(National Guard Bureau: Arlington, VA) -- National Guard officials have implemented a new program designed to streamline operations and, in the end, cut costs and improve efficiency in day-to-day activities.

The continuous process initiative, or CPI, combines the Army's lean Six Sigma program and the Air Force's Smart Operations for the 21st Century program into one entity, says Col. B.J. Marshall, the CPI director at the National Guard Bureau.

Both programs essentially performed the same function of evaluating programs for efficiency and waste and streamlining them if necessary, says Marshall.

For that reason, many adjutants general questioned the need for two programs.

"Our [adjutants general] have been saying for years 'Why do I have two languages and two different programs? How do I manage this?'" says Marshall. "So now, we've combined them. An Air Guard person will be able to mentor an Army Guard project and vice versa."

Additionally, the new joint initiative combines the most useful pieces from the separate Army and Air Force programs. Both programs focus overall on streamlining processes and eliminating waste, but each one focuses on a different aspect. For the Army, the focus was on removing variations and for the Air Force it was removing waste.

"And really, by doing both is where you get the most bang for your buck," she says.

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