Lean Tools Used in Iraq

By Joe Sutton

Joe Sutton works in IES information technology on a team that keeps IES networked across the state. He used his technical skills and what he knows about lean when he was recently deployed to Iraq. This is his story.

In June 2007, I was called to active duty in the Army Reserves. I was deployed as a Chief Warrant Officer and assigned to a Signal Battalion from Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico. A Chief Warrant Officer in the Army is a technical expert in a particular field. In this case, I was a Data Technician, providing support for operating systems and networking for the base helpdesk. We spent three weeks in Puerto Rico, team building and updating our skills. We then moved to Texas to train for the deployment to Iraq. On Sept. 11, 2007, we flew to Camp Beuhring, Kuwait, to begin our movement up to Mosul, Iraq.

My unit was sent overseas to run the network and provide help-desk support for seven of the local bases. Upon arriving at our base, I developed several initiatives to work on during our short stay. I was responsible for managing two help desks at two different bases, supporting more than 4,000 users.

I came up with:

We implemented tools, including an Excel spreadsheet connected to Remedy, to measure the time it takes to complete a help ticket. This time was used to measure our process. The above initiatives reduced our help tickets from a week turn-around down to 24 hours on average, with most calls being done within 6 hours.

For the first initiative, we utilized a custom DVD that installed all the software, drivers, and usernames and passwords required by the computer. We modified and updated a checklist for each computer to verify all the steps were completed: all software installed, usernames and passwords changed, and correct device drivers installed.

SOP

For the second initiative, we assembled a Standard Operating Procedures book. It included background information as to why we do something a certain way and any past experiences we have had with an issue. It also listed the steps needed to accomplish a task, whether it was creating a user account, moving a user account from one base to another, adding a computer to the network, etc.

Previously this information may have been communicated by word of mouth. Often, information was changed and not communicated, or people forgot the procedures. This book recorded information as to why a procedure was done a certain way. This will help future help desk personnel to improve the process by seeing what was done previously.

After this book was assembled, our problems were greatly reduced. The technicians supported the customer by having a reference guide to answer questions and know what to do when there was a violation. Several help desk technicians expressed their appreciation for the book. If they had a question on a procedure, they could look it up quickly and get the right information entered into the computer or help ticket. This procedures book helped to decrease the amount of time it took to close out a help call.

Lean’s 5S

For the third initiative, we looked at the layout of the office. We then looked at the equipment flow to see if there was a way to improve it. We also noticed and corrected some safety hazards, such as a fire alarm missing a battery, a missing fire alarm, discharged and missing fire extinguishers, and a poor evacuation route.

We started with cleaning out an unusable bathroom to give us some more room to store our equipment and provide a space to perform infrequent tasks. This allowed our frequent tasks to be performed in a common space.

Next, we moved the incoming fiber cable to the relocated network switch in the back room and re-ran the networking cables through conduit to the needed location. This office layout reorganization accomplished a cleaner look, network separation of wires for two different networks, a smoother work flow, a more efficient use of resources and space, and a safer evacuation route in case of an emergency.

In summary, I was able to use the skills I learned at IES to improve the working environment at the help desk for the soldiers and contractors in Iraq. This initiative allowed us to process more than 1,400 tickets in one month, the third largest amount throughout the country.

Site Visit

When Brigadier General Spano, in charge of the network operations in Iraq, did a site visit in December 2007, he was impressed with what our unit was doing and asked for our recommendations to improve the network operations. We recommended Standard Operating Procedures be sent to all the help desks, so everyone would be doing the same job.

We also recommended that there be a common baseline (image) used on computers through the country. This will allow a person or unit moving from one base to another to be operational within a few hours instead of a few days. He took our recommendations and instructed the Enterprise Operations (Top Level Help Desk) to work on our recommendations. They started working on them in April 2007, a month before we left Iraq. They requested documentation and baselines from throughout the theatre to create a standard baseline.