910th Airmen receive IDEA Award, $5,000 Published Sept. 9, 2012 By Staff Sgt. Megan Tomkins 910AW/PA YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio -- Two Reservists recently received the Air Force Innovative Development Through Employee Awareness (IDEA) Program Award and $5,000 each for their contribution in making a process for Youngstown Air Reserve Station more efficient and cost effective. Senior Master Sgt. Gary Kohut, communications navigation noncommissioned officer in charge, and Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Stiebeling, electronic warfare technician, both assigned to the 910th Avionics Squadron, received the award. According to Air Force Instruction 38-401, the IDEA Award, "is an incentive program that promotes process improvement and/or resource savings through ideas submitted by military and civilian employees. This is accomplished by encouraging a better way of doing business by fostering employee awareness and participation in the Air Force IDEA Program." Kohut and Stiebling's plan involved repairing the C-130H Hercules Threat Warning Indicator for the AN/AAR-47 Missile Warning System with an $11.90 part and only 1.5 man hours, versus replacing the entire system with a new one that costs $6,517.15. "We saw these parts breaking, opened them up and researched what we could do," Kohut said. "[Stiebeling] then figured out the piece to repair was only $12. We repaired the part and put it back on the shelf because at this point we weren't technically allowed to repair it." For two years, the Reservists were unable to legally fix the parts due to the Expendability Recoverability Reparability Category (ERRC) code, which is a way to categorize Air Force inventory. "Twenty-two parts were repaired in that time," Kohut said. "Finally the code was changed and we were able to turn those parts back in." Once the ERRC code was changed, it was calculated that the 22 parts would save the Air Force $143,115.50. "We couldn't get the whole cost reimbursed back to the unit, but got half for each of the parts," Kohut said. "$65,572.35 was credited back to the unit. Now with the changed ERRC code, every part repaired and turned in the 910th is reimbursed for that part." For more information on how to participate in the IDEA Program, visit http://www.af.mil/shared/media/epubs/AFI38-401.PDF.