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Knowledge operations managers lead the way

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. La Meisha Davis and Senior Airman Antiqua Kelley
  • 59th Medical Support Squadron
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Air Force senior leaders in the knowledge operations management career field recently recognized KOM personnel assigned to Wilford Hall Medical Center for their outstanding work in realigning information managers under one central office.

Prior to 2008, the 59th MDW KOMs were called information managers. Similar to other organizations, their career field was consolidated with personnelists. The KOMs primary duties centered on a different career field, and focused on one of their core functions, records management. Now, with the new workforce restructure, KOMs perform their primary job functions of supporting the entire medical wing.

KOMs provide assistance in workflow management, records management, content management, official mail communications and career field training. Their office provides support to almost 6,600 customers, across seven groups and 26 squadrons.

"The KOMs have their own Microsoft Office SharePoint Server located in WHMC and they are very creative and thriving while maximizing the use of emerging technology to provide exceptional service to the 59th Medical Wing," said Chief Master Sgt. Johnny Green, Air Education and Training Command functional manager for the KOM career field.

In 2009, the Client Systems and KOM Workforce Restructure Strategy directed the entire Air Force to centralize and consolidate KOMs. While most units were undergoing the KOM restructure, the medical wing was already benefiting from the strategic reorganization.

Some of the success stories experienced here include enhanced standardized business processes, cross utilization training and job rotations allowing professional growth and development by rotating in the core areas of the career field. Additionally, KOM personnel used their career field skill sets to manage video teleconferencing centers becoming better prepared for deployments.

"It shows where the 3D0 career field (Knowledge Operations Management) is heading and the 59th MDW is at the tip of the spear," Chief Green said.

The KOMs are the first line of support for all SharePoint issues. In January 2010, they assisted with the migration to the advanced SharePoint Enterprise version; moving more than 200 sites, updating 6,000 users, creating more than 300 security groups, and transferring 15,000 documents. They have become proficient at creating workflows, managing permissions, and constantly enhancing the look, feel and functionality of the WHMC Intranet. The KOMs have been given responsibility for trouble ticket issues related to SharePoint and use a SharePoint interface to relay updates and information through e-mail.

Among the projects the KOMs direct at WHMC is the Evaluations Management System. The EMS process reduces the workload associated with the electronic routing of performance reports and decorations. The KOMs created their own version of electronic evaluation processing in 2008 that helped save an average of one hour per report.

The KOM Records Management team provides support to all 59th MDW units and serves as the liaison between Lackland AFB's records management and the 59th MDW functional area records managers. Trained and qualified KOMs perform functional area records management duties. They corrected a five-year lapse in records management in preparation for the wing's 2009 Unit Compliance Inspection.

The activity distribution office at WHMC provides an ideal experience to strengthen skills and knowledge of mailroom procedures.

The 59th MDW processes nearly 29,000 incoming and outgoing packages and letters monthly. The KOMs created a local tracking database in SharePoint to account for packages and instantly notify customers of packages to be picked up. In addition, they established local instructions to outline the duties and responsibilities of the ADO to properly manage the large amounts of mail.

"WHMC's support of the Air Force KOM Workforce Restructure Strategy was vital to the KOM's innovation and use of emerging technology to efficiently and effectively support the wing," said Chief Master Sgt. Clifford Massey, Joint Basing San Antonio KOM functional manager.

"It's a testimony to what our KOM personnel can achieve with leadership support and the opportunity to perform our core duties and perform our core duties and responsibilities," Chief Massey added.