4th CMS Airman earns $10k through IDEA program

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Tammie Moore
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  There are bad ideas. There are good idea. A 4th Component Maintenance Squadron staff sergeant had a good one; an idea that led to a $10,000 payday.

Staff Sgt. Jonnie Deitz, an aerospace propulsion journeyman, is the most recent member of the Seymour Johnson community to receive an Innovative Development Through Employee Awareness Program payout.

The IDEA Program, awards Airmen with smart proposals that lead to improvements or monetary savings payments based on the merits of their recommendation. Sergeant Deitz idea could save the Air Force $359,000.

"I was very excited and in shock," Sergeant Deitz said. "I think I actually screamed and danced a little when I heard about the payout. My supervision said with the data they figured I may get $2,000. We all were amazed with the amount."

Sergeant Deitz submitted an idea to change the cleaner used on augmentor fuel controls based on her experiences with fuel control engine stall. In researching the problem, she learned there was an environmentally friendly general purpose cleaner that could replace the petroleum-based cleaner being used at her shop.

After forming her idea, Sergeant Deitz had to sell it; which Ms. Williams feels is the most difficult part of the IDEA Program.

"A lot of times, IDEAs have been submitted but the submitter does not have the information or documentation to back it up," said Tynisha Williams, 4th Force Support Squadron base IDEA program manager. "In order to sell your IDEA, you have to quantify the numbers with information like how much will it save the Air Force; how much the process used to cost compared to how much it will cost if your IDEA is implemented."

In order to sell her idea, Sergeant Deitz ran controlled tests to determine if the new cleaner could save the Air Force money.

"Once we found out about the (environmentally friendly cleaner), we filled out a waiver to test it on our controls," she said. "We cleaned 83 AFCs (using the new cleaner) on about half of them, and found that the pass rate was about five percent higher, and the cleaning time was cut in half."

Given the scope of her idea, Sergeant Deitz was not able to test the process alone; she received help from her office throughout the process.

"My flight helped a lot," she said. "With the amount of AFCs we cleaned, there was a lot of work to be done. This was also my first time ever doing an Air Force Technical Order 22 or the IDEA program so my supervision helped me with the paperwork."

Rewards for the IDEA Program have been given to individuals from many different Air Force career fields.

"IDEAs should be submitted that show some type of insight on how the Air Force can increase productivity by doing things cheaper, faster and better," Ms. Williams said. "If a person notices something in their office they have been doing that costs the Air Force thousands of dollars but they have an idea on how it can be done cheaper, then they should submit those ideas! And it does not have to be just inside of their office. They can look at other offices and make suggestions on how to save money or manpower by changing processes or adding equipment. Some ideas have been submitted on safety issues which are non-tangible but still have a payout of $200. And, like the $10,000 award for Sergeant Deitz, some are changes to a technical order."

To submit an idea, log on to the IPDS Web site at https://ipds.randolph.af.mil/ipds. Click on "Start a new IDEA" and thoroughly describe the problem or improvement opportunity. Once the IDEA is submitted Ms. Williams will review it to determine if it meets the program's guidelines. She then forwards it through the program's approval chain. If an idea earns a payment, it is usually paid within 45 days of being submitted to finance for processing.

For more information about the IDEA Program, call Ms. Williams at 722-4332.