SAVE Award 2011 Department of Defense

To limit government agencies to purchase items from specific GSA contracted vendors (because they are a small, or veteran owned business) puts a strain on tax payer’s wallets. If the contracts were with the manufactures directly, where we don’t have to pay the distributers markup or even the small business owner’s markup, we could buy supplies/goods alot cheaper. I can understand the US Gov trying to help small business... more »

Many federal employees routinely work more than eight hours per day. Within the Department of Defense, I know more who routinely work greater than 10 hours per day than not. If the entire federal government were to move to a four-day workweek, ten-hour days, or the option for some of working four, eight-hour days with reduced pay, we could save countless dollars and reduce our energy footprint. In major metropolitan... more »

Roofing Projects for new government buildings and for Repairing existing government buildings is expensive, but it would Save a lot of money over time if we added Solar Panels at the same time as roof work is being contracted. The installation costs would be reduced greatly and the electrical savings would more than make up for the smaller construction cost over time and would lower our dependence on energy. It would... more »

With the increased use of mobile devices to streamline and improve productivity and accessibility, I recommend agencies pool minutes wherever possible to implement a “friend & family plan” so to speak. This will reduce and/or eliminate costs associated by using FREE network-to-network minutes, eliminating the risk of overage fees and the need for large plan packages because available minutes will be shared. Increase... more »

I am in no way debating the usefulness or ethical obligation of human subject review boards, especially in DoD funded clinical research. However, the current system requires an investagator to submit IRB packages for approval at the institution the researcher is employed at regardless of whether the work is actually being conducted within that site. This requirement simply fails to reflect the collaborative nature of... more »

It is time to encourage employees to save on travel expenses by sharing a percentage of the savings they have on their travel. Use the average price of hotels, rental cars and air travel for TDY location and give the employee a percentage (say 10 or 20 percent) of the amount they save the government. By doing this, the Government could develop a culture of looking for the best price and most savings.

Our organization recently went thru an audit and the team required paper copies of every record even though we had begun keeping these documents on line and in share folders. We had to take time out to run copies of documents so the audit team could go through the records independently of us being nearby to answer questions. I thought we were supposed to eliminate paper products (for a greener life) but we are still... more »

The current demands for gaining approval on any piece of equipment shipped to a DoD hospital is not only excessive, but seriously endangers the health of our veterans. Here's an example: I'm coordinating a study in which a $60,000 device was donated at zero-cost by the manufacturer to assist in a research study treating veterans suffering from severe depression and suicidal ideation. This device has the ability to significantly... more »

Increae micropurchase threshold to $5000 or $10000 to reduce contracting paperwork and time wasted on justifying purchases.

Install solar arrays on federal parking lots as car shades in otherwise hot climates (southwest especially).

Create a single unified military service. Merge all officer acadamies, merge all IT infrastructures, merge all accessions and recruiting, etc. Do everything we can to capitalize on economies of scale when it comes to one of the nation's largest employeers.

I heard recently the the U.S. spend $20.2 billion annually air-condition our military establishments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Perhaps we could save a few billion dollars annually by sacrificing a small amount of this comfort? If the thermostats were raised five degrees, would anyone even notice? This simple act could not only save several hundred million dollars, but a significant amount of CO2 entering the atmosphere.... more »

Instead of paying government phone bills, why not have webcams or videophones over the internet, it will save the government from paying monies for the phone bills and improve communicating. Any one can use the videophones and speak to each other in teleconferences instead of needing to go to meetings, you can attend at your cubicle, it will save expenses on rental meeting rooms, etc.

The Navy has no need for this ship. Eliminating the ship will reduce personnel billets, R&D costs, supplies, and obviously ship building costs. The Navy already accomplishes many missions associated with the LCS. No need to create something not needed. The Army could do some of the assignments with their boats if this is so urgent.

We are in a new age and yet all over the federal government you see people pushing brooms. Contract with a company like Dyson to build a light ( plastic?), portable, multi-use/ attachment capable, durable, cordless vacuum cleaner our personnel can use. Not only would you reduce the time it takes to clean a space you would pick up more dirt and spread fewer microbes (especially with a decent HEPA filter in the Dyson) and... more »