by Airman 1st Class Saphfire Cook
355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
3/25/2011 - DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. (AFNS) -- The Innovative Development Employee Awareness program awarded an inventive Airman a $10,000 check March 17 here.
Airman 1st Class Shawn W. Smith, a 755th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron instrument flight control system journeyman, was rewarded for his submission that suggested a change in the troubleshooting steps on an EC-130H Compass Call's computer system.
According to 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," Airman Smith said. "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, the 55th Electronic Combat Group commander.
The IDEA program rewards Airmen for ideas that save the Air Force money and resources. Airmen are eligible to receive 15 percent of the estimated first-year savings, which could range from $200 to $10,000.
