Gen. McDew presents Commander’s Innovation Showcase Award

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. – Air Force Gen. Darren W. McDew, commander, U.S. Transportation Command, presented the Commander’s Innovation Showcase Award and honorable mentions for the third quarter on Oct. 18, 2016.

The Innovation Showcase was established in 2012 to recognize USTRANSCOM teams that combine a focus on the Commander’s Priorities with collaboration and innovation to solve problems for the warfighter. The commander and leadership team review award nominations quarterly from across the command, USTRANSCOM components, and subordinate command, selecting one overall winner and up to four honorable mentions.

McDew opened the ceremony thanking everyone for their submissions and thanking the supervisors for taking the time to recognize their people’s hard work and ideas. He read all 23 submissions stating he was “impressed more and more with the clarity, involvement, work, and effort that goes into these submissions.”

This quarter’s Innovation Showcase trophy was awarded to the 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (AMXS) Innovation Team from Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The team built an innovation conduit from front line airmen directly to decision makers. To date, 121 commander-approved innovations have been implemented with 22 more in progress.

Many of the innovations are inquiries to change and improve current equipment or tools. For example, the 62 AMXS has traditionally used wooden chocks with cotton rope that degrade quickly from a combination of daily usage and Washington weather. With guidance from the equipment technicians, plastic chocks with nylon rope are being phased in as existing chocks require replacement. This effort alone has a potential 10-year cost savings of $154,600.

To date, these innovations have saved more than 2,000 man hours and $4,700 through trust and innovation. The team estimates an annual time savings of 5,400 man hours and a $24,000 cost avoidance. 2nd Lt. Sean Stephens accepted the award. Stephens spoke about the running list of innovations they keep posted, tracking where ideas are in the approval and implementation process.

The published list raises innovation awareness, encouraging a change in the way airmen are thinking of day-to-day operations. Stephens proudly accepted the trophy stating, “This award is for the airmen.” 

Read more about the winning team from Joint Base Lewis-McChord:

http://www.mcchord.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/956743/62-amxs-win-ustranscom-innovation-award

There were three Honorable Mentions this quarter:

•    The Transportation Discrepancy Report (TDR)/Request for Equitable Adjustment (REA) Claims Fusion Cell earned an honorable mention for creating a cross functional team that developed a single database of TDRs and REAs and standardized TDR and REA processing. The Fusion Cell team has investigated and resolved more than $150 million in outstanding REA and TDR actions.

•    The Military Sealift Command Civil Service Mariner Force Management Office and Human Resources Office received an honorable mention for filling vacancies by offering part-time employment during peak seasons. Eleven vacancies were filled through part-time hires. This part-time workforce creates potential to create a civilian reserve capacity for surge hiring. 

•    The 22nd Air Refueling Wing, 22d Communications Squadron, Network Operations Team, from McConnell Air Force Base was awarded an honorable mention for developing a new process to secure and defend the Air Force Transportation portion of the Department of Defense Information Network. The team secured and patched more than 3,500 systems in under a week, beating the 60-day enterprise standard timeline by 90 percent.

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