. Its accomplishments included streamlining maintenance repair by cutting contracting time, and increasing energy savings at Army installations by requiring contractors to design and maintain energy-efficient equipment. The center also improved and updated training requirements for employees and began using 360-degree performance evaluations.

PROGRAM FINALISTS

Defense Contract Management Command, New York, Staten Island, N.Y.
Annual budget: $11.3 million; Total employees: 187

The DCMC New York office administers contracts for defense customers in New York City and six lower New York counties, dealing with an average of 3,500 contracts at any given time.

The office has committed to a 24-hour turnaround time for response to customer complaints and developed an automated record-keeping workstation that allows representatives to analyze data from all team members in one place. It has centralized previously scattered functions, including quality assurance, delivery and support. And officials started a "lunch and learn" program to train employees on topics of interest during midday classes.

Defense Contract Management Command, Twin Cities Bloomington, Minn.
Annual budget: $15 million; Total employees: 258

The DCMC Twin Cities office purchases everything from computers and electronics to clothing and lumber for customers in Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Iowa and the eastern half of Nebraska.

The office has maintained high levels of performance while reducing staff by 40 percent. It established a contractor oversight process and brought together suppliers, customers and stakeholders to share best practices, reduce costs and improve processes. Officials developed a tracking system to collect and analyze performance data and started issuing simplified reports on performance weekly instead of monthly.