Airman's IDEA pays off

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Sherri Bohannon
  • 917th Wing Public Affairs
Barksdale AFB, La. --  Tech. Sgt. Richard Taliaferro, 917th Maintenance Squadron, had an IDEA! Unlike most ideas, this one earned him in excess of $6,000. 

This 22-year Air Force veteran saw something broken and took the initiative to fix it.
"A new [plastic] round counter would usually last about three months before cracking and falling apart. When the cover breaks, you have to trash it. A new counter costs between $700 - $1,000," Sergeant Taliaferro said. 

The cover Sergeant Taliferro speaks of is the top cover on an ammunitions round counter, where one monitors how many 30mm rounds are spent, or remain. When broken, foreign material enters in, and the counter has to be replaced. 

His IDEA materialized two or three years ago. "I noticed these were breaking, already broken," Sergeant Taliaferro said. "I started fixing them to make them better [by replacing the broken plastic cover] with Plexiglas. I fixed a few to see how they would hold up, and it worked!" 

At first, Sergeant Taliaferro submitted a "22," a form used to suggest an improvement, one which stood to save the Air Force roughly $44,000 per year. His supervision thought his "fix" was worthy of much more, and suggested he fill out a Form 1000, an IDEA application. 

The long, arduous submission process was made easier, according to Sergeant Taliaferro, with help from Wing Air Force Technical Order 22 Process Manager Master Sgt. Stephen Robicheaux, and Base IDEA Program Manager Jon Hutchins. 

"Usually, it's mroe trouble than it's worth," Sergeant Taliaferro said, "so when you get one approved, it's like, 'All right! Good!'" 

While this is Sergeant Taliaferro's first IDEA to be recognized by the Air Force, he has submitted two dozen "22s" over the years. He's received small cash rewards of a few hundred dollars, but nothing this substantial. 

When asked how he feels about being recognized for his IDEA, Sergeant Taliaferro quietly stated, "I really didn't expect it. I was just mainly doing it to save the government and our unit a lot of money, so we can spend it on other stuff like computer paper, fax machines, the important stuff." He chuckled. 

"Richard is a hard worker who is very resourceful," Sergeant Robicheaux said. "This is what makes my day...when I can help someone improve a process, save the Air Force money, and help that person get paid for their efforts. It makes it all worthwhile." 

Sergeant Taliaferro said he has another IDEA in mind...one that "may save the government hundreds of thousands of dollars." When asked what it was, he said his lips were sealed, but he did say he plans to submit it first chance he gets.