Improvements suggested by four employees of the 309th Maintenance Wing have saved the Air Force nearly $600,000 and earned them $30,000 through the Innovative Development through Employee Awareness -- IDEA -- program.
Honored were Slade Knightly, Nathan Dean and Lester Stone, 309th Commodities Maintenance Group; and Brian Wade, 309th Maintenance Support Group. The men received recognition certificates Jan. 5 from Mark Johnson, Ogden Air Logistics Center executive director.
Knightly, an engineer, sampled several sets of bearings before and after they had gone through the cleaning line, and noticed corrosion pits had formed on the roller interface. To alleviate the problem, he suggested changing the cleaning liquid from water to a solvent-based liquid, and incorporating a hot oil soak to initiate the cleaning sequence. The idea had a tangible savings of $411,839, and Knightly received a $10,000 award.
The idea generated by Stone and Dean, of the 531st Commodities Maintenance Squadron, created a savings of $79,043 by changing a code in the Impressa parts ordering system. Before, several hours were spent at the computer to create, print and scan an order. By changing the code, the need to print information on the ordered part was eliminated. The two men each received $5,000.
Wade noticed that silver was contained in hazardous waste streams the 309th Aircraft Maintenance Group generated while performing depot level repair on the F-22 and B-2. He proposed adding a silver reclamation program that would reduce hazardous waste disposal expenses and eliminate environmental liabilities. The proposal also generated money through the reclaimed silver. The idea saved the Air Force $96,039, and Wade received $10,000.
For more details on the IDEA program, contact Teri Gibby, program coordinator, at 777-0127; or visit the IDEA Program Data System at https://ipds.randolph.af.mil, to see ideas previously submitted.
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