It is nicknamed Beny Suggs, short for Beneficial Suggestion Program, and thanks to this program two Crane Army Ammunition Activity employees are enjoying a nice bonus in money for their ingenuity.
Crane Army employees James Gardner and William Jackson each received separate cash awards and certificates of achievements for their suggestions to the program that saved the Army a considerable amount of money.
Gardner developed a 30mm case extraction tool that saved Crane Army money by eliminating the need for long-term storage of armor piercing incinerating rounds, as well as the cost involved to demilitarize high explosive incinerating rounds. The cost savings of Gardner's efforts is $657,230 a year.
Jackson developed two improvements to Crane Army's White Phosphorus Plant. One improvement is a new design retort ring which allows it to be made in-house and eliminate the need for very large steel components. The other improvement is a modification to the mixing chamber that reduces destruction of the chamber ductwork and downtime. These two efforts resulted in a savings of $64,701.16 each time the operation runs.
During the presentation of certificates to Gardner and Jackson, Crane Army Commander Col. Charles Kibben expressed his pleasure in being able to present the cash awards to the two men. As he explained to the crowd of manufacturing and engineering employees, the savings caused by their ideas represented real money for the Army, just like their award is real money in their pockets.
The cash awards are based upon a predetermined formula, determined by the estimated first-year benefits to the government. Kibben presented checks to Jackson for $3,342 and Gardner for $6,485.19.
Employees are encouraged to submit their ideas for improving work conditions and methods. Crane Army Ideas for Excellence Program Coordinator Sue Engelbrecht said, "Even small ideas can have huge impacts on our day-to-day operations. A simple change to a tool can end up saving hundreds of man hours over the course of a year which, in turn, improves productivity and saves the Army a lot of money. Everybody wins."
CAAA was established in Oct. 1977 and is a tenant of the Navy Region Midwest, Naval Support Activity Crane. The Army activity maintains ordnance professionals and infrastructure to receive, store, ship, produce, renovate and demilitarize conventional ammunition, missiles and related components.
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