Were it not for my status as a United Airlines Premiere Flyer that allowed me to bypass a seemingly endless security line, I would have missed my 6:18 AM flight from San Diego to Atlanta. Airport security lines with one hour and longer waits are apparently very typical at peak travel times in San Diego as they are in many other large airports. These lines are government waste. Any manufacturing leader, indeed anyone trained in thinking about processes, could improve the efficiency of the US airline security system. A thoughtful reinvention could easily maintain safety while lowering federal employee cost as well as the traveler’s indirect costs – lost productivity from feeling  sleepy all day from having to get in line at 4:45 AM for a 6:18 AM flight, not to mention the waiting time itself. Step one en route to a better…