PORTLAND AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Ore. -- The 142nd Fighter Wing and the Air National Guard are changing the way unit and work center inspections are conducted by using a web-based self-assessment tool called the Management Internal Control Toolset (MICT).
The Air Force Inspection System changed March 23, 2012 when Air Force Instruction (AFI) 90-201 was revised. These revisions signaled a fundamental shift in the inspection process by reducing the footprint and overhead of a traditional inspection team toward an agile, localized model with the benefit of technology.
"The inspection focus has changed to an ongoing and lean process, which is now standard across the Air Force," said Senior Master Sgt. Linda Baugher, 142nd Inspections Superintendent/MICT Manager.
The heart of the MICT system is a series of checklists and questions with AFI references regarding requirements for a unit or work center. As a group satisfies inspectable checklist items, the items are checked off in the MICT system, signifying compliance.
Section managers, supervisors and inspectors are the key wing personnel who will need to become familiar with the MICT system, according to a memo provided by Baugher.
With access to Air Force, higher headquarters, IG and local checklists, MICT serves as a one stop resource that replaces the inefficiencies of paper-based checklist binders with a more streamlined system. If any checklist items are revised by higher headquarters, updates are designed to be pushed directly to the MICT system with alerts highlighting all revisions, said Baugher.
During a commander's call on base Nov. 7, 2013, Col. Jeff Hwang, 142nd Fighter Wing Vice Commander, asked members to embrace the new process by answering MICT self-assessment questions truthfully in order to set an accurate baseline for inspectable items to be corrected in the future.
The baseline questions provide an initial snapshot to Wing leadership about where the unit stands and how much progress is required for total compliance. The self-imposed deadline for these initial baseline checklists for the 142nd Fighter Wing is the end of December, 2013.
The goal for the revised Air Force Inspection System is to shift personnel time and effort from "...cyclical inspection preparation to a more developed culture of localized, steady-state compliance and readiness. This requires great unit-level self-assessment responsibility and effectiveness," according to a recent Air Force research study of the new program.
The MICT application includes multiple training modules to help new users get up to speed on the system. Additional questions regarding the new inspection process or MICT can be addressed by the Wing IG staff.
The MICT website can be accessed at:https://mict.us.af.mil