Five individuals and teams are the first winners of the DLA Strategic Goals Award, also known as the “Big Ideas” awards.
“This quarterly recognition is designed to incentivize and recognize achievement and progress in reaching the ambitious goals we have set for the agency to significantly improve support to customers while dramatically reducing costs,” Harnitchek wrote in a memo announcing the winners.
The five winners are:
-- Air Force Serviceable Maintenance Turn-In/Z-A Expedited Returns Team, DLA Distribution.
-- Value Management Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Support Team, DLA Land and Maritime.
-- Jessica Gratkowski, DLA Distribution.
-- DLA Energy Inventory and Distribution Management Team, DLA Energy.
-- Appropriations Received Audit Readiness Team, DLA Finance.
The Air Force Serviceable Maintenance Turn-In/Z-A Expedited Returns Team, in DLA Distribution in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is recognized for significantly improving customer service. This falls under the “Delight Our Customers” Big Idea. According to the memo announcing the winners, the team improved customer support by reducing Z-A time from almost 12 days to about 3 days, a 70 percent reduction. Z-A time measures the time that elapses from when an Air Force craftsman repairs a component and DLA processes a receipt, which updates the serviceable balance within the Distribution Standard System. The first initiative was at the Tinker Aerospace Complex, where more than 2,000 high-valued and critical aircraft flight controls had been crated and safely moved to the production line or for shipment to more than 35 off-base customers. A spin-off this initiative was a reduction in travel time from 26 miles to 6 miles over poorly maintained roads, resulting in a cost avoidance of over approximately $500,000 in damages.
The Value Management MRAP Team, DLA Land and Maritime, was recognized for decreasing direct material costs. This falls under the “Be Smart Buyers of the Right Stuff” Big Idea. The team improved customer service by eliminating 8,067 procurement lead time days, which translated to a monetary savings of $473,255. Team members realized cost reductions of more than $10 million by approving new sources of supply to compete with original equipment manufacturers for contract awards. By identifying actual manufacturers of the MRAP parts under study or developing new sources of supply for these items, the team was able to document multiple substantial material cost reductions. Also, by developing an alternate source of procurement and creating a competitive procurement environment, potential readiness issues caused by catastrophic events or closure of the only viable manufacturer’s plant known to the government were reduced substantially. Team members reduced inventory by cancelling unwanted or unnecessary scheduled procurements and documented a cost avoidance of $17,117,619.
Jessica Gratkowski, DLA Distribution, was recognized for decreasing operating costs. This falls under the “Improve Process and Productivity” Big Idea. Gratkowski’s leadership and individual efforts focused on increasing container utilization has resulted in significant improvements in this area. In February 2012, Harnitchek challenged DLA to meet an 85 percent targeted utilization goal for 20- and 40-foot containers moving to overseas locations. DLA Distribution’s main shippers – Susquehanna, Pa.; San Joaquin, Calif.; and Norfolk, Va. – have made significant consolidation improvements, pushing DLA Distribution’s overall average utilization rates from 63 percent to 83 percent during the last weeks in June. During the March-April 2012 timeframes alone, due to increasing global container utilization by 5 percent, DLA shipped 568 fewer containers, resulting in $4 million savings.
DLA Energy Inventory and Distribution Management, DLA Energy, was recognized for inventory reductions. This falls under the “Clean Out the Attic” Big Idea. Using a 10 percent reduction of total inventory as a goal, the team members used their own Big Ideas to help keep the support to warfighters at the levels they have been accustomed to. These initiatives include the use of swing stocks, expanding conversion to commercial specification fuels, and use of dual-use or “co-mingled” storage. Swing stocks had not been used for petroleum, oils and lubricants since the 1980s, and the team recognized it was time to push the envelope on an uncomfortable concept within the fuel communities, according to the memo. The concept uses one barrel of fuel to cover multiple war reserve requirements in several combatant commands. This concept has potential to go beyond the initial effort the Joint Staff has endorsed, to use 3 million barrels of swing stocks amounting to $400 million in cost avoidance to the Defense Department.
The Appropriations Received Audit Readiness Team, DLA Finance, is recognized for reaching a major milestone in achieving Audit Readiness. This falls under the “Prove It” Big Idea. The DLA Appropriations Received Audit Readiness Team helped DLA reach its first important milestone in the audit-readiness process in June by meeting the requirements set forth in the first phase of the Defense Department’s auditability requirements. This business cycle encompasses the process from receipt of appropriated funding from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Comptroller, to its distribution to subordinate and supporting organizations. The team successfully prepared an assertion package and delivered it to the OSD Comptroller before the June 30 due date. DLA has received confirmation that the package was accepted by OSD Comptroller, marking the first milestone achieved in this effort.
The five awardees were selected from among 16 nominations.
“I urge DLA leaders to continue recognizing teams and individuals for their successful efforts,” Harnitchek wrote. “I also encourage all DLA employees to support our Strategic Goals, and I look forward to acknowledging another outstanding set of awardees next quarter.”
Harnitchek introduced his Big Ideas in a March 20 blog post.
“I want every DLA customer to know that when they buy something from DLA, they are not just buying a product, they are buying a best value combat enabling capability,” he wrote in explaining why the new approach is important.
The Director’s Strategic Goals Quarterly Award policy spells the Big Ideas out specifically as:
1. Improve Customer Service: Delight Our Customers.
2. Decrease Direct Material Costs: Be Smart Buyers of the Right Stuff.
3. Decrease Operating Costs: Improve Process and Productivity.
4. Reduce Inventory: Clean out the Attic.
5. Achieve Audit Readiness: Prove It