Aviano Airman wins $10,000 IDEA award Published July 18, 2011 By Senior Airman Katherine Windish 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy (AFNS) -- The Innovative Development through Employee Awareness Program recently awarded an Aviano Air Base Airman $10,000, the highest reward available. Tech. Sgt. Rey Andrade, the 31st Operations Support Squadron aircrew flight equipment NCO in charge, received the award after solving a problem that cost the Air Force more than $158,000 annually. "I noticed that a part we buy regularly had jumped a great deal in price," Andrade said. "There was no reason for the price to go up so much and I thought it would be a good idea to look into it." The safety alert covers, a mandatory part of the parachutes Andrade packs as part of his duties, had inexplicably increased more than 400 percent in price. Andrade then attended a supply training course and learned about Zero Overpricing, a program designed to reduce overpricing in the Air Force and Defense Department and as a means of ensuring all Air Force materiel users are promoting more efficient use of funds by providing incentive through the IDEA program. After the course, Andrade filled out the requisite paperwork for the ZOP and submitted it through his chain of command to the Defense Logistics Agency, who subsequently opened an investigation. "It was discovered that the contract with the manufacturer stated there were four items in a package and the financial system was paying per item, rather than per package," said Katrina Thomas, Aviano's IDEA program manager. Over the last twelve-month period, the Air Force had bought 3,007 packages of this item at more than $70 per package - far more than should have been paid, she continued. "It literally 'pays' to look into things that don't look right," Andrade said. "Everyone knows that money is tight these days; we have to make sure we're spending the money we have wisely." The ZOP is one of many ways to earn money through the IDEA program. Personnel can submit everything from changes to technical orders to the location for a new stop sign. "The people at the lowest level see what's going on and are best able to make a determination on how processes can be fixed or made more efficient," Thomas said. "This program gives them the incentive to make the improvement and to do the work - they share in the profit." The IDEA program now uses a web-based automated system accessible through the Air Force Portal, the IDEA Program Data System, making everything from submission to evaluation simple. "It is an easy process," Thomas said. "The hardest part for most people is building up a strong package and being clear and specific in their justification. People who would like to submit an idea that will improve Air Force processes have to first identify what the current process is, how the process should be changed and what would be the overall benefit to the Air Force." Once this has been completed in the web-based system, the base's IDEA program manager passes the idea to the base functional advisor in that area for evaluation. The functional advisor then determines if the idea should be denied, approved at the base level or, if it is something that could benefit the whole Air Force, pushed to a higher level. If the idea is approved at any level, the submitter could be awarded up to $200 for intangible savings or 15 percent of the tangible first year's savings to the Air Force, not to exceed $10,000. "We have made so many improvements just from what people see needs to be fixed on a day-to-day basis in their regular duties," Thomas said. "This program is truly a benefit to the Air Force and its people."