Sabers turn ideas into cash Published March 16, 2009 By Staff Sgt. Tammie Moore SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- There are bad ideas and there are good ones; however, there are also ideas that can lead to a $10,000 payday. The Innovative Development Through Employee Awareness Program, better known as the IDEA Program, awards smart proposals that lead to improvements or resource savings with monetary payments based on the merits of the contribution and benefits. Sabers have generated three ideas each worth $10,000 through the program in less than a year, said Tech. Sgt. Jesse Boyd, 52nd Fighter Wing IDEA Program manager. "Ideas can be submitted that make your job better, faster or cheaper. They are not limited to the work place. They can be for general safety." All military, Department of Defense civilian employees and contract personnel are eligible to participate in the IDEA Program. Individuals who are not paid by the DoD can also submit an idea; however, are not eligible for a payout. They can receive a certificate of appreciation. Calculations for payments are based on five percent of the projected first year's savings, not to exceed $10,000, Sergeant Boyd said. For ideas without tangible savings payments are capped at $200. "Each year I am given $32,000 for this program," Sergeant Boyd said. "If I don't spend this I have to give it back to the Air Force. My goal is to break the bank." Sergeant Boyd calls Master Sgt. James Pierce, "The Spangdahlem Idea Program King." Since 2001 Sergeant Pierce has submitted more than 50 ideas to improve maintenance processes for the C-17 Globemaster II. "I have earned about $15,000, which purchased my new motorcycle," said the 726th Air Mobility Squadron Maintenance Operations Center section chief. "So, taking the time to improve tasks pays off in many ways." The objective of the IDEA Program is to process ideas within 130 working days. "The suggestion program is not a new program," Sergeant Pierce said. "It has been around for many years but in a way is really grown; we have all heard of Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st century. AFSO 21 is the same thing, it's a standardized approach to improving what you do by removing waste; it all starts with ideas and people willing to follow through with them. AFSO 21 is the future; it will redefine our operations to accomplish the mission better, faster and on target." Sergeant Pierce's contributions to the IDEA Program have not only earned him cash, he is the Air Mobility Command nominee for the 2008 Air Force Exceptional Innovator Award. "The military today is really feeling the money crunch so we all have to do our part to reduce costs and sustain operations," Sergeant Pierce said. "I look at it as jobs, the more money I can save the better chance an Airman won't be forced out of the military due to costs. We all know where spending could have been done better, but most people just don't know how easy it is to improve things in our military to cut expenses and wasted time. Sometimes the smallest ideas have the largest impact and can save millions, so I tell people all the time to use the suggestion program; it's easy." The suggestion Sergeant Pierce is most proud of was the very first suggestion he ever submitted. "I was qualifying to operationally check C-17A engines when I noticed many steps that were excessive and caused safety problems," he said. "I got with my suggestion monitor on the process and then rewrote the entire safety procedures for a tailpipe fire on engine start and shutdown; all together it took me about two weeks to research and write. Once I submitted the idea I got an email that my suggestion were approved by AMC and Boeing Aviation." Sergeant Pierce said he believes the application process is easy. "In the aircraft maintenance world, we work with Technical Orders to direct every task we perform for consistency," he said. "When a deficiency is found in a T.O., a maintainer has the opportunity to submit an Air Force Technical Order Form 22. The form 22 is a suggestion form for correcting/improving aircraft maintenance procedures; one only needs to outline the found deficiency and recommended corrections. The suggestion form is then usually processed through maintenance group channels to the Major Command suggestion functional for review. Once a suggestion is approved, the submitter can then process the idea through the AF IDEA program and be paid a minimum of $200 or 10 percent of savings not to exceed $10,000." For more information about the IDEA Program, call Sergeant Boyd at 452-6112.