Project84 going strong Published Sept. 23, 2014 By Rebecca Amber Staff writer EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Since the launch of Project84 last October by Brig. Gen. Michael Brewer, 412th Test Wing commander, base leadership has received countless ideas on ways to save money. The top ideas are now recognized at each quarterly awards ceremony. Six Project84 submissions were recognized at the second quarter awards ceremony at the Base Theater Sept. 11. The top award for the quarter went to Lt. Col. Timothy Jorris, PhD, 412th Operations Group, Hypersonic Combined Test Force director, for his idea to improve efficiency through automated flight pay application. Every flyer in the Air Force is required to fill out an Individual Flight Pay Entitlements worksheet every month. Currently, the form is filled out by hand typically using pencil because it is subject to change. It's a process that Jorris describes as complex, time-consuming and error prone. "The consequence of a manually-computed error is for a flyer to be denied pay, or to be paid inappropriately. Either situation results in numerous hours by Finance and by the flyer to take the time and aggravation to resolve the pay discrepancy," said Jorris. Several years ago, Jorris developed an Excel version of the form to compute his own flight pay authorization. "I realized it would be useful for the Host Aviation Resource Management Office so I ensured it was compliant with the most recent Air Force Instruction. I added help within the application and I created a PowerPoint training module for how to use the software and handle unique flyer scenarios." As far as Jorris is aware, the form has been utilized at Edwards AFB as well as Fairchild AFB, Wash., but he hopes to see it eventually used Air Force-wide. The Flight Pay Computer is written in Visual Basic for Applications in Excel and is already locally verified, but he hopes to see it endorsed by the Air Force as an official replacement for the hand-written form. "It includes all of the information contained on the IBM Form Viewer form, it can export to a printer-friendly PDF file and it can conveniently track multiple flyers in a single file," said Jorris. "This implementation is all benefit at low risk and it merely needs assistance getting approved." The tutorial contains 21 examples from the Apr. 14 AFI 11-421, confirming its compliance for normal, grace period and six-month waiver scenarios. The software also computes the hours required to satisfy the entire grace period, which Jorris suspects is one of the most commonly asked questions mid-month. The cost savings in Jorris' idea are found primarily in man hours. "The automated form makes the monthly update process over 90% faster. What used to take a day or more can be accomplished in about an hour." One of the other nominees for the top Project84 idea, Staff Sgt. Garret Jacobs, 412th Maintenance Squadron, Dragons Aircraft Structures craftsman, suggested that each shop in Bldg. 1600 be allowed to control their swamp coolers individually as needed. "The swamp coolers run 24/7 in Building 1600. On average the inside of the building is 20 degrees cooler inside than it is outside. This morning it was 68 degrees outside and the building was probably colder than 50 degrees inside," said Jacobs. Jacobs noted that the most common summer energy conservation strategy he hears is to set thermostats to 78 degrees. "I have been told swamp coolers do not use that much energy, but when you are overcooling a building larger than two football fields the costs add up. I don't know the actual operating cost per kilowatt hour to cool this building, but if the goal is to save $84 a month, I would guess shutting of all the swamp coolers at night would easily save more than $84 a day." Jacobs noted, that last fall, employees were getting sick from being too cold before the swamp coolers were shut off for the winter. He has received confirmation that his idea will be implemented. "Waste should be trimmed out wherever reasonable. This will free up resources for areas in greater need, savings and hopefully make staying within annual budget an easier task," said Jacobs. Jorris added, "Project84 is important because cost savings can affect all of us, its benefits can reach beyond the immediate implementation organization." Some cost savings ideas however, reach beyond Edwards AFB requiring Air Force-wide solutions, much like Jorris' time-saving automated flight pay application. For those ideas, individuals can utilize the Airmen Powered by Innovation program, which serves as a follow-on program to institutionalize the success of the 2013 Every Dollar Counts campaign. During the campaign, 302 ideas submitted by Airmen were implemented by the Air Force, generating savings of $71 million and 24,000 hours annually. Airmen who wish to submit ideas through API may do so by going online to https://ipds.afpc.randolph.af.mil or by working with their local AFSO21 office. Locally, Project84's concept is to get everyone on Edwards to save $84 each month, which would ultimately save an excess of $11 million annually. Edwards employees can just click on the Project84 icon on their work computer to submit an idea to save money. The second quarter awards Project84 nominees were: Tech. Sgt. David Peralta, 412th Operations Group, for his idea to switch football/softball fields to synthetic grass Lt. Col. Timothy Jorris, 412th OG, for his idea to improve efficiency through an automated flight pay application Master Sgt. Jennifer Pittman, 412th Maintenance Group, for her idea to re-enforce an energy saving mindset through regular reminders Kenneth Hansing, 412th Test Engineering Group, for his idea to replace or remove old septic tanks at Bldg. 9505 and Bldg. 9508 Staff Sgt. Garret Jacobs, 412th Maintenance Squadron, for his idea to allow individual shops to control the swamp coolers in Bldg. 1600 as needed.