Working smarter and not harder was the goal of the Robotics Process Automation Roadshow hosted by Robins Air Force Base, Georgia.

The event was held at Central Georgia Technical College in Warner Robins, Georgia.

 Members of Team Robins participated in the week-long training course, to learn how robotic processes can be used to automate repetitive and time consuming tasks.

“We want to take the most mundane part of their jobs and allow them to innovate around it so that they can shift their focus to higher order work and become more effective,” said Steve Holt, RPA Roadshow instructor. “Our goal is to have useable automations that can be in production for their individual teams, them individually and perhaps the Air Force overall.”

RPA software is used to create “bots” that automate repetitive daily tasks. Publicizing RPA and providing training for it has been a focus for various Air Force digital initiatives.

“We are trying to train the trainers and bring new technology to Robins,” said Juanson Pitt, 78th Communications Directorate Special Missions branch chief. “Automation is important because that is where we are going to in the future. Robots can complete time consuming tasks in seconds instead of minutes or hours.

“We are not looking to remove people, but we want to help be more efficient,” continued Pitt. “The goal is to see if any of these processes can be duplicated and go Air Force-wide because this isn’t just about helping Robins.”

Attendees included representatives from the 78th Civil Engineering Group, Air Force Sustainment Center Financial Management-Robins Cost and Economics Division and the 78th Communications Directorate.

“The pandemic taught us we need to be flexible and agile and this is one way to do that,” said Tekquell Watson, 78th Communications Directorate Special Missions Division chief. “Automating systems take away the manual intervention, reduces time, and increases productivity and that increases customer satisfaction and gives Airmen a sense of accomplishment.”