Airmen’s ideas for investing to save money

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jose L. Hernandez
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  When top officials in almost any organization talk about finding ways to save money, many assume it means cuts, cuts, and more cuts to budgets and resources.

However, that's not the case in all situations.

While the Air Force itself is not immune to budget cuts, it has established programs and initiatives with incentives to help offset future costs and save money.

One of the programs that Minot Air Force Base has taken advantage of to help save money is the Productivity Enhancing Capital Investment program, which allows for investment opportunities that can provide measurable savings and produce a return on those investments within an allotted time frame.

The program is a bit similar to that of the Innovative Development through Employee Awareness, or commonly known as the IDEA program, in that it allows individuals to identify areas where resources could be modified or altered to provide savings.

Charles Hamilton, 5th Force Support Squadron Manpower & Organization Management Analyst and program administrator here said, "We'll look into any idea on base that could save the Air Force resources and money."

So far, Team Minot's 5th FSS Customer Service and Manpower office, as well as the 5th Maintenance Squadron have had projects approved through PECI which saved the Air Force $50,000.

Since the stand-up of Air Force Global Strike, Minot has been the first and only base to utilize funds the PECI program has to offer. Hamilton explained his team has been proactive in contacting squadron personnel and getting the word out about this program.

The program is something Hamilton hopes squadrons can take advantage of given that PECI invests an average of $11 million per year which nets an average savings of approximately $112 million.

Overall, the program has had an expected 13 to 1 return on investment. Air Force-wide a total of $42,738,535 has been invested which has a projected total lifecycle savings of $562,166,330.

So what kinds of projects are accepted by PECI?

First off, PECI funds must be directly related to measurable savings that offset the total initial investment costs.

The more effective projects that can accomplish this are ones that usually reduce or eliminate recurring expenses on a resource utilized at a base. This includes resources such as water, electricity, ammunitions or fuel.

Other successful projects include those that can mitigate or eliminate contract expenses for externally provided equipment or services. In other words, if the Air Force can perform a function more economically by purchasing equipment provided on a contract, then it is an effective candidate for a PECI project.

"Certain projects can be submitted to the IDEA program as well if it proves to be effective and it can be implemented beyond just a local base," Hamilton said. "They can receive a reward to."

To submit a project idea or to find out more about the program, contact Hamilton at 723-3900 or visit the PECI Web site at https://peciweb.seguetech.com.