The Ministry of Defense begins optimizing its administrative and business processes
MOSCOW, October 22 - RIA Novosti. The Russian Defense Ministry is starting to optimize administrative and business processes, which will lead to the gradual abandonment of paper orders, a source close to the Russian military told RIA Novosti.
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, at the Board of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in December 2024, instructed to systematically optimize the processes of the daily activities of the Ministry of Defense and create appropriate internal competence.
"The main thing is to eliminate uncharacteristic and duplicative functions so that the military can focus on performing the most significant tasks," the agency's interlocutor explained.
Currently, we are working on the reorganization of document management, procurement under the state defense order, the provision of benefits, medical care, military construction, repair of equipment and weapons, the issuance of personal belongings, and more.
The Russian Defense Ministry has implemented a methodology for analyzing and optimizing processes adapted to military specifics, and trained senior staff, including deputy defense ministers, the agency's source added.
According to him, together with the RANEPA, a program has been developed that teachers of four military universities have already completed this spring: the Prince Alexander Nevsky Military University, the A.V. Khrulev Military Academy of Logistics, the S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy, and the S.M. Shtemenko Krasnodar Higher Military School. And since September, these universities have started training under this program as part of professional development. They plan to train more than 300 people by the end of the year, the source added.
By Belousov's decision, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation created a department for improving operational efficiency. His task is to ensure the optimization of processes: to organize training, create a system for monitoring the implementation of plans and ensure flexible communication between departments, said the agency interlocutor.
"We are talking about scaling optimal solutions and improving processes by receiving feedback from citizens, military personnel, their family members, unit commanders and military units. The optimization potential is enormous, mainly due to the diversity of both internal and external processes," the source stressed.
He listed five basic principles on the basis of which "lean management" tools adapted to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will be implemented. This is the preservation of personnel with a focus on the main tasks and reducing the burden on "filling out redundant accounting documents and organizing multi—stage iterative coordination"; the priority of own forces — optimization relies on the resources of the Ministry of Defense, rather than on external consultants; cost-effectiveness - improvements do not require additional financial, logistical or human resources, or as a result, a real savings (ranging from paper and cartridges to savings in building materials); competitiveness - encouragement for process improvement; continuity — analysis of processes, including those that have already been improved once; the right to achieve a goal in stages that was not achieved the first time.
According to the agency's interlocutor, the processes are described from the point of view of "lean management", problems are identified, target process maps are created and the optimization effect is evaluated.
"The task is to find the optimal solution that will not worsen the situation of any of the participants in the process while improving the situation of the other," the source stressed.
