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IDEA Program Awards $10,000 for Ingenuity
Posted 6/20/2012 Updated 6/20/2012
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by Brett Sutherland
17th Force Support Squadron
6/20/2012 - GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- The Air Force IDEA Program encourages creative thinking and rewards individuals whose ideas improve the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of the Air Force, Department of Defense, and federal government operations.
Recent ideas were recognized by two innovative individuals at Kadena Air Base, Japan. Tech. Sgt. Richard Vaden, an 18th Civil Engineer Squadron heavy equipment operator, and retired Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Stephen Tucker, an 18th Maintenance Group Air Force engineering and propulsion equipment specialist, recently received a big pay out of $10,000 each for their ideas that saved the Air Force thousands of dollars in equipment and man-hours each year.
Vaden developed an innovation through the Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century program using a high-pressure water unit to blast away excess rubber deposits on flightlines, saving the Air Force roughly $277,000 annually. Tucker determined that running aircraft engine tests at 80 percent power burned 75 percent less fuel at 2,500 pounds of fuel per hour than by running engine tests at 100 percent power, saving the Air Force roughly $89,000.
Air Force personnel who would like to submit a cost savings initiative can contact their base IDEA program office for more information.
The Air Force IDEA Program pays up to $10,000 to anyone with a qualifying idea. Users can access the IDEA Program Data System (IPDS) from any Air Force computer at https://ipds.randolph.af.mil/. Just take a look around your work center. You may find an opportunity for improvement right where you work, or anywhere else on base.
All around the globe, the Air Force IDEA Program has made its mark. The statistics for FY11:
Total ideas submitted: 5767
Approved ideas: 1933
-- Validated Savings/Benefits: $48,740,353.91
-- Awards Paid: $1,066,714.00
All Air Force personnel are encouraged to submit their ideas, including innovations, patents and scientific achievements, to make operations more efficient, effective and economical. Individuals, teams and groups can submit their ideas as long as they provide a solution to a problem and state the expected benefits of its implementation.
For more information on the IDEA Program, call (325) 654-3808.
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