Edwards civilian nets $10,000 for 'IDEA'

Published June 12, 2008
By Senior Airman Stacy Sanchez
95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Saving the Air Force more than $1 million, an ordnance inspector with the 412th Maintenance Squadron received $10,000 on June 11 for an idea submitted to the Innovative Development through Employee Awareness program.

Robert Watts' idea was to allow the egress shop here to repair F-16 Fighting Falcon canopies instead of sending them out to off-base depot shops.

"Procedures before did not allow us to make changes to a canopy or to order any part to fix it ourselves," Mr. Watts said. "My suggestion to the IDEA program will allow us to get the job done locally and save Air Force money."

The IDEA program is an avenue for active-duty military and civilians to submit ideas on making things better or smarter for the Air Force, which can save military money.

When Mr. Watts came up with his idea, he first discussed it with his supervisor. After his supervisor's approval, he submitted his idea to the IDEA program online.

"Mr. Watts's idea was a typical example of putting in an idea that has long-term savings for the Air Force," said Steve McQueen, IDEA program manager. "His proposal, in a nutshell, allowed a piece of instrumentation to be repaired locally versus sent back to the depot or buying new parts. They can now repair a component locally at a fraction of what it would have cost to send it out for repairs."

When Mr. Watts submitted his idea through the IDEA program, he knew his idea would get accepted, but he said he did not expect to be rewarded with $10,000.

"I knew I had a strong idea, but I never did the cost analysis to see how much we would be saving," Mr. Watts said. "I didn't think that far ahead. Somebody did though, and now I can see that it costs the Air Force a lot of money to send these components out for repairs."

From the moment Mr. Watts went online and submitted his idea, it took about six months for the idea to get approved through all levels, Mr. McQueen said.

"Six months is not that long of a period when you are receiving a check for $10,000," Mr. McQueen said. "I am not an expert in any one career field, so it is hard for me to determine in the beginning if an idea will ever get accepted. Once Mr. Watts' idea went to the main depot level and it came back approved, I knew this idea was going far."

Mr. McQueen said Mr. Watts is an example of the possibilities that can happen when people help the Air Force.

"I definitely encourage people to submit their ideas," Mr. McQueen said. "The IDEA program is not structured where you have to just submit an idea that saves money. It can actually be an idea that saves time that doesn't have any tangible benefits like Mr. Watts' idea. Anytime you submit an idea that doesn't result in savings for the Air Force, we will still pay for that intangible benefit."

Not knowing of the large savings to the Air Force, and the large amount of money coming his way, Mr. Watts said he only thought about how his idea would save Air Force money, time, material and shipping of these F-16 canopies.

"I was all grins and smiles when I found out about the money," Mr. Watts said. "I have been doing this job since 1984, and this is the largest amount I have ever heard of someone receiving. I definitely encourage other to submit their ideas"

In the past five years, Mr. Watts is the first Edwards member to receive $10,000, the highest amount of money a person could possibly receive for an idea.

"Edwards receives about 30 ideas every year that get approved," Mr. McQueen said. "If somebody comes up with an idea, they can log onto CenterNet and click on our 'IDEA' link. Once you have an account, you can submit your ideas."

Mr. Watts said people should not get discouraged if their idea does not get approved the first time around. His idea was disapproved, but after stronger justifications were added, it was accepted.

"The way I see it is that a process will never change if you don't submit your idea," Mr. Watts said. "The person doing the actual work on a certain task knows the process best, so they are the experts at knowing how to improve something and making it better for the Air Force."

For more information about the IDEA program, call Mr. McQueen at 277-2082.