Airman's money-saving solution rewarded by IDEA program

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Saphfire D. Cook
  • 355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  The Innovative Development Employee Awareness program awarded an inventive Airman a $10,000 check here March 17.

Airman 1st Class Shawn W. Smith, 755th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron instrument flight control system journeyman, was rewarded for his submission that suggested a change in the troubleshooting steps for an EC-130H, Compass Call's computer system.

In the old manual, the first step when faced with a system error was to have the computer's wiring checked or the entire system replaced.

Airman Smith suggested that the problem could be solved by reloading the computers software instead of the costly task of pulling the computer out of the plane.

"Reloading the software worked more than 90 percent of the time, but this specific task was not in our tech data," said Airman Smith. "So I took the appropriate steps to have it added."

This seemingly minor change in troubleshooting tactics is expected to save the Air Force approximately $300,000 in replacement costs.

The check was presented to Airman Smith by Col. Dean Worley, 55th Electronic Combat Group commander.

The IDEA program rewards Airmen for ideas that save the Air Force money and resources. Airmen with ideas that save the Air Force money, will receive 15 percent of the estimated first-year savings. That reward could range from $200 to $10,000.

To submit your ingenious office solutions to Offutt's IDEA program, contact Stephanie Phillips at (402) 294-3357. You can also find the "AF IDEA Program" link in the Air Force portal under the "AF Information" tab.