317th Airlift Group: Developing a culture of innovation

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Charles V. Rivezzo
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Following a discussion at a senior staff meeting about encouraging innovation in the 317th Airlift Group, an initiative was launched to continue the Air Force's legacy of being a leap-ahead organization by highlighting Airmen caught in the act of innovation.

"Lots of people have great ideas," said Col. Walter Ward, 317th AG commander. "Not all are willing or empowered to turn ideas into action. 'Serial Innovators' is about highlighting the impact of empowered Airmen so others with game changing ideas and the heart to work will know we have a culture of Airmen excellence that supports them in their efforts to making a difference."

Innovation is defined as the creation of better or more effective products, processes, services, technologies, or ideas that are readily available to markets, governments and society.

Thus far, 317th AG officials nabbed two serial innovators and highlighted their personal efforts to threaten inefficiency, mediocrity and a business as usual attitude.

Staff Sgt. Jarrod Harris, 40th Airlift Squadron, the first serial innovator, corrected an error in technical order 1C-130J-9, Cargo Loading Manual, which prescribes procedures for C-130J cargo loading.

The procedure, as originally written, was confusing and rendered the anti-oscillation tie ineffective. His correction to the TO was immediately adopted by Air Mobility Command and cleared up confusion concerning the procedure, ultimately preventing damage to the aircraft and cargo.

Senior Airman Benjamin Glenn, 317th Maintenance Squadron, the second "serial innovator," implemented a different method for inventorying bench stock items. Instead of individually counting high volumes of items by hand, which is how it's always been done, he suggested to weighing bench stock items by bulk, which reduced workload by a factor of 89 percent in man-hours, ultimately saving 40 hours and $2,080 per month.

"Shortly after being assigned to support flight and given the bench stock program, I noticed how painstakingly long it took to do an inventory and that it had to be done five times a month," Glenn said. "We have roughly 800 bins in our bench stock with many quantities well over a hundred and some of which top 8,000. During my first inventory, while counting every bin by hand, I realized that there has got to be a better way."

Glenn's idea came to him after a visit to a hardware store to purchase bolts.

"When I took the bolts up to the cashier, she set them on a scale, then charged me by how much they weighed," he said. "I thought, if she can charge me by how much they weigh, why can't I count these nuts, bolts, screws and various other hardware by weight too?"

After doing some researching, Glenn found several companies that make scales specifically designed to count hardware. All that needs to be known is the individual weight of whatever hardware you are counting.

"We went from roughly an eight hour inventory down to a one hour inventory," added the young Airman. "Utilizing this scale has saved us a ton of man-hours and it ensures that our bench stock quantities are 100 percent accurate."

"With greater manpower and budgetary challenges, difficult decisions are being made throughout the Air Force. An often untapped resource, the ingenuity of our Airmen, can have a profound impact on the way we do business," said Capt. Noah Michael, 317th AG executive officer. "Our intent with 'Serial Innovator' is to illustrate the creative potential of individual Airmen regardless of age, rank or position in the group, and that sometimes great ideas come from where you least expect them."